reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 30 § 62j (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30 - General Provisions Relative to State Departments, Commissions, Officers and Employees|Section 62j - Opportunities for Public to Assess Impact of Proposed Projects; Impact on Environmental Justice Population; Measures to Improve Public Participation; Meaning of Designated Geographic Area

[ Text of section added by 2021, 8, Sec. 60 effective June 24, 2021.]  Section 62J. To enable the public to assess the impact of proposed projects that affect their environment, health and safety through the project review process established under sections 61 through 62J, inclusive, the secretary shall provide opportunities for meaningful public involvement.  For any proposed project that requires the filing of an environmental notification form, the proponent of the project shall indicate on the document whether an environmental justice population that lacks English language proficiency within a designated geographical area is reasonably likely to be affected negatively by the project.  If a proposed project affects an environmental justice population, the secretary shall require additional measures to improve public participation by the environmental justice population. Such measures shall include, as appropriate: (i) making public notices, environmental notification forms, environmental impact reports, and other key documents related to the secretary's review and decisions of a project review available in English and any other language spoken by a significant number of the affected environmental justice population; (ii) providing translation services at public meetings for a significant portion of an affected environmental justice population that lacks English proficiency in the project's designated geographic area; (iii) requiring public meetings be held in accessible locations that are near public transportation; (iv) providing appropriate information about the project review procedure for the proposed project; and (v) where feasible, establishing a local repository for project review documents, notices and decisions.  The secretary of energy and environmental affairs may require such additional measures as appropriate for projects that do not require the filing of an environmental notification form pursuant to section 62A, or to improve participation opportunities for persons in an environmental justice population that lack English language proficiency and do not speak a dominant language spoken by such population.  As used in this section, the term designated geographic area shall mean an environmental justice population located within a distance of 1 mile of a project, unless the project affects air quality then the distance from such project shall be increased to within 5 miles of an environmental justice population.
MA Gen L ch 30 § 62k (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30 - General Provisions Relative to State Departments, Commissions, Officers and Employees|Section 62k - Consideration of Environmental Justice Principles; Establishment of Standards and Guidelines

[ Text of section added by 2021, 8, Sec. 60 effective June 24, 2021.]  Section 62K. The secretary shall consider the environmental justice principles, as defined in section 62, in making any policy or determination, or taking any action relating to a project review, undertaken pursuant to sections 61 through 62J, inclusive, to reduce the potential for unfair or inequitable effects upon an environmental justice population.  To further the environmental justice principles the secretary shall direct its agencies, including the departments, divisions, boards and offices under the secretary's control and authority, to consider the environmental justice principles in making any policy, determination or taking any other action related to a project review, or in undertaking any project pursuant to said sections 61 through 62J, inclusive, and related regulations that is likely to affect environmental justice populations.  In addition, the secretary shall establish standards and guidelines for the implementation, administration and periodic review of environmental justice principles by the executive office of energy and environmental affairs and its agencies.
MA Gen L ch 30 § 62l (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30 - General Provisions Relative to State Departments, Commissions, Officers and Employees|Section 62l - Environmental Justice Council; Membership; Duties; Recommendations

[ Text of section added by 2021, 8, Sec. 60 effective June 24, 2021.]  Section 62L. There shall be an environmental justice council to advise and provide recommendations to the secretary of energy and environmental affairs on relevant policies and standards to achieve the environmental justice principles. The council shall consist of not less than 9, but not more than 15, members appointed by the governor, who shall designate a chair. Members may be removed without cause, by the governor. All members shall serve without compensation.  The secretary of energy and environmental affairs shall consult with the environmental justice council before making any substantial adoptions, revisions or amendments to any regulation related to the definition of environmental justice population as defined in section 62.  The environmental justice council shall conduct a comprehensive analysis by not later than July 31, 2022, and every fifth year thereafter, to ensure the definition of environmental justice population achieves the objectives of the environmental justice principles, pursuant to the definitions of environmental justice population and environmental justice principles contained in section 62. The analysis shall include, but not be limited to, an evaluation of this definition as compared to the demographics of environmental justice populations in the commonwealth. As part of the analysis, said council shall provide advice and make recommendations to the secretary on any necessary changes to the percentage thresholds included in this definition and any related regulation. The secretary shall consider the recommendations of the council regarding any proposed changes to the percentage thresholds under this definition; provided, however, that such changes are needed to achieve and promote the environmental justice principles as defined under said section 62. Proposed regulations shall be adopted only after the approval of the council by a majority vote in the affirmative of those members so voting.  The environmental justice council may recommend and provide advice to the secretary on proposed substantial legislative or regulatory changes related to this definition at any time prior to conducting a comprehensive analysis.
MA Gen L ch 30 § 63 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30 - General Provisions Relative to State Departments, Commissions, Officers and Employees|Section 63 - Notice to State Secretary; Specifications; Report

Section 63. Every holder, as that term is defined in section one of chapter sixty-six A, shall, on or before September first, nineteen hundred and seventy-six, or upon the subsequent establishment, termination, or change in the character of such personal data system, file with the state secretary a notice which shall specify:—  (a) the name of the system;  (b) the nature and purpose of the system;  (c) the number of persons on whom data are or are expected to be maintained;  (d) the categories of data maintained, or to be maintained, indicating which categories are or will be stored in an automated personal data system;  (e) the agency's policies and practices regarding data storage, retention of data, and disposal thereof;  (f) the categories of data sources;  (g) a description of types of uses made or to be made of data, including a description of all classes of users of such data;  (h) a description of the actions taken to comply with chapter sixty-six A; and  (i) the name, title, and business address of the individual immediately responsible for the system.  The state secretary shall, at least once annually, publish a report containing all of the notices filed pursuant to this section during said year. Such report and the separate notices shall be a public record as defined in paragraph twenty-six of section seven of chapter four.
MA Gen L ch 30 § 64 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30 - General Provisions Relative to State Departments, Commissions, Officers and Employees|Section 64 - Conversion of Hospitals; Approval of General Court

Section 64. No mental health hospital or public health hospital shall be converted to use by the department of correction without the express approval of the general court.
MA Gen L ch 30a § 1a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30a - State Administrative Procedure|Section 1a - Department of Correction; Application of Chapter

Section 1A. The department of correction shall be subject to sections one through eight, inclusive, and shall not otherwise be subject to this chapter, notwithstanding the exclusion of said department from the definition of the word ''agency'' in section one.
MA Gen L ch 30a § 1b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30a - State Administrative Procedure|Section 1b - Department of Youth Services; Application of Chapter

Section 1B. The department of youth services shall be subject to sections one to eight, inclusive, and shall not otherwise be subject to this chapter, notwithstanding the exclusion of said department from the definition of the word ''agency'' in section one.
MA Gen L ch 30a § 1c (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30a - State Administrative Procedure|Section 1c - Parole Board; Application of Chapter

Section 1C. The parole board shall be subject to sections one to eight, inclusive, and shall not otherwise be subject to this chapter, notwithstanding the exclusion of said board from the definition of the word ''agency'' in section one.
MA Gen L ch 30a § 1d (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30a - State Administrative Procedure|Section 1d - Criminal Record Review Board; Application of Chapter

Section 1D. The criminal record review board shall be subject to sections 1 to 8, inclusive, and shall not otherwise be subject to this chapter.
MA Gen L ch 30a § 3a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30a - State Administrative Procedure|Section 3a - Publication of Required Notices

Section 3A. Notices filed in accordance with sections two and three shall be published by the state secretary as required by section six no later than one week prior to the date of any hearing or action to which such notices relate.
MA Gen L ch 30a § 4 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30a - State Administrative Procedure|Section 4 - Petitions for Adoption, Amendment or Repeal of Regulations

Section 4. Any interested person may petition an agency requesting the adoption, amendment or repeal of any regulation, and may accompany his petition with such data, views and arguments as he thinks pertinent. Each agency shall prescribe by regulation the procedure for the submission, consideration and disposition of such petitions.
MA Gen L ch 30a § 5a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30a - State Administrative Procedure|Section 5a - Review of Rules and Regulations Regarding Economic Impact on Small Businesses

Section 5A. Rules and regulations shall be reviewed at least once every 12 years after their publication as the final rules or regulations to ensure that those rules and regulations minimize economic impact on small businesses in a manner consistent with the stated objectives of applicable statutes.  In reviewing a rule or regulation to minimize economic impact of the rule or regulation on small businesses, the agency shall file a small business impact statement which considers the following factors:  (1) the continuing need for the rule or regulation;  (2) the nature of complaints or comments received concerning the rule or regulation from the public;  (3) the complexity of the rule or regulation;  (4) the extent to which the rule or regulation overlaps, duplicates or conflicts with other federal, state and local governmental rules and regulations;  (5) the length of time since the rule or regulation has been enacted, changed, amended or modified; and  (6) the degree to which technology, economic conditions or other factors have changed in the subject areas affected by the rule or regulation.
MA Gen L ch 30a § 6a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30a - State Administrative Procedure|Section 6a - Code of Massachusetts Regulations; Publication

Section 6A. Prior to publication of the first issue of the Massachusetts Register, the state secretary shall first cause to be published all currently effective agency regulations in a special publication of the Massachusetts Register to be designated as the ''Code of Massachusetts Regulations''.  The state secretary shall regulate the supplementation and the collation and republication of the printed codification with a view to keeping the Code of Massachusetts Regulations as current as possible.
MA Gen L ch 30a § 6b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30a - State Administrative Procedure|Section 6b - Agencies to Purchase Register Issues; Public Access

Section 6B. Each agency shall purchase a copy or copies of the issues of the register which contain regulations or notices of that agency and make at least one copy readily available in a prominent place at each of the agency's offices for the purpose of public inspection and copying. To assist interested persons dealing with it, each agency having authority to adopt regulations shall prepare and make available for inspection in a prominent place at each of its offices serving the public a list of its regulations and a description of its central and field organization, including the location of persons and places from which the public can secure information, make submittals or requests or obtain decisions. All such lists and descriptions shall be kept current.
MA Gen L ch 30a § 6c (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30a - State Administrative Procedure|Section 6c - Failure to Comply With Sec. 6b; Report

Section 6C. If the state secretary finds that any agency fails to comply with any provision of section six B, he shall report the matter to the governor and the attorney general.
MA Gen L ch 30a § 6d (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30a - State Administrative Procedure|Section 6d - Expected Regulations; Publication of List

Section 6D. The state secretary shall publish, annually, in the first issue of the Massachusetts Register a plan submitted by each executive office containing a list of regulations expected to be promulgated during the next twelve month period. The state secretary shall publish a semi-annual update of said list six months after the initial plan is published. For the purposes of this section, ''executive office'' shall include the board of regents and the department of education.  Each executive office shall publish on its website a list of statutes passed in the previous 24 months for which regulations are required and for which regulations have not been adopted, identifying the session law in which the statutory authority was passed and containing a brief statement as to the agency's plan to adopt the regulations. Semi-annually, the plan shall be updated on the website and filed with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate and the chairs of the joint committee on state administration and regulatory oversight.
MA Gen L ch 30a § 6e (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30a - State Administrative Procedure|Section 6e - Failure to Comply With Sec. 6d; Report

Section 6E. If the state secretary finds that any agency fails to comply with any provision of section six D, he shall report such noncompliance to the governor and the attorney general.
MA Gen L ch 30a § 7 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30a - State Administrative Procedure|Section 7 - Judicial Review of Regulations

Section 7. Unless an exclusive mode of review is provided by law, judicial review of any regulation or of the sufficiency of the reasons for its adoption as an emergency regulation may be had through an action for declaratory relief in the manner and to the extent provided under chapter two hundred and thirty-one A.
MA Gen L ch 30a § 8 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30a - State Administrative Procedure|Section 8 - Advisory Rulings by Agencies

Section 8. On request of any interested person, an agency may make an advisory ruling with respect to the applicability to any person, property or state of facts of any statute or regulation enforced or administered by that agency. In issuing the advisory ruling, the agency need not comply with the requirements of this chapter with respect to regulations.
MA Gen L ch 30a § 10 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30a - State Administrative Procedure|Section 10 - Adjudicatory Proceedings; Appeals

Section 10. In conducting adjudicatory proceedings, as defined in this chapter, agencies shall afford all parties an opportunity for full and fair hearing. Unless otherwise provided by any law, agencies may (1) place on any party the responsibility of requesting a hearing if the agency notifies him in writing of his right to a hearing and of his responsibility to request the hearing; (2) make informal disposition of any adjudicatory proceeding by stipulation, agreed settlement, consent order or default; (3) limit the issues to be heard or vary the procedures prescribed by section eleven, if the parties agree to such limitation or variation; and (4) allow any person showing that he may be substantially and specifically affected by the proceeding to intervene as a party in the whole or any portion of the proceeding, and allow any other interested person to participate by presentation of argument orally or in writing, or for any other limited purpose, as the agency may order.  When a party to an adjudicatory proceeding has the opportunity, by provision of any law or by regulation, to obtain more than one agency hearing on the same question, whether before the same agency or before different agencies, it shall be sufficient if the last hearing available to the party complies with the requirements of this chapter, and the earlier hearings need not so comply.  When a party has the opportunity to obtain an agency hearing, followed by one or more appeals before the same agency or before different agencies, such appeals being limited to the record made at the hearing, the appeal procedure need not comply with any requirement of this chapter for the conduct of adjudicatory proceedings except paragraphs (7) and (8) of section eleven.  When, under a provision of any law, a hearing is required only upon direction of an agency or upon request made in accordance with such provision by a person entitled to make such request, the requirements of this chapter governing the conduct of adjudicatory proceedings shall not apply unless and until such direction or request is in fact made.
MA Gen L ch 30a § 10a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30a - State Administrative Procedure|Section 10a - Damage to Environment; Intervention in Adjudicatory Proceeding; Procedure

Section 10A. Notwithstanding the provisions of section ten, not less than ten persons may intervene in any adjudicatory proceeding as defined in section one, in which damage to the environment as defined in section seven A of chapter two hundred and fourteen, is or might be at issue; provided, however, that such intervention shall be limited to the issue of damage to the environment and the elimination or reduction thereof in order that any decision in such proceeding shall include the disposition of such issue. In any proceeding pursuant to chapter 91, at least 5 of the 10 persons shall reside in the municipality in which the license or permitted activity is located. The intervention shall clearly and specifically state the facts and grounds for intervening and the relief sought, and each intervening person shall file an affidavit stating the intent to be part of the group and to be represented by its authorized representative. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, any intervener under this section may introduce evidence, present witnesses and make written or oral argument, except that the agency may exclude repetitive or irrelevant material. Any such intervener shall be considered a party to the original proceeding for the purposes of notice and any other procedural rights applicable to such proceeding under the provisions of this chapter, including specifically the right of appeal.
MA Gen L ch 30a § 11b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 30a - State Administrative Procedure|Section 11b - Studies of State Boards, Commissions and Authorities; Notice to City or Town Affected

Section 11B. All state boards and commissions and the governing boards or bodies of all such authorities which conduct a study affecting or relating to the use of an area of a city or town shall notify the mayor or city manager, if any, of the city and the presiding officer of the city council, or the chairman of the board of selectmen of the town, of the study and shall invite their participation therein. No determination shall be made and no results of the study shall be released to the public until such notification has been given with a reasonable opportunity to participate in it.