reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 24a - Reduction of Morbidity and Mortality; Establishment of Program; Information and Reports

Section 24A. The commissioner may authorize or cause to be made scientific studies and research which have for their purpose the reduction of morbidity and mortality within the commonwealth.
All information, records of interviews, written reports, statements, notes, memoranda, or other data procured in connection with such scientific studies and research conducted by the department, or by other persons, agencies or organizations so authorized by the commissioner shall be confidential and shall be used solely for the purposes of medical or scientific research.
The furnishing of such information to the department or to the authorized representative of such an authorized study or research project, shall not subject any person, hospital, sanitarium, rest home, nursing home or other person or agency furnishing such information, to any action for damages or other relief.
Such information, records, reports, statements, notes, memoranda, or other data shall not be admissible as evidence in any action of any kind in any court or before any other tribunal, board, agency or person. Such information, records, reports, statements, notes, memoranda, or other data shall not be exhibited nor their contents disclosed in any way, in whole or in part, by any officer or representative of the department, nor by any other person, except as may be necessary for the purpose of furthering the study or research project to which they relate. No person participating in such an authorized study or research project shall disclose, in any manner, the information so obtained except in strict conformity with such research project. Any person who discloses such information in violation of this section shall be punished by a fine of fifty dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 24b - Birth Information; Statistical Purposes

Section 24B. Upon the birth of any child, the physician, certified nurse midwife, administrator or other person in charge of a hospital, or any other person responsible for reporting a birth pursuant to chapter 46 shall forward to the commissioner any information, including the residence address and social security number of each parent, as required by the commissioner for administrative, research and statistical purposes, including the purposes of the IV–D agency as set forth in chapter 119A. Access to such information by the IV–D agency shall include electronic access. Such data that is included in the certificate of birth shall be transmitted within ten days of the birth of the child and shall not constitute a public record and shall not be available except for the foregoing purposes. Disclosure of information for research purposes which may identify any person named in any vital record or report restricted by section 2A of chapter 46 or by this section may only be made in accordance with regulations promulgated pursuant to section 4 of chapter 17, which regulations shall require the submission of written requests for information by researchers and the execution of research agreements that protect the confidentiality of the information provided. Such agreements shall prohibit the release by the researcher of any information that might identify any person. For the purposes of this chapter, research means a systematic investigation designed primarily to develop or contribute to general knowledge, including public health, medical, social, demographic and historical research. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the release of information or data that would not identify any person named in a vital record or report.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 24e - Comprehensive Family Planning Services; Program Establishment

Section 24E. For the purposes of this section, the term ''comprehensive family planning services'' shall mean those medical, educational, and social services that assist individuals of childbearing age, including sexually active minors, in determining the number and spacing of their children.
The department shall establish within its health promotion division a program for comprehensive family planning services for all persons without regard to religion, race, color, national origin, creed, handicap, sex, number of pregnancies, marital status, age, or contraceptive preference, who do not receive medical assistance under chapter one hundred and eighteen E.
Comprehensive family planning services provided pursuant to this section shall be no less in scope than such services provided by the department of public welfare pursuant to chapter one hundred and eighteen E. Services shall be provided in a manner which protects the dignity of the recipient. Service providers shall assure confidentiality and shall protect the privacy of recipients in a manner consistent with the provisions of 5 USC 552a. No information obtained regarding a recipient shall be disclosed without the consent of said recipient, except as required by law or as necessary to provide such services. Information may be disclosed in summary, statistical, or other form which does not identify individual recipients. Recipients shall accept such services on a voluntary basis. Income standards for eligibility shall be established by the department; provided, however, that such standards shall not be less than two hundred percent of the non-farm income poverty guidelines prescribed by the United States department of health and human services. A sworn affidavit as to income by an applicant shall be sufficient to establish eligibility. This section shall be the responsibility of the division of health promotion. Services provided hereunder shall be provided by agencies operating under the provisions of 42 USC 300, 300a or comprehensive family planning agencies as defined by the department of public welfare.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 24h - Managed Care Program Within Community Health Centers

Section 24H. The department shall, subject to appropriation, establish a program of managed care within community health centers pursuant to regulations promulgated by the department; provided, however, that the department may transfer funds to the division of medical assistance to provide medical benefits pursuant to section 9A of chapter 118E equal to the cost of providing such benefits to persons eligible for said programs. Any revenues generated by said program shall be credited to the General Fund.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 24k - Pediatric Palliative Care Program; Eligibility; Services

Section 24K. There is hereby established the pediatric palliative care program. Said program shall be administered by the department, subject to appropriation, under this section and regulations promulgated hereunder. The program shall assist eligible children with a life-limiting illness and their families or guardians with services designed to achieve an improved quality of life and to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs experienced during the course of illness, death and bereavement.
Children less than 19 years of age shall be eligible for said program if they meet the requirements established by the department, which shall include:—
(a) a diagnosis of a life-limiting illness, including but not limited to, cancer, AIDS, congenital anomalies and other advanced illnesses; provided however, no requirement regarding life expectancy shall be imposed; and
(b) a requirement that the eligible child not be covered by a third-party payer for the services provided by said program.
Services provided by the program shall be determined by the department and shall include, but not be limited to, consultations for pain and symptom management, case management and assessment, social services, counseling, bereavement services, volunteer support services, and respite services, provided by professional or volunteer staff under professional supervision. Services shall be provided by hospice programs licensed under section 57D who meet such other criteria as the department may establish by regulation, including demonstrated expertise in pediatric palliative care. The department may by regulation establish limits on services provided by said program. The program established by this section shall not give rise to enforceable legal rights in any party or an enforceable entitlement to the services described in this section and nothing stated in this section shall be construed as giving rise to such enforceable legal rights or such enforceable entitlement.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 25 - Publication of Certificate of Examination or Results of Analyses

Section 25. The department shall publish in each issue of its official departmental publication, and also, if in its opinion the public health can be served thereby, may publish in one or more newspapers in the commonwealth, a certificate of the examination or analysis made under its authority during the preceding months of any article of food manufactured or offered for sale in the commonwealth which is adulterated within the meaning of chapter ninety-four; and it shall also publish, with such certificate of examination, a statement of the trade mark, brand mark or name, with the name and place of business of the manufacturer, appearing upon the package or box containing such adulterated article, or with the name and place of business of the wholesale dealer of whom the goods were obtained.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 25d - Financing for Construction of Health Care Facility or Change in Services of Facility; Notice of Intent; Necessity of Application for Determination of Need; Acceptance of Gifts; Governmental Bodies as Applicant; Report

Section 25D. Every person, at least thirty days prior to making a public solicitation of funds or otherwise securing financing for construction of a health care facility or a substantial change in the services of a facility, shall file written notice of his intent to do so with the department. In the case of a solicitation of funds from the general public, the department may require such person to file an application for a determination of need for such construction or substantial change in services and to postpone any such public solicitation of funds until such application has been acted upon by the department and such need has been found to exist; provided, however, that failure of the department to comment upon a notice of intent shall not be construed to constitute a determination that such need exists. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any person or agency subject to sections twenty-five C to twenty-five G, inclusive, from accepting gifts, and the provisions of this section shall not apply to any such solicitation or securing of financing where the undertaking to be funded is not sufficiently specific to constitute the subject matter of an application for determination of need under section twenty-five C.
Each agency of the commonwealth and its political subdivisions desiring to make substantial capital expenditure for construction of a health care facility or to substantially change the services of such a facility shall make application for determination of need therefor pursuant to section twenty-five C, and the department shall transmit a report of its determination thereon to the agencies empowered to recommend and to make appropriations of money for the applicant agency.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 25e - Administrative Appeal to Health Facilities Appeals Board; Hearing; Decision; Judicial Review

Section 25E. Any person or agency filing an application for determination of need or empowered to request a public hearing under the provisions of section twenty-five C, and aggrieved by the determination thereof may, within fourteen days after such determination, file an appeal to the health facilities appeals board established by section one hundred and sixty-six of chapter six. The appellant shall include with any such appeal a certificate stating that said appeal is not knowingly interposed for delay.
The board in considering any such appeal shall restrict itself to a review of materials on file with the department and to consideration of whether the determination appealed from was an abuse of discretion, without observance of procedure required by law or in violation of applicable provisions of law. In the event the board determines that the materials available to it are inadequate to allow the required consideration, it may order a hearing on the appeal. Such appeal shall be heard by the board or its designated hearing officer within thirty days after its filing. If the matter is heard by a hearing officer, such officer, within thirty days after hearing, shall submit a recommended decision, reasons therefor and a determination of each issue of fact or law incident to said recommended decision to the board. The board shall, within sixty days after filing of the appeal, issue a final decision, either denying the appeal, in which case said decision shall be subject to judicial review under the provisions of section fourteen of chapter thirty A to the extent they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this section, or order the matter remanded to the department for action consistent with the opinion of the board. All proceedings of the board shall be subject to the provisions of chapter thirty A to the extent they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this section. Failure of the board to issue a final decision within one hundred and twenty days after filing of the appeal shall constitute a final decision affirming the action of the department and denying the appeal.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 25f - Rules and Regulations; Effective Date

Section 25F. The department and the health facilities appeals board are hereby authorized and directed to promulgate rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of sections twenty-five C to twenty-five G, inclusive; provided, however, that no new promulgated rule or regulation shall take effect before the thirtieth day next following the date which a copy of the rule or regulation shall have been filed with the joint committee on health care of the general court.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 25g - Enforcement of Secs. 25c to 25g

Section 25G. The superior and supreme judicial courts shall have jurisdiction, upon request of the department, the appropriate regional comprehensive health planning agency, or of any ten taxpayers in the commonwealth to enforce the provisions of sections twenty-five C to twenty-five G, inclusive. A violation of such provisions shall subject the violator to liability for a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars for each day of such violation, assessable by the superior court. Any violation of such provisions also shall constitute grounds for refusing to grant or renew, modifying or revoking the license of a health care facility or of any part thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 25h - Severability of Secs. 25c to 25g; Voidability of Provisions in Violation of Federal Law

Section 25H. The provisions of sections twenty-five B to twenty-five G, inclusive, are severable and if any provision shall be in violation of any federal rule or regulation established by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare as a condition for receiving federal funds in connection with any program administered by said department, such provision shall be null and void and such violation shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 25i - Guidelines for the Reduction of Medication Waste in Licensed Facilities

Section 25I. The department, in conjunction with the board of registration in pharmacy and the division of medical assistance, shall establish and implement guidelines to reduce medication waste in facilities licensed by the department, the department of mental health and the department of corrections. The department shall establish such guidelines, based on its review, that are determined to be effective in reducing waste without imposing unreasonable costs on the health care delivery system. In establishing such guidelines the department may consider the following: (i) current technology, standards and reimbursement mechanisms for dispensing and distributing medications to facilities; (ii) requirements implemented in other states for limiting prescription drug waste and any cost-savings realized; (iii) the commonwealth's standards for the return and re-dispensing of patient-specific schedule VI prescription drugs; and (iv) possible incentive mechanisms to prevent prescription drug waste. The department shall promulgate regulations to implement this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 25j 1/2 - Intervention Prior to Discharge From Acute-Care Hospital or Satellite Emergency Facility to Reduce Risk of Subsequent Harm and Fatality Following Opioid-Related Overdose

Section 25J1/2. An acute-care hospital, as defined in section 25B, that provides emergency services in an emergency department and a satellite emergency facility, as defined in section 511/2, shall maintain, as part of its emergency services, protocols and capacity to provide appropriate, evidence-based interventions prior to discharge that reduce the risk of subsequent harm and fatality following an opioid-related overdose including, but not limited to, institutional protocols and capacity to possess, dispense, administer and prescribe opioid agonist treatment, including partial agonist treatment, and offer such treatment to patients who present in an acute-care hospital emergency department or a satellite emergency facility for care and treatment of an opioid-related overdose; provided, however, that such treatment shall occur when it is recommended by the treating healthcare provider and is voluntarily agreed to by the patient. An acute-care hospital that provides emergency services in an emergency department, and a satellite emergency facility, shall demonstrate compliance with applicable training and waiver requirements established by the federal drug enforcement agency and the substance abuse and mental health services administration relative to prescribing opioid agonist treatment. Prior to discharge, any patient who is administered or prescribed an opioid agonist treatment in an acute care hospital emergency department or satellite emergency facility shall be directly connected to an appropriate provider or treatment site to voluntarily continue said treatment.
The department may issue regulations pursuant to this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 25k - Educational Insert Accompanying Sale of Hypodermic Syringes and Needles

Section 25K. The department shall develop an educational insert to accompany the sale of hypodermic syringes and needles. This educational insert shall include, but not be limited to: (1) information on the proper use of hypodermic syringes and needles; (2) the risk of blood-borne diseases that may result from the use of hypodermic syringes and needles and methods for preventing contracting or transmitting such diseases; (3) proper hypodermic syringe and needle disposal practices; and (4) the toll-free telephone numbers of the commonwealth's AIDS and Hepatitis C hotlines and the Massachusetts Substance Abuse Information and Education Helpline. This educational insert shall be provided to purchasers of hypodermic syringes or needles at the point of sale.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 25n 1/2 - Primary Care Residency Grant Program

Section 25N1/2. (a) As used in this section, ''primary care provider'', shall mean a health care professional qualified to provide general medical care for common health care problems who: (1) supervises, coordinates, prescribes or otherwise provides or proposes health care services; (2) initiates referrals for specialist care; and (3) maintains continuity of care within the scope of practice.
(b) Pursuant to regulations to be promulgated by the health care workforce center, there shall be established a primary care residency grant program for the purpose of financing the training of primary care providers at teaching community health centers. Eligible applicants shall include teaching community health centers accredited through affiliations with a commonwealth-funded medical school or licensed as part of a teaching hospital with a residency program in primary care or family medicine and teaching health centers that are the independently accredited sponsoring organization for the residency program and whose residents are employed by the health center. Eligible residency programs shall be accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
To receive funding, an applicant shall: (1) include a review of recent graduates of the community health center's residency program, including information regarding what type of practice said graduates are involved in 2 years following graduation from the residency program; and (2) achieve a threshold of at least 50 per cent for the percentage of graduates practicing primary care within 2 years after graduation. Graduates practicing more than 50 per cent inpatient care or more than 50 per cent specialty care as listed in the American Medical Association Masterfile shall not qualify as graduates practicing primary care.
Awardees of the primary care residency grant program shall offer a 9 to 12 month residency program and maintain their teaching accreditation as either an independent teaching community health center or as a teaching community health center accredited through affiliation with a commonwealth-funded medical school or licensed as part of a teaching hospital.
The health care workforce center shall determine through regulation grant amounts per full-time resident. Funds for such grants shall come from the Health Care Workforce Transformation Fund established under section 2FFFF of chapter 29.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 25n 3/4 - Primary Care Workforce Development and Loan Forgiveness Grant Program

Section 25N3/4. There shall be established a primary care workforce development and loan forgiveness grant program at community health centers, for the purpose of enhancing recruitment and retention of primary care physicians and other clinicians at community health centers throughout the commonwealth. The grant program shall be administered by the department of public health; provided, that the department may contract with an organization to administer the grant program. Funds may be matched by other public and private funds.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 25o - Programs to Protect Safety of Victims of Violence; Guidelines; Dissemination to and Training of Health Care Providers

Section 25O. (a) The department of public health, in consultation with other executive office of health and human services agencies and the executive office of public safety and security, shall develop guidelines regarding the establishment of programs to protect the safety of victims of violence including, but not limited to, intimate partners. The guidelines shall assure that programs shall be designed to coordinate services with existing state, community-based, and clinical resources to the maximum extent possible. The guidelines shall be developed in consultation with an advisory group to be appointed by the commissioner, composed of experts in the field of violence prevention, representatives from various health care provider associations and survivors of violence.
(b) The department shall establish a program to disseminate the guidelines and train health care providers and others as the department deems appropriate regarding the establishment of programs under the guidelines.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 26 - Boards of Health in Cities; Membership; Appointment; Removal; Compensation

Section 26. In each city, except as hereinafter provided, the board of health shall consist of three persons, one of whom shall be a physician. No one of them shall be a member of the city council. One member shall be appointed in January of each year for three years from the first Monday of the following February. Unless otherwise provided in the city charter, the members shall be appointed by the mayor, subject to confirmation by the board of aldermen, and may be removed by the mayor for cause, and vacancies shall be filled by appointment for the residue of the unexpired term. Members of the board shall receive such compensation as the city council may determine. Boards of health in towns shall be chosen as provided in chapter forty-one. This section shall not apply to any city in which a different type of organization is authorized by special legislative act or by the acceptance of sections twenty-six A to twenty-six E, inclusive.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 26a - Health Departments in Cities; Commissioners

Section 26A. A city, by accepting the provisions of this section and sections twenty-six B to twenty-six E, inclusive, by vote of the city council and approval of the mayor, and a town, by accepting the provisions of said sections by vote of the town, may create a health department to replace the board of health therein. Such health department shall consist of a commissioner of health who shall perform and exercise the duties and powers of a board of health, with the advice of an advisory council of health.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 26b - Commissioner of Health in Cities; Appointment; Removal; Qualifications

Section 26B. In a city the mayor, with the approval of the city council, unless otherwise provided in the city charter, and in a town the board of selectmen, if authorized by a vote of the town, shall appoint, and may remove for cause, a commissioner of health who shall be a citizen of the United States who has been graduated from a medical school approved by the state authority for the approval of medical schools, and either shall be the holder of a degree of public health with at least two years' full-time experience in a responsible position in public health service, or shall have had four years' full-time experience in a responsible position in such service. He shall be eligible to be registered to practice medicine under the laws of the commonwealth. Said commissioner shall devote his entire time to the performance of his duties and the supervision of the employees of the department. He shall be appointed in January for a period of five years beginning the first Monday of the following February, and until the qualification of his successor. Any vacancy in office shall be filled for the balance of the unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment. His salary shall be such as the city council or selectmen may determine.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 26c - Advisory Council of Health in Cities; Members; Qualifications; Appointment; Terms; Removal; Compensation; Meetings; Function

Section 26C. The advisory council of health shall consist of nine persons, two of whom shall be registered physicians and five of whom shall be nonprofessionals. For the purposes of this section ''nonprofessionals'' shall mean a person whose background and experience indicate that he is qualified to act in the broad public interest. Such person, his spouse, parents, siblings or children shall not be employed by a health care facility, by a nonprofit service corporation established in accordance with chapters one hundred seventy-six A to one hundred seventy-six E, inclusive, nor by a corporation authorized to insure the health of individuals. Such person or his spouse shall not be licensed to practice medicine. No member of said council shall be a member of the city council. The members of said council first appointed hereunder shall be appointed as follows:—three members to serve for one year, three members to serve for two years, and three members to serve for three years, from the first Monday of the following February, and until the qualification of their respective successors, and thereafter three members shall be appointed in January of each year for three years from the first Monday of the following February, and until the qualification of their respective successors. In a city, unless a different mode of appointment or election is provided in the city charter, the members shall be appointed by the mayor, subject to confirmation by the city council, and in a town the members shall be appointed by the board of selectmen. Members may be removed in the same manner, for cause, and vacancies shall be filled in the same manner, by appointment for the remainder of the unexpired term. Members of the advisory council of health shall be compensated at ten dollars a day while on duty plus expenses incurred in line of duty. Said council shall meet quarterly and additional meetings may be held at any time at the call of the commissioner of health who shall act as chairman of said council. The advisory council of health shall advise and assist the commissioner of health.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 26d - Abolition of Boards of Health in Cities and Towns Upon Qualification of Commissioner

Section 26D. Upon the qualification of the commissioner of health first appointed under section twenty-six B, the terms of the then existing members of the board of health of the city or town shall terminate and said offices shall thereupon be abolished.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 26e - Rules and Regulations for Departments of Health; Assistants and Clerks

Section 26E. Every such commissioner of health shall make rules and regulations for the department of health, its officers, agents and assistants. He may appoint such necessary assistants and clerks as may be required to execute the health laws and regulations of the department. They shall devote their entire time to the performance of their duties unless specifically employed on a part-time basis.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 26f - List of Hazardous Chemicals in Water Supply; Effects

Section 26F. In any city or town which accepts the provisions of this section, the board of health of such city or town shall annually publish a list, a copy of which shall be posted in the town or city hall and at the offices of the water department of hazardous chemicals which are present in the municipal water supply in concentrations greater than fifty per cent of the suggested action guidelines, the suggested no adverse response levels or the maximum contaminant levels established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Such list shall also include a brief and clear description of the effects of said chemicals upon the human body.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 26g - Septic System Installers; Inspections

Section 26G. In any city, town or district which accepts the provisions of this section notwithstanding the provisions of section seventeen of chapter two hundred and sixty-eight A, a septic system installer who is appointed or elected to the board of health may engage or work at the business of septic system installation within the area over which the board of health has jurisdiction while serving as a board member; provided, however, that neither the board of health member nor the board shall inspect a septic system installation done by said board of health member, or said member's partner, employer, employee or co-employee. The inspection of work so done shall be performed either by the board of health of another city, town or district or by a special assistant health agent who is appointed solely for the purpose of performing such inspections by the mayor of a city, the board of selectmen of a town or the governing board of a district. If the board of selectmen also serves as the board of health, said septic system installer shall not participate in the appointment of special assistant health agent.
This section shall take effect upon its acceptance in a city, by the vote of the city council, subject to the provisions of the charter of such city; in a town, by a vote of town meeting; in a municipality having a town council form of government, by a vote of the town council, subject to the provisions of the charter of such municipality; and, in a district, by the vote as above provided of the cities and towns of the districts.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 27 - Organization of Boards; Appointment of Physician and Clerk; Compensation

Section 27. Every such board shall organize annually by the choice of one of its number as chairman. It may make rules and regulations for its own government and for the government of its officers, agents and assistants. It may appoint a physician to the board, who shall hold his office during its pleasure, may choose a clerk, who in a city shall not be a member of the board, and may employ the necessary officers, agents and assistants to execute the health laws and its regulations. It may fix the salary or other compensation of such physician and its clerk and other agents and assistants.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 27c - Reimbursement of Regional Health Districts; Qualification; Formula for Allocation of State Funds for Operating Expenses

Section 27C. (1) Each regional health district established under section 27B shall be entitled to reimbursement from the commonwealth, subject to appropriation, for expenditures incurred by it for initial capital outlays, including the acquisition, construction, improvement or renovation of any buildings or premises for the use of the district and any original furnishings and equipment therefor, but excluding the costs of supplies, salaries and other expenses for the ordinary maintenance and operation of the district. The department shall establish, by regulation, a formula for allocating state funds for initial capital outlays to each regional health district. In order to qualify for such reimbursement, a regional board of health shall, before incurring any expenses reimbursable under this section, submit to the commissioner an itemized statement of all proposed expenditures for such purposes. The commissioner shall examine such statement and shall notify such board to what extent, in his opinion, the proposed expenditures are reasonably necessary for the purposes of the regional health district and reimbursable hereunder, and the probable amount of reimbursement therefor. Within 3 months after the date of final payment for such capital outlays the board shall submit to the commissioner a certified statement of its actual expenditures for such purposes. If satisfied that the expenditures so certified are reimbursable and not unreasonable or excessive, the commissioner shall certify to the comptroller and the treasurer shall forthwith pay to such regional health district, from any amounts appropriated therefor, the amount of such approved reimbursement.
(2) A formula shall be established, subject to appropriation, for allocating state funds for operating expenses to each regional health district. This formula shall include the requirement of municipal matching funds on a basis to be determined from the annual tax receipts of each participating city or town. Districts receiving state funds shall meet the performance standards and personnel qualifications adopted by the department of public health pursuant to section 27B. Such regional health districts may use additional funds, which they may secure from other sources. In the event that a city or town fails to appropriate its required matching funds from the annual tax receipts, such city or town shall be removed from the regional health district.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 27e - Registration of Sanitarians

Section 27E. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
''Department'', the department of public health.
''Registered sanitarian'', a sanitarian who has been duly registered by the department and who maintains such active registration.
''Sanitarian'', a person with broad basic education, experience in the physical, biological and social sciences, supplemented by specialization in the field of sanitary sciences and technology, and who is qualified to carry out instructional and inspectional duties and enforce the laws in the field of environmental sanitation.
(b) The department shall establish requirements for the registration of sanitarians in the commonwealth. The department shall prescribe the duties and qualifications of a registered sanitarian and shall develop a process and application for registration as a sanitarian. The department shall establish minimum standards for educational qualifications of applicants. A person who desires to be registered as a sanitarian and who meets this educational qualification shall complete an application, on a form to be prescribed and furnished by the department and shall include with such application proof of satisfactory education, training and experience to meet the requirements for certification and proof of having passed such licensing examination as approved or administered by the department. The application shall include an examination, the sufficiency of which is to be determined by the department. The application shall be accompanied by a registration fee to be determined by the secretary of administration and finance under section 3B of chapter 7. If the applicant is determined qualified by the department, the applicant shall be registered by the department as a sanitarian, with the right to use the title registered sanitarian and the letters ''R.S.''
(c) Such registration shall expire at the end of the calendar year and may be renewed not later than January 15 of the following year; provided, however, that a person seeking such renewal shall provide evidence of such continuing education as the department shall require by regulation. The fee for renewal of registration shall be determined by the secretary of administration and finance under section 3B of chapter 7 and shall be acknowledged by sending the person certified a notice of renewal.
(d) The department shall promulgate such rules and regulations as necessary to administer this chapter. Such rules and regulations may provide for the issuance of certificates of registration without examination to persons holding certificates of registration or licenses as sanitarians under the laws of another state.
(e) No individual may assume such title or list the credentials of registered sanitarian to indicate that the person is a registered sanitarian unless so registered by the department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 27f - Certification of Health Officers

Section 27F. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
''Certified health officer'', a health officer who has been duly certified by the department and who maintains such active certification.
''Department'', the department of public health.
''Health officer'', a person with a broad basic education and experience in the physical and biological and social sciences supplemented by specialization in the field of health administration and who is qualified to carry out public health administrative duties and enforce the laws in the field of public health.
(b) The department shall establish the requirements for the certification of health officers. The department shall prescribe the duties and qualifications of a certified health officer and shall develop a process and application for certification as a health officer. The department shall establish minimum standards for educational qualifications of applicants. A person who desires to be certified as a health officer and who meets the educational qualifications shall complete an application, on a form to be prescribed and furnished by the department and shall include with such application proof of satisfactory education, training and experience to meet the requirements for certification and proof of having passed the licensing examination as approved or administered by the department. The application shall be accompanied by a registration fee to be determined by the secretary of administration and finance under section 3B of chapter 7. If the department deems the educational qualifications of an applicant are satisfactory and if such applicant passes a written examination satisfactory to the department, the department shall issue to the applicant a certificate, with the right to use the title certified health officer and the letters ''CHO''.
(c) Health officer certification shall expire at the end of the calendar year and may be renewed on or before January 15 of the following year; provided, however, that a person seeking such renewal shall provide evidence of such continuing education as the department shall require by regulation. The fee for certification or renewal shall be determined by the secretary of administration and finance under section 3B of chapter 7 and shall be acknowledged by sending the person certified a notice of renewal.
(d) The department shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to administer this chapter. Such rules and regulations may provide for the issuance of certification without examination to any person holding a certification as health officer under the laws of another state.
(e) No person shall use the title or list the credentials of certified health officer to indicate that the person is a certified health officer unless the person is certified by the department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 28 - Annual Reports of Boards of Health

Section 28. In each city such board shall annually in January make a full and comprehensive report to the city council of its acts during the preceding year and of the sanitary condition of the city. It shall also, if the city council or the standing committee on finance thereof so requires, send to the city auditor a detailed estimate of the appropriation required by its department for the next financial year.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 30 - Agents; Appointment; Inspections

Section 30. Boards of health may appoint agents or directors of public health to act for them in cases of emergency or if they cannot conveniently assemble, and any such agent or director shall have all the authority which the board appointing him had; but he shall in each case within two days report his action to the board for its approval, and shall be directly responsible to it and under its direction and control. An agent or director of public health appointed to make sanitary inspections may make complaint of violations of any law, ordinance or by-law relative to the public health.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 31a - Permit for Removal or Transportation of Garbage; Application; Exemptions

Section 31A. No person shall remove or transport garbage, offal or other offensive substances through the streets of any city or town without first obtaining a permit from the board of health of such city or town; provided, however, that no rules or regulations shall restrict the hours of the day when garbage, offal or other offensive substances may be collected in areas zoned for business, commercial or industrial use. An application for such permit shall be in such form and contain such information, on oath, as such board shall require. All such permits shall expire at the end of the calendar year in which they are issued, but may be renewed annually on application as herein provided. No permit shall be transferred except with the approval of the said board.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, any person may, without such a permit, transport garbage, offal or other offensive substances through the streets of a city or town in which said substances were not collected; provided, that he registers with the board of health of such city or town; and, provided further, that he transports said substances in accordance with such reasonable rules and regulations as may be established by such board of health. Motor vehicles owned by the commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions and motor vehicles engaged under contract with the commonwealth in the transportation of garbage or refuse shall be exempt from the provisions of this section; provided, however, that a city or town may recommend to the department of highways, in writing, an alternative route of travel for such motor vehicles whereby the noise or nuisance incident to such travel shall be minimized or abated and said department shall consider such alterations or changes in the travel routes of such motor vehicles as will result in the minimization of such noise or nuisance.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 31b - Rules and Regulations for Removal of Garbage; Penalty

Section 31B. Boards of health shall, from time to time, make rules and regulations for the control of the removal, transportation or disposal of garbage, offal or other offensive substances. Whoever violates any provision of section thirty-one A, or of any rule or regulation made thereunder, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars.