reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 164 § 127a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity|Section 127a - Destruction of or Tampering With, Electric or Gas Lines, Meters, etc.; Theft of Electricity or Gas

Section 127A. Whoever unlawfully and intentionally injures or destroys, or suffers to be injured or destroyed, any meter, pipe, conduit, wire, line, pole, lamp or other apparatus belonging to a corporation, including municipal corporations which own municipal lighting plants engaged in the manufacture or sale of electricity or gas or to any person, or unlawfully and intentionally prevents an electric or gas meter from duly registering the quantity of electricity or gas supplied, or in any way interferes with its proper action or just registration, or, without the consent of such corporation or person, unlawfully and intentionally diverts or suffers to be diverted any electric current from any wire or gas from any pipe of such corporation or person, or otherwise unlawfully and intentionally uses or causes to be used, without the consent of such corporation or person, any electricity or gas manufactured or distributed by such corporation, or charged to such person shall be liable to such corporation or person for triple the amount of damages sustained thereby or one thousand dollars whichever is greater. Damages shall include the value of the electricity or gas used and the cost of equipment repair and replacement. Any damages assessed under the provisions of this section in excess of the actual damages sustained by the corporation or person manufacturing, distributing or selling such electricity or gas shall be paid to the commonwealth; provided, however, that if a municipal lighting plant brings an action pursuant to this section such damages in excess of the actual damages shall be paid to such municipal lighting plant.
MA Gen L ch 164 § 128 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity|Section 128 - Guaranty Fund; Payment of Interest, Application to Charges and Tolls; Annual Return Statement; Violations; Penalty

Section 128. A corporation which has a franchise in and the use of the public streets of a town for the supply and distribution or only distribution, of gas, water, electric light or power, and which holds for a longer period than six months money which is collected in advance from its customers to guarantee it against loss of charges or tolls, shall pay annually upon said guaranty fund interest at a rate fixed from time to time by the department to the depositors thereof, which shall be applied to the payment of charges and tolls by said depositors. The annual return required of such corporation by section one hundred and nine of chapter one hundred and fifty-six B shall also include a statement of all money, and of the value of any collateral, so held as a guaranty for the payment of charges or tolls, specifying the amounts so deposited by the inhabitants of each town. If such corporation fails or neglects to include such information in such return or fails, neglects or refuses to pay such interest it shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars.
MA Gen L ch 164 § 129 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity|Section 129 - Definitions

Section 129. The following words, as used in sections one hundred and thirty to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive, unless the context otherwise requires, or a different meaning is specifically prescribed, shall have the following meanings:—  ''Commissioner'', the commissioner of insurance.  ''Fund balance'', a minimum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars or a lesser or greater amount approved by the commissioner.  ''Municipal light board'', a municipal light board or commission, municipal gas and electric commission or similar body in a city or town having a municipal light board, gas and electric commission or similar body; the mayor or city manager as the case may be, of a city having no municipal light board, municipal gas and electric commission or similar body; or the selectmen of a town having no municipal light board, municipal gas and electric commission or similar body.  ''Municipal electric department'', an electric department or lighting plant of a city or town, which department or plant is subject to the provisions of this chapter, or a municipally or consumer-owned electric utility outside the commonwealth. Except as otherwise specifically provided, a Massachusetts municipal electric department may exercise any of its powers or authority granted in sections one hundred and twenty-nine to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive, through its municipal light board.  ''Municipal Electric Department Self-insurance Trust Fund'' or ''Fund'', a trust fund established in accordance with the provisions of section one hundred and twenty-nine to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive, to provide insurance to a group of two or more participating municipal electric departments.  ''Insurance'', formal self-insurance or commercial insurance or a combination thereof, covering risks including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, general liability, directors and officers, and fire insurance. Insurance shall include all layers of coverage, on either a claims made or occurrence basis and reinsurance.  ''Participant'', a municipal electric department that is a member of a fund, in accordance with section one hundred and thirty, and has accepted the benefits and detriments of sections one hundred and twenty-nine to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive;  ''Trustee'', the trustee of a fund.
MA Gen L ch 164 § 130 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity|Section 130 - Establishment of Fund; Filing and Recording of Trust Instrument; Trustee; Dissolution of Fund

Section 130. A municipal electric department is hereby authorized, upon a vote of its municipal light board, to participate in a fund and obligate itself, solely from its revenues and as an expense of such department, to pay actuarially-sound premiums or such other reasonable premiums as may be mutually agreed upon.  A group of two or more participants shall have the power to establish a fund under the provisions of sections one hundred and twenty-nine to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive. Said fund shall be deemed established upon the execution of a trust instrument by the initial participants containing such reasonable provisions, not inconsistent with the provisions of said section one hundred and twenty-nine to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive, as the parties may agree upon, and establishment of a fund balance.  Participants shall file the trust instrument establishing a fund with the commissioner within sixty days of the execution of such instrument. The commissioner shall record such trust instrument in a book to be kept for that purpose, which shall be kept in an accessible location in the office of the commissioner.  The coverage provisions of any insurance contract issued by a fund under its trust instrument shall not become effective to provide coverage until the fund is filed in accordance with the provisions of this section, although the fund may require and accept payment of premiums prior to such filing.  A fund shall appoint a trustee, who shall be either a manager of a municipal electric department or a member of a municipal light board. The trustee shall serve for the term provided in the trust instrument and may be removed as provided therein.  Participants desiring to dissolve a fund may petition the supreme judicial court for voluntary dissolution or may dissolve as otherwise provided for in the trust instrument. The court may authorize such dissolution and may, upon such authorization, distribute the petitioner's assets in a manner consistent with the fund's legal obligations.  The commissioner may petition the supreme judicial court for involuntary dissolution of any fund, if such fund has not filed for two consecutive years an annual statement in accordance with section one hundred and thirty-one, or if the commissioner is satisfied that the fund is inactive and its continued existence is not in the public interest. Upon authorizing such dissolution, the court shall distribute all fund assets in accordance with the fund's legal obligations.
MA Gen L ch 164 § 131 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity|Section 131 - Powers and Duties of Fund and Trustee; Financial Statement; Amount of Fund; Authorized Trust Instrument Provisions; Amendments; Consolidation or Merger of Fund; Taxation

Section 131. A fund and the trustee shall have the rights and be subject to the legal responsibilities and obligations applicable to trusts and trustees under the General Laws, except to the extent such rights, obligations and responsibilities are in conflict with this chapter.  The fund shall annually on or before April first file with the commissioner a statement showing its financial condition as of December thirty-first of the prior year.  A fund may be established with a minimum amount of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Upon the petition of a trustee, the commissioner may approve such greater or lesser amount.  The trustee of a fund shall notify the commissioner of any amendment to its trust instrument within sixty days of making such amendment.  The trust instrument may provide (a) that there shall be a minimum period during which any participant must participate in the fund; (b) the fund may provide coverage to any participant which joins and later withdraws from the fund; (c) that all participants shall execute a participation agreement; (d) that the fund indemnify the trustees from all liability for his actions in good faith on behalf of the fund; and (e) such other reasonable terms and conditions as the participants may agree upon that are consistent with the authority granted under sections one hundred and twenty-nine to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive.  A fund may consolidate or merge with any other fund. Upon such merger or consolidation, the trustee of such funds shall notify the commissioner.  Any participant shall be considered to have insurance equivalent to commercial insurance, to the extent of limits of coverage provided by the fund, for the purposes of the requirements of insurance or commercial insurance contained in any law or any bonds, notes, mortgages, or any other agreements to which that participant is a party.  No money or any other assets in any fund shall be liable to attachment, trustee process, equitable lien or other process, or to be seized, taken, appropriated or applied by any legal or equitable process or operation of law to pay any debt or liability of any legal person except as provided in sections one hundred and twenty-nine to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive, or in the trust instrument governing the fund.  The fund shall not be required to pay any taxes upon its income or existence and shall at all times be exempt from taxation within the commonwealth.
MA Gen L ch 164 § 132 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity|Section 132 - Exemption of Trust Fund From Certain Insurance Laws

Section 132. A fund shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter, except as provided in sections one hundred and twenty-nine to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive, chapter one hundred and seventy-four A, one hundred and seventy-four B, one hundred and seventy-five, one hundred and seventy-five A, one hundred and seventy-five C, one hundred and seventy-five E, one hundred and seventy-five F, one hundred and seventy-six, one hundred and seventy-six A, one hundred and seventy-six C, one hundred and seventy-six E, one hundred and seventy-six F, one hundred and seventy-six G, one hundred and eighty-two, and from the provisions of any other statute relating to insurance.
MA Gen L ch 164 § 133 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity|Section 133 - Emergency Mutual Aid

Section 133. As used in this section the following words shall have the following meanings:—  ''Assistance'', all acts of an assisting utility conducted for or on behalf of a requesting utility.  ''Domestic utility'', an electric or gas company as defined by section one, and including municipal corporations which own or may acquire municipal lighting or gas plants.  ''Emergency mutual aid'', acts and assistance provided to or by a domestic or foreign utility experiencing or anticipating interruptions in service to its customers or other system emergencies, to be determined in the case of a municipal lighting or gas plant by the manager of such plant. Such acts or assistance shall be accepted or provided within a reasonable amount of time from the occurrence or anticipation of such interruptions or system emergencies.  ''Foreign utility'', any utility other than a domestic utility.  Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law relating to the corporate powers and authority of a domestic utility or any limitation imposed by a corporate or municipal charter, a foreign or domestic utility shall have the power to request from and provide emergency mutual aid to other domestic and foreign utilities; and to enter into such agreements, regarding the reimbursement of expenses and other related matters and perform such other acts as are deemed reasonably necessary or desirable to request and provide such emergency mutual aid for the amount of time as reasonably necessary to restore or prevent interruption of service or to address the system emergency.  No domestic utility shall be exempt from or lose the benefits of any applicable laws of the commonwealth solely by reason of requesting or providing emergency mutual aid.  Any law, municipal by-law or ordinance relating to the methods of entering into contracts and contracts awarded by municipal corporations for construction, reconstruction, alteration, remodeling, repair, demolition, equipment, supplies or materials shall not be applicable to said acceptance or provision of emergency mutual aid as set forth herein.  A foreign utility shall not become subject to the regulatory laws of the commonwealth solely by requesting or providing assistance in the commonwealth.  Nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect, supplant or in any way diminish the existing authority of the department in the administration of the provisions of this chapter.  Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect, supplant, or diminish in any way the powers and authorities of the energy facilities siting council.
MA Gen L ch 164 § 135 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity|Section 135 - Corporate Retail Load Aggregators

Section 135. Any for-profit corporation, non-profit corporation, or quasi-public authority, organized pursuant to the laws of the commonwealth, is hereby authorized to establish a corporate retail load aggregator for the purpose of purchasing bulk electricity to serve affiliated corporations or affiliated business units organized pursuant to the laws of the commonwealth which are not sited within the boundaries of a municipal light department within the commonwealth. A corporate retail load aggregator shall be authorized (i) to purchase electricity from any entity authorized to sell electricity; (ii) to sell electricity at retail to any corporate affiliate or business unit located outside of the boundaries of communities served by municipal light departments within the commonwealth; and (iii) to enter into such contracts and agreements as are necessary or appropriate to provide such service. A corporate retail load aggregator shall be prohibited from engaging in the generation of electric power and from owning or operating any facilities for the transmission or distribution of electric power, with the exception of meters.  A corporation may establish a corporate retail load aggregator upon authorization by a majority vote of its board of directors. After a corporation has voted to establish a corporate retail load aggregator, the secretary of the corporation shall forthwith transmit to the department a certified copy thereof. A corporation that has established a corporate retail load aggregator shall appoint, by a majority vote of its board of directors or, as the case may be, a manager or a managing board of the corporate retail load aggregator. Such manager or managing board shall have full charge of the operation and management of the corporate retail load aggregator; the entry into contracts and agreements pursuant to which power will be purchased and sold; the employment of attorneys, agents, and servants; the collection of bills; and the keeping of accounts. At the discretion of the corporation, corporate officials may serve as such manager or on such managing board. The compensation and term of office of such manager or managing board shall be fixed by the corporation.  Nothing in this section shall be construed as relieving any company which provides generation, transmission, or distribution of electricity or any combination thereof, from any obligation relative to the transmission and distribution of electricity to the corporation forming a corporate retail load aggregator.  Corporate load aggregators shall be subject to any rules and regulations promulgated by the department through existing statute or amendments thereto, including licensure requirements.
MA Gen L ch 164 § 137 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity|Section 137 - Participation in Group Purchasing of Electricity, Natural Gas, Telecommunications Services or Similar Products

Section 137. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, (i) any non-profit institution in the commonwealth or any agency, executive office, department, board, commission, bureau, division or authority of the commonwealth, including the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the commonwealth, or of any political subdivision thereof, or of any authority established by the general court to serve a public purpose, may, unless located within the boundaries of a community served by a municipal light department, participate in and become a member of any competitively procured program organized and administered, under this chapter, by or on behalf of any public instrumentality of the commonwealth or of any subsidiary organization thereof for the purpose of group purchasing of electricity, natural gas, telecommunications services or similar products; (ii) the disposition of municipal or state real property by lease, easement or license for renewable energy shall not require competitive bidding when part of a power purchase agreement or a net metering agreement in a program organized and administered under this section; (iii) any agency, executive office, department, board, commission, bureau, division or authority of the commonwealth, including the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the commonwealth, may, on behalf of the commonwealth, dispose of real property, by lease, easement or license, which is part of a power purchase agreement or net metering agreement in a program organized and administered under this section, including, but not limited to, construction of renewable energy projects on state property; and (iv) any renewable energy project which is part of a power purchase agreement or net metering agreement in a program organized and administered under this section and considered to be public construction shall be subject to sections 26 to 27D, inclusive, of chapter 149.
MA Gen L ch 164 § 139a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity|Section 139a - Small Hydroelectric Power Net Metering Facilities Program

Section 139A. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:—  ''Small hydroelectric power net metering facility'', a facility with a nameplate capacity of 2 megawatts or less, using water to generate electricity that is connected to a distribution company.  ''Small hydro tariff'', the default service kilowatt-hour rate of the local distribution company as defined in section 1 that receives electricity from a small hydropower facility or an anaerobic digestion net metering facility.  (b) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department may require the electric distribution companies to amend the net metering tariff to create a program for small hydroelectric power net metering facilities in the commonwealth. An electric distribution company shall pay a small hydroelectric power net metering facility monthly for electricity it received from the facility based on the kilowatt hours of electricity that the distribution company received from the facility multiplied by the small hydro tariff. A participating small hydroelectric net metering facility shall notify a distribution company that it intends to deliver electricity pursuant to the small hydro tariff program and shall comply with the distribution company's applicable reporting and interconnection requirements; provided, however that no more than 60 megawatts of small hydroelectric power aggregate capacity statewide shall be permitted to participate in the small hydroelectric power tariff program. The department shall determine an appropriate and proportionate method of allocating costs of small hydropower facilities to ensure that the costs of the program are shared collectively among all ratepayers of the distribution companies.
MA Gen L ch 164 § 140 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity|Section 140 - Neighborhood Net Metering Facility; Election of Net Metering; Rules and Regulations

Section 140. A neighborhood net metering facility shall elect net metering as follows:  (a) If the electricity generated by the neighborhood net metering facility during a billing period exceeds its kilowatt-hour usage during the billing period, the neighborhood net metering facility shall be billed for 0 kilowatt-hour usage and the excess neighborhood net metering credits shall be credited to those customers identified by the neighborhood net metering facility as being served by the same company to which the neighborhood net metering facility is interconnected, residing in the same neighborhood in which the neighborhood net metering facility is located and having an ownership interest in the neighborhood net metering facility. The amount of the excess neighborhood net metering credits to be attributed to each such customer shall be determined by the allocation provided by the neighborhood net metering facility. Credits may be carried forward by such customers from month to month. Written notice of the identity of the customers so designated and the allocation of the credits to be attributed to such customers shall be in such form as the distribution company shall reasonably require.  (b) The department shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to carry out this section, including, but not limited to, further defining the term ''neighborhood'' and limiting the number of customers that may be designated by neighborhood net metering facilities to receive neighborhood net metering credits.