reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 132 § 25 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation|Chapter 132 - Forestry|Section 25 - Suppression of Foliage-Destroying Pests Within City and Town Limits

Section 25. The local superintendent in each city and town having charge of the suppression of the public nuisances referred to in section eleven shall have like jurisdiction over the suppression of all foliage-destroying pests within the limits of his city or town for which special appropriation is made. In the absence or disability of such local superintendent, the city manager or town manager in cities or towns having such a manager, otherwise the mayor or the selectmen, may temporarily deputize a person, who shall have the same powers as the local superintendent, to perform such duties.
MA Gen L ch 132 § 26a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation|Chapter 132 - Forestry|Section 26a - Removal and Destruction of Trees Infected With Dutch Elm Disease

Section 26A. If the chief superintendent or the local superintendent or their employees or authorized agents shall find on public or private property elm trees or parts thereof infested or infected with or likely to become so infected or infested with the causal fungus of the Dutch elm disease or infested with, or likely to become infested with, the beetles known or suspected to be carriers of said disease, they may remove and destroy or cause to be removed and destroyed such trees or parts thereof. Complete removal of trees may be ordered by them only upon proof by positive laboratory tests conducted by the shade tree laboratories at the University of Massachusetts that the tree has become infected with the said Dutch elm disease. The order to remove shall be subject to other applicable provisions of this chapter.
MA Gen L ch 132 § 26d (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation|Chapter 132 - Forestry|Section 26d - County Aid to Cities or Towns in Suppression of Public Nuisances; Certification of Chief Superintendent

Section 26D. The county commissioners, subject to appropriation therefor, may grant to any city or town sums of money to aid in the suppression of the pests declared to be public nuisances in section eleven, and Dutch elm disease; provided, that no such payments shall be made unless the chief superintendent certifies that the work has been done under his direction; and said county commissioners may assist in organizing cities and towns in co-operative associations for the suppression of said public nuisances or scouting or sampling for Dutch elm diseased trees or wood.
MA Gen L ch 132 § 26e (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation|Chapter 132 - Forestry|Section 26e - Notice of Positive Diagnosis of Dutch Elm Disease; Condemnation of Tree

Section 26E. Notice of positive diagnosis received by the chief superintendent or a local superintendent shall imply necessary condemnation of said elm tree and complete removal of the tree and destruction of the wood by burning or other method to render it harmless as a future source of infection or infestation, unless the said tree or wood has ceased to be such a source of infection or infestation. Such trees or parts thereof shall be removed within thirty days of the receipt of the notice of positive diagnosis, except that when such notice is received during the months of September, October, November, December, January or February, removal may be delayed, if necessary, until a later date but not later than March thirty-first next following the receipt of the notice, but if the removal and destruction of said trees or parts thereof cannot be accomplished within the time limits herein designated for reasons beyond the control of the local superintendent, he shall by spraying or otherwise render the said trees or parts thereof harmless as a source of the spread of the Dutch elm disease infection, or as a breeding place for the beetles which spread said disease. If any city or town shall not have removed and destroyed the said trees or parts thereof within the time limits of this section or by spraying, or otherwise rendered them harmless as a source of spreading the said disease during a delay in removal and destruction of said trees or parts thereof beyond the time limits of this section, the chief superintendent may, subject to the provisions of this chapter, cause them to be so removed and destroyed or sprayed or otherwise rendered harmless as a source of the spread of said disease.
MA Gen L ch 132 § 26f (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation|Chapter 132 - Forestry|Section 26f - Positive Diagnosis of Dutch Elm Disease on Trees on Privately Owned Land; Notice; Order of Removal and Destruction; Spraying; Appeal

Section 26F. When notice of positive diagnosis is received by a local superintendent affecting elm trees or parts thereof on privately owned land within five hundred feet of public land, he shall so mark said trees or parts thereof with a sign, and shall give written notice in hand or by certified mail of the diagnosis to the owner or person or persons in charge of the land on which such tree or parts thereof is located. Such notice shall contain an order that said owner or person or persons shall cause said tree or parts thereof to be removed and destroyed within thirty days of the date of said notice except that when such notice is received during the months of September, October, November, December, January or February, removal may be delayed, if necessary, until a later date, but not later than March thirty-first next following the receipt of the notice. If the removal and destruction of said trees or parts thereof cannot be accomplished within the time limits herein designated for reasons beyond the control of the owner or person or persons in charge of the land, he or they shall by spraying or otherwise render the said trees or parts thereof harmless as a source of the spread of the Dutch elm disease infection or as a breeding place for the beetles which spread said disease. The person or persons so notified may within ten days after receipt of said notice appeal in writing to the commissioner from the order contained therein requesting a hearing on the order, and said appeal shall stay the order until the appeal has been heard and decided by the commissioner. He may change, modify or confirm the order contained in the notice and his decision shall be final. The decision of the commissioner shall be communicated to the chief superintendent, the local superintendent and the appellant in writing, shall state the decision and the facts on which it is based, and if the original order is not thereby modified or changed, the commissioner shall direct the appellant to carry out the order within the time prescribed or by a later designated date because of the menace of the Dutch elm disease and the seasonal danger of its spread.
MA Gen L ch 132 § 26g (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation|Chapter 132 - Forestry|Section 26g - Removal and Destruction of Infected Trees by Local Superintendent; Cost; Suit; Apportionment of Costs; Abatement of Costs

Section 26G. If an order issued under section twenty-six F is not complied with within the time prescribed or if the trees or parts thereof are not rendered harmless as a source of further infection or infestation by spraying or otherwise the local superintendent shall cause the trees or parts thereof covered by the order to be removed and destroyed and he shall certify in writing to the owner the cost of such removal and destruction. Such cost shall be payable to the city or town within ninety days from the date of said certification, and if not so paid, may be recovered by suit together with costs thereon; provided, however, that, if, as the result of an appeal taken under section twenty-six F, the commissioner determines that suppression measures are necessary for the control of the Dutch elm disease or the beetles which spread said disease, and that the total cost of such suppression measures is in excess of the financial ability of the landowner to pay, the said cost may be apportioned between the owner and the city or town; and provided, further, that the cost payable by such owner shall be not less than one fourth of said total cost and that the cost to the city or town shall be includible in its accounting for the purposes of section sixteen. Any owner who has appealed from the order issued under section twenty-six F and is aggrieved by the certified cost chargeable to him may apply to the board of selectmen in a town or the city council in a city, as the case may be, for abatement thereof, and such abatement may be granted by said board or by said city council, with the approval of the mayor, but such abated cost shall not be includible in the accounting of the said city or town for the purposes of section sixteen.
MA Gen L ch 132 § 30 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation|Chapter 132 - Forestry|Section 30 - Forest Fire Observation Towers; Erection and Operation

Section 30. The commissioner, with the approval of the stewardship council may acquire for the commonwealth, by purchase or otherwise, and hold, or, with the approval of the governor and council, may take in fee by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine, any woodland or land suitable for timber cultivation within the commonwealth or any land necessary for the erection and operation of forest fire observation towers. The average cost of land so purchased, other than land purchased for the erection and operation of forest fire observation towers, shall not exceed five dollars an acre.
MA Gen L ch 132 § 31 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation|Chapter 132 - Forestry|Section 31 - Control and Management of State Forests; Regulations

Section 31. Lands acquired under section thirty or thirty-three shall be known as state forests, and shall be under the control and management of the forester. Lands acquired by purchase for experiment and illustration in forest management and for reforestation under the provisions of chapter four hundred and seventy-eight of the acts of nineteen hundred and eight and amendments thereof, or of the corresponding provisions of later laws, as to which the period limited for repurchase by their original owners, or their heirs or assigns, in accordance with said provisions shall have expired without such repurchase, shall also be known as state forests and shall be under the control and management of the forester to the same extent as if acquired under section thirty. He shall reforest and develop such lands, and may, subject to the approval of the commissioner, make all reasonable regulations which in his opinion will tend to increase the public enjoyment and benefit therefrom and to protect and conserve the water supplies of the commonwealth.
MA Gen L ch 132 § 32 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation|Chapter 132 - Forestry|Section 32 - Appropriations for Necessary Expenses

Section 32. The forester, subject to the approval of the commissioner, may expend such sums as are annually appropriated for the necessary expenses incurred under section thirty-one.
MA Gen L ch 132 § 34 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation|Chapter 132 - Forestry|Section 34 - Rules and Regulations Relative to Use of State Forests; Enforcement

Section 34. The commissioner may make rules and regulations relative to hunting and fishing or other uses of any such land, provided that such rules and regulations shall be consistent with all laws in relation to the protection of fish, birds and quadrupeds. Whoever violates any provision of any such rule or regulation shall be punished by a fine of not more than twenty-five dollars.  In addition to the officers required by section seven of chapter one hundred and twenty-nine A to enforce throughout the commonwealth the provisions of law relating to fish, birds and mammals, the forester, state fire warden and any duly authorized forest warden or deputy forest warden shall enforce said provisions within the limits of state forests and shall enforce throughout the commonwealth the provisions of section eighty-one of chapter one hundred and thirty-one; and said forester and wardens shall enforce the provisions of all rules and regulations relating to state forests and state reservations made under authority of this chapter and chapter one hundred and thirty-two A. With respect to violations of all the provisions aforesaid, said forester and wardens shall have and exercise all the powers conferred by law upon the officers described in said section seven for the enforcement of the laws relating to fish, birds and mammals. The officers mentioned in said section seven shall take cognizance of violations of said rules and regulations and prosecute the same; and for such purpose shall have and exercise all said powers.
MA Gen L ch 132 § 35 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation|Chapter 132 - Forestry|Section 35 - Acquisition of Land for Forestation by Towns

Section 35. Towns may acquire by purchase, gift or bequest lands for the purpose of forestation and may reclaim and plant such lands. The said department may upon application in such form as the forester may prescribe furnish such towns with seedlings for the planting of their lands.
MA Gen L ch 132 § 37 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation|Chapter 132 - Forestry|Section 37 - Duties of Local Forest Wardens

Section 37. Every local forest warden, in addition to his duties prescribed by chapter forty-eight, shall investigate the values of forest lands, the character and extent of woodcutting operations, the prevalence of insect pests injurious to forest growths, and other matters affecting the extent and condition of woodlands in his town, and shall report thereon to the forester at such times and in such form as he requires.
MA Gen L ch 132 § 38 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation|Chapter 132 - Forestry|Section 38 - Laying Out, Construction and Maintenance of Trails or Paths in State Forests; Use by Owners of Adjoining Land

Section 38. The commissioner may lay out, construct and maintain trails or paths through or over lands in state forests and in public reservations and trails or paths leading to important mountains and other objects and places of special interest and beauty and he may connect such trails or paths in order to make them continuous so far as practicable. The commissioner on behalf of the commonwealth may purchase such lands or easements therein as may be necessary for the aforesaid purposes. He may post such trails or paths, erect signs thereon and construct suitable rest camps or shelters at appropriate places. He may by special permit in writing allow portions of such trails or paths to be enclosed and used by the owner of adjoining land, for any use not interfering with public passage on foot, during the whole or any part of the year upon such conditions as the commissioner may prescribe and such permits may be revoked at his pleasure. The commonwealth shall not be liable for injury or damage sustained on such trails or paths.
MA Gen L ch 132 § 38a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation|Chapter 132 - Forestry|Section 38a - Construction and Maintenance of Trails for Certain Uses; Voluntary Services; Payment of Expenses

Section 38A. The department of environmental management shall construct and maintain trails for horseback riding, hiking, ski touring, snowmobiling and other uses on land within its control in accordance with a plan for each area which will minimize conflicting uses. The department is authorized to prepare and publish trail maps and other informational material to inform the public of the location and nature of such trails. To the extent practicable, the voluntary services of trail-using organizations and individuals shall be utilized in carrying out the work authorized hereunder. Expenses authorized by this section and by section thirty-eight, including the acquisition of land or easements therein, surveying and mapping, and the cost of development and construction and expenses incidental thereto, may be paid out of funds theretofore or hereafter made available for the purpose of chapter one hundred and thirty-two A.
MA Gen L ch 132 § 39 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation|Chapter 132 - Forestry|Section 39 - Contributions by Cities or Towns

Section 39. The mayor, selectmen or road commissioners, or the board or officer having charge of the maintenance and care of highways, if so authorized by the city council or by the town, may agree in writing, on behalf of such city or town, to contribute money, labor or materials toward the laying out or construction of any state trail or path which the commissioner may lay out and construct within such city or town.
MA Gen L ch 132 § 40 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation|Chapter 132 - Forestry|Section 40 - Forest Cutting Practices; Declaration of Policy of Commonwealth

Section 40. It is hereby declared that the public welfare requires the rehabilitation, maintenance, and protection of forest lands for the purpose of conserving water, preventing floods and soil erosion, improving the conditions for wildlife and recreation, protecting and improving air and water quality, and providing a continuing and increasing supply of forest products for public consumption, farm use, and for the woodusing industries of the commonwealth.  Therefore, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the commonwealth that all lands devoted to forest growth shall be kept in such condition as shall not jeopardize the public interests, and that the policy of the commonwealth shall further be one of cooperation with the landowners and other agencies interested in forestry practices for the proper and profitable management of all forest lands in the interest of the owner, the public and the users of forest products.
MA Gen L ch 132 § 41 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation|Chapter 132 - Forestry|Section 41 - State Forestry Committee; Members; Forest Cutting Practices and Guidelines

Section 41. The governor shall appoint a state forestry committee, to consist of eight members representing, respectively: forest land owners; primary woodusing industries; licensed timber harvesters; consulting foresters; environmental organizations; water supply agencies; fisheries and wildlife; and one member representing the public at large. The director of the division of forests and parks, hereinafter referred to as the director, shall be an ex officio member of the committee and shall vote only in case of a tie.  In the initial appointments of said committee members, three shall be appointed for a one year term, three for a two year term, and two for a three year term. Thereafter, as the term of a committee member expires, his successor, with like qualifications as his predecessor, shall be appointed for a term of three years. Said committee shall select its own chairman. The members of said committee shall serve without pay, but shall be reimbursed for actual travelling expenses within the commonwealth, when approved by said director.  The state forestry committee, with recommendations of such other advisory committees as the director in his discretion may appoint, shall prepare tentative minimum forest cutting practices and guidelines. Before recommending any forest practices, said committee shall hold hearings, with due notice being given, in conformance with chapter thirty A, in at least three places conveniently located throughout the commonwealth. Said committee may thereafter recommend such practices or modifications thereof and submit them to the director of forests and parks. Said director shall, subject to the approval by the commissioner of environmental management, thereupon adopt the practices and place them in effect, by posting in all city and town halls in the region affected and by publication in at least one daily newspaper in every county affected. Such approved practices may be amended at any time by said committee in the same manner, on its own motion or upon the petition of not less than twenty-five forest owners or licensed timber harvesters of the commonwealth or upon petition of any person authorized under section four of chapter thirty A.