reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 95 - Measuring of Leather › Section 5 - Counterfeiting, Altering or Defacing Marks of Measurer

Section 5. Whoever counterfeits or causes to be counterfeited, or, not being a sworn measurer, alters or defaces with intent to deceive, a measurer's marks on a skin or side or other portion of leather shall be punished by a fine of twenty-five dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 96 - Measurement of Lumber › Section 8 - Acting in Adjoining Towns; Application for License; Fee

Section 8. A measurer of lumber in any town may apply to the selectmen of an adjoining town for a license to measure lumber therein, and if the selectmen are of the opinion that it will be for the public convenience they may, upon payment of a fee not exceeding one dollar, grant such license, and may limit the territory in which such license may be exercised. Such a license shall remain in force while the licensee holds the office of measurer in the town for which he was chosen, but not later than the next annual town meeting of said town.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 96 - Measurement of Lumber › Section 9 - Fraud or Deceit in Measuring, Marking or Numbering Lumber; Refusal to Measure

Section 9. A measurer of lumber for any city or town who is guilty of or connives at a fraud or deceit in measuring, marking or numbering the contents of any kind of wood or lumber, or who, when lawfully requested, refuses without good reason to measure lumber, shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty nor more than two hundred dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 96 - Measurement of Lumber › Section 10 - Fraud of Seller or Purchaser; Inducing False Measurements

Section 10. A seller or purchaser of lumber who induces or attempts to induce a measurer to make a false measurement shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty nor more than two hundred dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 96 - Measurement of Lumber › Section 11a - International Log Rule; Standard Rule for Determining Foot Content

Section 11A. The international log rule, based upon one fourth inch saw kerf, as expressed in the formula (D
2
× 0.22) – 0.71D) × 0.904762 for four foot sections (D represents top diameter of log in inches; taper allowance, one half inch per four feet lineal), shall be the standard log rule for determining the board foot content of saw logs in this commonwealth, and all contracts entered into for the purchase and sale of saw logs shall be deemed to be made on the basis of such standard rule, unless some other method of measurement is specifically agreed upon.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 97 - Surveying of Land › Section 1 - Posts and Pillars Indicating Meridian Lines; Ownership; Accessibility; Destruction or Injury

Section 1. The posts or pillars erected pursuant to chapter two hundred and eighty-six of the acts of eighteen hundred and seventy to indicate the true meridian lines shall remain the property of the respective counties in which they are situated, under the care of the county commissioners, and shall be accessible to any surveyor or civil engineer residing in the same county or engaged in surveying therein, for the purpose of testing the variation of the compass for the time being. Whoever wilfully displaces, alters, defaces, destroys or otherwise injures any of the aforesaid posts or the fixtures thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars, to be divided between the complainant and the county.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 97 - Surveying of Land › Section 2 - Annual Adjustment and Verification of Compass; Record

Section 2. Every land surveyor shall, at least once in every year, adjust and verify his compass by the meridian line so established in the county in which his surveys are to be made, insert in his field notes both the true and the magnetic bearings of the lines of his surveys and the days on which such lines were run and shall enter in a book open to public inspection, to be provided by the commissioners of each county and kept by the clerk of courts, or by a person appointed by the commissioners therefor, the variation of his compass from the true meridian, whether east or west, and shall sign and make oath to such entry.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 97 - Surveying of Land › Section 3 - Use of Measuring Devices

Section 3. Every land surveyor shall use only tapes or other types of measuring devices which have been approved for use under regulations promulgated by the board of registration of professional engineers and land surveyors as authorized by sections eighty-one D to eighty-one T, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and twelve. All tapes and measuring devices shall be compared for accuracy of calibration to a baseline whose length has been determined in conformance with national standards for linear measurement in a manner and frequency authorized by said board of registration. Records of compliance shall be exhibited upon demand to the said board of registration. Whoever violates any provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars and is also subject to further action by said board of registration as authorized by section eighty-one P of said chapter one hundred and twelve.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 97 - Surveying of Land › Section 7 - Failure to Adjust Compass

Section 7. A surveyor who violates the provisions of section two, if he has used his compass to measure an angle in surveying within the year preceding, shall be punished by a fine of ten dollars, to be divided between the complainant and the county.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 97 - Surveying of Land › Section 8 - Massachusetts Coordinate System Nad, 1983; Mainland and Island Zones

Section 8. The system of plane rectangular coordinates shall be the North American Datum of 1983 as established by the National Ocean Services/National Geodetic Survey (NOS/NGS), or its successors for defining and stating the geographic positions or locations of points on the surface of the earth within the commonwealth and shall be known as the Massachusetts Coordinate System North American Datum (NAD), 1983.
For the purposes of the use of said system the commonwealth is hereby divided into a mainland zone and an island zone.
The area now included in the following counties shall constitute the mainland zone: Barnstable, Berkshire, Bristol, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk and Worcester.
The area now included in the counties of Dukes County and Nantucket shall constitute the island zone.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 97 - Surveying of Land › Section 9 - Zones, Designation

Section 9. As established for use in the mainland zone, said system shall be named, and in any land description in which it is used it shall be designated, the ''Massachusetts Coordinate System, NAD 1983, Mainland Zone''.
As established for use in the island zone, said system shall be named, and in any land description in which it is used it shall be designated, the ''Massachusetts Coordinate System, NAD 1983, Island Zone''.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 97 - Surveying of Land › Section 10 - Coordinates, Definition

Section 10. The plane rectangular coordinates of a point on the earth's surface, shall be used in expressing the position or location of such point in the appropriate zone of said system, and shall consist of two distances, either expressed in meters and decimals of meters or in the United States survey feet and decimals of a foot. One of these distances, to be known as the easting or ''X'' coordinate shall give the position in an east-west direction; the other to be known as the northing or ''Y'' coordinate shall give the position in a north-south direction. Such coordinates shall be made to depend upon and conform to the plane rectangular metric coordinates values for the horizontal control stations of the North American Horizontal, Geodetic Control Network as published by said National Ocean Service, National Geodetic Survey or its successors, and whose plane coordinates have been computed on the systems defined in this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 97 - Surveying of Land › Section 11 - Conversion of Meters to United States Survey Feet

Section 11. Nothing contained in this chapter shall prohibit the conversion of the coordinates on the metric system to the United States Survey Foot nor shall the use of distances in feet and decimals of a foot be prohibited from any map, report of survey, deed, or other document. For conversion of meters to United States survey feet, the meters shall be multiplied by 39.37 and divided by 12 which results in a constant multiplier having a value of 3.28083333333 to 12 significant figures.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 97 - Surveying of Land › Section 12 - Massachusetts Coordinate System Nad, 1983; Definition

Section 12. For the purpose of more precisely defining said system:
1. The Massachusetts Coordinate System, NAD, 1983, Mainland Zone, Federal Zone Code M2001, is a Lambert conformal conic projection of the North American Datum of 1983, having standard parallels at north latitudes 41° (degrees) 43′ (minutes), and 42° (degrees) 41′ (minutes), along which parallels the scale shall be exact. The origin of coordinates is at the intersection of meridian 71° (degrees) 30′ (minutes), west of Greenwich and the parallel 41° (degrees) 00′ (minutes), north latitude. This origin shall have the coordinates: North (Y) = 750,000 meters and East (X) = 200,000 meters.
2. The Massachusetts Coordinate System, NAD 1983, Island Zone, Federal Zone Code I 2002 is a Lambert conformal conic projection of the North American Datum of 1983, having standard parallels at north latitudes 41° (degrees) 17′ (minutes) and 41° (degrees) 29′ (minutes), along which parallels the scale shall be exact. The origin of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian, 70° (degrees) 30′ (minutes), west of Greenwich and the parallel 41° (degrees) 00′ (minutes), north latitude. This origin shall have the coordinates North (Y) = 0 meters and East (X) = 500,000 meters.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 97 - Surveying of Land › Section 13 - Limitation on Use of Name of System

Section 13. The use of the term ''Massachusetts Coordinate System'' on any map, report of survey, or deed or other document, shall be limited to coordinates based on the Massachusetts State Plane Coordinate System as defined in sections eight to thirteen, inclusive.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 97 - Surveying of Land › Section 14 - Coordinate System Nad, 1927; Continued Use

Section 14. The coordinate system based upon the North American Datum of 1927 which prior to the enactment of this statute was defined as the Massachusetts Coordinate System shall be now designated the Coordinate System, North American Datum of 1927, (NAD 1927), and can continue in use for the preparation of any maps, reports of survey, or other documents, until such time as the Board of Registration of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors declares, with the concurrence of the chief engineer of the Massachusetts department of public works, by regulation that said Coordinate System, (North American Datum of 1927), shall no longer be used except for interpreting existing maps, reports of surveys, deeds or other documents. For the Coordinate System, North American Datum, 1927 the commonwealth is divided into the same two zones defined in section eight.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 97 - Surveying of Land › Section 15 - Coordinates; Location of Points on Earth's Surface

Section 15. The plane rectangular coordinates of a point on the earth's surface, to be used in expressing the position or location of such point in the appropriate zone of said system, shall consist of two distances, expressed in feet and decimals of a foot. One of these distances, to be known as the ''X coordinate'', shall give the position in an east-west direction; the other to be known as the ''Y coordinate'', shall give the position in a north-south direction. Such coordinates shall be referred to the appropriate origin as defined in section sixteen, and shall be made to depend upon and conform to the plane rectangular coordinates of the triangulation and traverse stations of the former United States Coast and Geodetic Survey within the commonwealth, as these coordinates had been determined by said survey.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 97 - Surveying of Land › Section 16 - Coordinate System Nad, 1927; Definition

Section 16. The Coordinate System, North American Datum of 1927, Mainland Zone, consists of a Lambert conformal projection of the Clarke spheroid of eighteen hundred and sixty-six, having the standard parallels at north latitude 41° (degrees) 43′ (minutes) and 42° (degrees) 41′ (minutes), along which parallels the scale shall be exact. The origin of coordinates for this zone is at the intersection of the meridian 71° (degrees) 30′ (minutes) west longitude and the parallel 41° (degrees) 00′ (minutes) north latitude. This origin is given the coordinates:
X=600,000 feet; Y=0 feet
The NAD 1927 Coordinate System, North American Datum of 1927, Island Zone, consists of a Lambert conformal projection of the Clarke spheroid of eighteen hundred and sixty-six, having the standard parallels at north latitudes 41° (degrees) 17′ (minutes) and 41° (degrees) 29′ (minutes), along which parallels the scale shall be exact. The origin of coordinates for this zone is at the intersection of the meridian 70° (degrees) 30′ (minutes) west longitude and the parallel 41° (degrees) 00′ (minutes) north latitude. This origin is given the coordinates:
X=200,000 feet; Y=0 feet
The position of said system shall be as marked on the ground by triangulation of traverse stations established in conformity with the standards adopted by the former United States Coast and Geodetic Survey for first-order and second-order work, whose geodetic positions had been rigidly adjusted on the North American Datum of nineteen hundred and twenty-seven, and whose plane coordinates have been computed on the system herein defined. Any such station may be used for establishing a survey connection with said NAD 1927 coordinate system.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 97 - Surveying of Land › Section 17 - Use of System in Describing Locations of Survey Stations or Land Boundary Points

Section 17. For the purpose of describing the location of any survey station or land boundary point in the commonwealth it shall be a complete, legal and satisfactory description of such location to give the position of said survey station or land boundary point on the Massachusetts Coordinate System. Nothing contained in sections eight to seventeen, inclusive, shall be interpreted as requiring any purchaser or mortgagee to rely exclusively on a description based on said system.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 1 - Definitions

Section 1. In this chapter the following words, unless a different meaning is required by the context or is specifically prescribed, shall have the following meanings:
''Deputy'', deputy sealer of weights and measures certified by the director.
''Deputy director'', deputy director of standards in the office of consumer affairs and business regulation.
''Inspector'', inspector of standards certified by the director.
''Sealer'', sealer of weights and measures certified by the director.
''Committee'', the certification within the division of standards. Said committee shall consist of the director of standards, and a designee from each of the following organizations: the Massachusetts Weights and Measures Association, the Eastern Massachusetts Weights and Measures Association, the Western Massachusetts Weights and Measures Association, and the city of Boston's department of inspectional services.
''Weighing or measuring device'', all weights, measures, scales, balance beams, vibrating steelyards, and weighing or measuring devices used for weighing or measuring any commodity bought, sold or exchanged or for hire or reward, computing scales and other devices having a device for indicating or registering the price as well as the weight or measure of a commodity offered for sale, taximeters and other forms of measuring devices used upon vehicles for determining the cost of transportation; and all machines and other forms of measuring devices used or intended to be used for determining the measurement of leather bought, sold or offered for sale.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 2 - Relation of Avoirdupois Pound to Troy Pound

Section 2. The avoirdupois pound shall bear to the troy pound the relation of seven thousand to five thousand seven hundred and sixty. The hundredweight shall contain one hundred avoirdupois pounds, and the ton twenty hundredweight.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 3 - State Standards

Section 3. The following weighing and measuring devices now in the custody of the deputy director shall be the sole authorized standards, except as provided in sections four, nine and ten of this chapter, and in section one of chapter ninety-nine, and with the standards supplied under authority of said sections shall be called the state standards: a set of dry measures consisting of one half-bushel, eight, four, two and one quarts, one pint and one half-pint; a set of liquid measures consisting of one gallon, two and one quarts, one pint, two and one gills; a set of apothecaries' liquid measures consisting of one gallon, four, two and one pints, twelve, eight, six, four, three, two and one ounces, four, two and one drams, ten and five minims; a set of avoirdupois weights consisting of fifty, twenty-five, twenty, ten, five, four, three, two and one pounds, eight, six, four, three, two and one ounces, eight, six, four, three, two and one drams; a set of troy weights consisting of five thousand, three thousand, two thousand, one thousand, five hundred, three hundred, two hundred, one hundred, fifty, thirty, twenty, ten, five, three, two and one penny-weights, ten, six, five, four, three, two and one grains, one half a grain, twelve, ten, six, five, four, three, two and one ounces, five tenths, four tenths, three tenths, two tenths, one tenth, five one-hundredths, four one-hundredths, three one-hundredths, two one-hundredths, one one-hundredth, five one-thousandths, four one-thousandths, three one-thousandths, two one-thousandths, one one-thousandth, five ten-thousandths, four ten-thousandths, three ten-thousandths, two ten-thousandths and one ten-thousandth of an ounce; a set of apothecaries' weights consisting of twelve, six, two and one ounces, four, two and one drams, two and one scruples, ten, five, four, three, two and one grains, one half, one quarter and one tenth grains; a yard measure and three sets of balances.
Such standards shall be kept by the deputy director, and he shall, at least once in five years, cause them to be compared with the standards of the United States government, and, if necessary, corrected to agree therewith.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 4 - Additional State Standards; Replacement of Weights

Section 4. The state standards shall also include all weighing and measuring devices received from the United States under the resolution of congress approved June fourteenth, eighteen hundred and thirty-six, and all other weighing and measuring devices received from the United States as standard weights and measures, and such as have been or shall be supplied by the commonwealth and certified by the national bureau of standards. Weighing and measuring devices procured to replace the standards shall be preserved in the same form and of the same dimensions as required of said standards, and the denominations thereof shall be marked thereon.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 5 - Municipal Standards

Section 5. Towns shall keep the following standard weights, measures and balances: A set of avoirdupois weights consisting of fifty, twenty-five, twenty, ten, five, four, two and one pounds, and eight, four, two, one, one half, one quarter, one eighth and one sixteenth ounces; a set of dry measures consisting of one half-bushel, one eight-quart, one four-quart, one two-quart, one one-quart, one pint and one half-pint; a set of liquid measures consisting of one gallon, one half-gallon, one quart, one pint, one half-pint and one gill; one balance; one yard measure; and each town hereafter incorporated shall be furnished by the director with a complete set of the foregoing standards. Each city and each shire town shall keep the meter and kilogram and the standard troyweights designated by the director.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 6 - Safe Keeping and Preservation of Town Standards; Insurance

Section 6. In every town the sealer shall, at the expense of the town, provide therein accessible places for the safe and suitable keeping and preservation of the standards furnished by the commonwealth, which shall be used only as standards. The sealer shall have the care and oversight thereof; shall see that they are kept in good order and repair; and if any are lost, destroyed or irreparably damaged, shall, at the expense of the town, replace them by similar standards. Towns may effect insurance on such standards for their own benefit.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 7 - Neglect to Provide Suitable Place for Keeping Standards; Loss or Damage

Section 7. Every such sealer who neglects to provide a suitable place for keeping such standards, or to keep them in good order and repair, or who suffers any of them through his neglect to be lost, damaged or destroyed, shall forfeit five hundred dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 9 - State Clinical Standard Thermometer; Certification

Section 9. A clinical standard thermometer supplied by the commonwealth and certified by the national bureau of standards for use by the commonwealth, shall be the state clinical standard thermometer. Nothing in the five following sections shall be construed as adopting or authorizing the adoption of any particular scale as the thermometer standard for this commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 10 - Office Clinical Standard Thermometers; Verification; Comparisons

Section 10. The commonwealth shall also supply additional clinical standard thermometers necessary to carry out sections nine to fourteen, inclusive, to be known as office clinical standards. Such thermometers shall be verified by the deputy director upon their receipt and at least once in each six months thereafter, by direct comparison with the state clinical standard thermometer. The office clinical standards may be used in making comparisons of clinical thermometers under test.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 11 - Tolerances and Specifications for Clinical Thermometers

Section 11. The deputy director shall promulgate tolerances and specifications for clinical thermometers. A correct clinical thermometer shall be one conforming to the standard established as provided in section nine and to specifications promulgated under this section, within such tolerances.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 12 - Inspection and Testing of Clinical Thermometers; Certification; Fees

Section 12. The deputy director may at any time inspect and test any clinical thermometer in the possession of any manufacturer or dealer in this commonwealth and for this purpose may remove the same to such place as he may deem most convenient. Whenever he inspects and tests such a thermometer and finds it to be correct he shall certify it as correct. Whenever he inspects and tests such a thermometer and finds it to be incorrect he may condemn, seize and destroy it; or he may return it to the owner upon a satisfactory guarantee that it will not be sold or used.
Fees, as determined annually by the commissioner of administration under the provision of section three B of chapter seven, for testing clinical thermometers shall be paid to the deputy director for the use of the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 13 - Manufacture and Sale of Clinical Thermometers

Section 13. The deputy director shall prescribe rules and regulations governing the manufacture and sale of clinical thermometers and may require representative samples of any clinical thermometer to be submitted by the manufacturer to the deputy director and approved by him. Clinical thermometers shall be marked with the name, initials or trade mark of the manufacturer. The deputy director may revoke the authority given by him to any manufacturer under the provisions of this section upon proof that the prescribed rules and regulations have not been complied with.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 14 - Penalties for Violation of Sec. 13

Section 14. Whoever, himself or by his servant or agent, or as the servant or agent of another person, keeps for the purpose of sale, offers or exposes for sale, or sells any clinical thermometer not sealed, marked or certified as correct by the deputy director, or by the manufacturer as provided by the preceding section, shall be punished by a fine of not more than ten dollars for each thermometer so sold, or kept, offered or exposed for sale, and whoever violates any rule or regulation prescribed by the deputy director under authority of said section shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 14a - Glass Bottle or Jars for Lubricating Oil; Quality; Capacity; Sealing; Revocation of Authority; False or Insufficient Measure; Inspection of Bottles or Jars

Section 14A. Glass bottles or jars intended to be used in the sale of lubricating oil shall be made of clear, uncolored glass and shall be manufactured only in the following capacities: one gallon, two quarts, one quart, or one pint, Massachusetts standard liquid measure. Each bottle or jar shall have its capacity clearly blown in the glass and shall be sealed by the manufacturer thereof, as hereinafter provided, or by a sealer of the town where the user resides or has a usual place of business. The deputy director shall prescribe regulations, including specifications and tolerances, governing the sealing of such bottles or jars by the manufacturer and may authorize such sealing by any manufacturer upon his written agreement to comply with such regulations. The deputy director may at any time, for cause, revoke the authority so given by him to any manufacturer. When sealed by the manufacturer, such bottles or jars shall have clearly blown therein his name, initials or trade mark, and any other designating marks which the deputy director may authorize or require. The sealing of such bottles or jars by the manufacturer shall not exempt the user from the laws relating to the giving of false or insufficient measure, the using of a false measure, or having in his possession a false measure with intent to use. Sealers of the town where the user resides or has a usual place of business shall at least annually inspect bottles or jars marked and sealed in accordance with this section and shall make a record of such inspections. When once sealed as herein required, such bottles and jars need not again be sealed while in the same condition as when first sealed.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 15 - Glass Bottles or Jars for Milk or Cream; Capacity; Sealing; Designating Mark; False Measure; Revocation of Authority

Section 15. Glass bottles or jars used for the sale of milk or cream to the consumer shall be of the capacity of one gallon, a multiple of the gallon, or a binary submultiple of the gallon. Dealers in milk or cream using glass bottles or jars for the distribution of milk or cream to consumers, not sealed by the manufacturer, shall bring them into the office of the sealer in their town, to be sealed; but no fee shall be charged or received for sealing them. If a bottle or jar has once been sealed by a sealer or manufacturer, it need not be sealed again while used for the distribution of milk or cream to consumers. Glass bottles or jars sealed hereunder shall be legal measures only for the distribution of milk or cream to consumers. Bottles or jars sealed by the manufacturer shall be marked with his name, initials, or trade mark, and by any other mark required by the deputy director. The sealing of such bottles or jars by the manufacturer shall not affect any law relating to the giving of false measure or the using, or having in possession, of false measures with intent to use the same. The deputy director, on approval by the director of consumer affairs and business regulation, may revoke the authority given by him to any manufacturer under this section, on proof that the authorized seal or designating mark has been affixed to any bottle or jar not conforming to the respective capacities provided for in this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 16 - Paper or Fibre Bottles and Jars for Milk or Cream; Capacity; Sealing; Stamping

Section 16. Paper or fibre bottles and jars used for the distribution of milk or cream to consumers, and holding, when filled to a level with the bottom of the cap or stopple, not less than eight, sixteen, thirty-two, forty-eight or sixty-four ounces, shall be sealed as measures under section forty-one or fifty-one, or by the manufacturer in the manner provided in the preceding section, and when so sealed may be used as provided by law for glass milk jars and bottles. Every such bottle or jar shall have plainly stamped upon it by the manufacturer the words: ''Penalty for re-use, twenty-five dollars.''
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 17 - Re-Use of Paper or Fibre Bottles or Jars for Milk, Cream or Other Liquids

Section 17. Whoever re-uses any such paper or fibre bottle or jar for distributing milk, cream or other liquid used for food after such bottle or jar has been once used therefor, shall be punished by a fine of not more than twenty-five dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 18 - Markings on Cans or Containers for Milk or Cream; Sealing; Rules and Regulations; Revocation of Authority; Designating Marks; False or Insufficient Measure; Inspection

Section 18. All cans or containers sold for use in the purchase or sale of milk or cream at wholesale shall have their capacity plainly, conspicuously and indelibly marked thereon in terms of liquid quarts. They shall be sealed by the manufacturer thereof, as hereinafter provided, or by a sealer of the town where the user resides or has a usual place of business. The deputy director shall prescribe regulations governing the sealing of such cans or containers by the manufacturer and may authorize such sealing by any manufacturer upon his agreement to conform to said regulations. The deputy director may at any time, for cause, revoke the authority so given by him to any manufacturer. When sealed by the manufacturer, such cans or containers shall be marked with his name, initials or trade mark and with any other designating marks which the deputy director may require. The sealing of such containers by the manufacturer shall not exempt the user from the laws relative to giving a false or insufficient measure, using a false measure, or having the same in possession with intent to use. Sealers of the town where the user resides or has a usual place of business shall at least annually inspect all cans or containers marked and sealed in accordance with this section and shall make a record of such inspections. When once sealed as herein required, a can or container need not again be sealed while in the same condition as when first sealed.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 19 - Penalties for Violation of Sec. 18

Section 19. Whoever, by himself or by his servant or agent, or as the servantor agent of another person, sells any can or container to be used in the purchase or sale of milk or cream at wholesale that is not marked and sealed as required by the preceding section, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding ten dollars for each can or container so sold or shall be subject to a civil citation as provided in section 29A. Whoever, by himself or by his servant or agent, or as the servant or agent of another person, uses any can or container in the purchase or sale of milk or cream at wholesale that is not marked and sealed as required by the preceding section, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding ten dollars for each offense or shall be subject to a civil citation as provided in section 29A. The deputy director, inspectors and sealers shall enforce the provisions of this and the preceding section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 20 - Containers for Sale of Ice Cream, Frozen Desserts or Frozen Dessert Mix; Capacity; Sealing; Designating Mark; False or Insufficient Measure

Section 20. All cans, moulds or other containers used in the sale of ice cream or other frozen desserts and/or frozen dessert mix by measure shall be of the capacity of Massachusetts standard liquid measure. Such cans, moulds or other containers shall be sealed, as hereinafter provided, by the manufacturer thereof, or by a sealer, and shall not be legal measures except for ice cream or other frozen desserts and/or frozen dessert mix. When sealed by the manufacturer, such containers shall be marked with his name, initials or trade mark. They may also be marked with any other designating mark assigned to him by the deputy director; provided, that he has agreed to conform to the regulations made by the deputy director relative thereto. When such containers have not been sealed by the manufacturer, they shall be sealed, before they are used, by a sealer, and the dealer who intends to use them shall bring such containers to the office of such sealer for that purpose, but no fee shall be charged for sealing them. The sealing of such containers by the manufacturer shall not be held to exempt the user from the laws relating to the giving of false or insufficient measure, or the using of a false measure, or having in his possession a false measure with intent to use.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 21 - Semi-Annual Inspection of Ice Cream, Frozen Desserts or Frozen Dessert Mix Containers

Section 21. Sealers shall inspect at least semiannually all cans, moulds or other containers sealed in accordance with the preceding section, and shall make a record of such inspection. If a container has once been sealed as aforesaid, it shall not be necessary to have it sealed again while it is used for the sale of ice cream or other frozen desserts and/or frozen dessert mix as long as it remains in the same condition as when first sealed.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 22 - Paper or Fibre Cartons for Sale of Viscous or Semi-Solid Commodities; Capacity; Shape; Dimensions; Markings

Section 22. Paper or fibre cartons which are used for the sale by measure of viscous or semi-solid commodities or mixtures of solids and liquids shall contain and shall be sold as containing one gill, one half pint, one pint, one quart, two quarts, one gallon, two and one half gallons, three and one half gallons, and multiples of the gallon, Massachusetts standard liquid measure. Such cartons shall be of such shape and dimensions as may be approved by the deputy director. Whenever the shape and dimensions of any such carton have been so approved, the deputy director may authorize the manufacturer to have printed thereon a statement of its capacity in terms of Massachusetts standard liquid measure and with such other words and marking as the deputy director may require. Such cartons shall be legal measure only for such commodities as may be designated by the deputy director and shall be exempt from the laws requiring the sealing of measures.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 23 - Testing Capacity of Containers; Seizure; Complaint; Revocation of Authority

Section 23. A sealer or deputy of any city or town or the deputy director or an inspector may, if he so desires, and shall, upon complaint, test the capacity of any container which is used or intended to be used as a measure under sections twenty to twenty-four, inclusive; and if the same does not conform to the law, he shall seize it and enter complaint. The deputy director may, at any time, for due cause, revoke any authority or permit granted by him to any manufacturer under said sections.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 24 - Penalty for Unauthorized Marking

Section 24. Whoever violates any provision of sections twenty to twenty-three, inclusive, and whoever marks a container or other measure, or procures the same to be marked or has printed thereon or procures to have marked or printed thereon, a mark, number or designation without the approval or authority of the deputy director, except as provided in section twenty, shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars or shall be subject to a civil citation as provided in section 29A.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 25 - Condemnation of Weighing or Measuring Devices; Marking; Removal of Notice

Section 25. All weighing or measuring devices which cannot be made to conform to the standard shall be stamped, marked or labelled ''Condemned'' or ''CD'' by the sealer. Weighing or measuring devices in possession of a merchant or vendor not used for buying or selling, or for weighing and measuring for hire or reward shall be plainly marked by the sealer with a notice that such articles have not been sealed under this chapter. Whoever removes said notice without the consent of the person affixing the same shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars or shall be subject to a civil citation as provided in section 29A.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 26 - Use or Possession of False or Condemned Devices

Section 26. Whoever uses, or has in possession with intent to use, a false or condemned weighing or measuring device for weighing or measuring any commodity bought, sold or exchanged, or for hire or reward, shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars or shall be subject to a civil citation as provided in section 29A. The possession of such weighing or measuring device shall be prima facie evidence of intention to use it in violation of law.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 27 - Use of Unsealed Weighing or Measuring Devices

Section 27. Whoever sells or, if by the custom of trade such weighing or measuring devices are provided by the buyer, buys, by any weighing or measuring device which has not been sealed according to law shall forfeit not more than twenty dollars to the use of the person suing therefor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 28 - Recovery of Market Value of Goods for Use of Unsealed Devices

Section 28. A seller may recover the fair market value of goods, wares or merchandise sold, if they were, for the purpose of the sale, weighed or measured upon weighing or measuring devices not sealed according to law, or weighed or measured by a person not a sworn weigher, measurer or surveyor, or by a person not authorized by law to weigh or measure the same, if such sale is made in good faith and the purchaser is not injured thereby.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 28a - Sealing and Testing of Meters for Measuring Liquefied Petroleum Gas; Tolerances; Revocation of Authority

Section 28A. Meters for measuring liquefied petroleum gas sold in the vapor state and household type liquid petroleum meters shall be sealed by the manufacturer thereof as hereinafter provided or by a sealer of weights and measures in the town where the meter is used. The deputy director of standards shall prescribe regulations including specifications and tolerances governing the testing and sealing of such meters by the manufacturers and method of determining quantity of liquefied petroleum gas, and other liquid petroleum heating oils, and may authorize any manufacturer to seal such meters upon written agreement to conform to such regulations. The deputy director may at any time for cause revoke the authority so given by him to any manufacturer. The deputy director or his inspectors under his direction shall test and seal or condemn, according to the results of such test, all meters for measuring liquefied petroleum gas sold in the liquid state. For the purposes of this section the term ''liquefied petroleum gas'' shall mean and include any material which is composed predominantly of any of the following hydrocarbons or mixtures of the same: propane, propylene, butane (normal or isobutane) and butylene; and the term ''household type liquid petroleum meters'' shall mean positive displacement meters installed between the liquid heating oil storage tank and the oil burner for the purpose of determining the quantity of liquid heating oil consumed.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 29a - Civil Citation for Violation of Weights and Measures Laws; Appeal

Section 29A. As an alternative to initiating criminal proceedings for violations of the following weights and measures laws: section 115A of chapter 6; sections 92B, 96, 98, 174A, 176, 177, sections 181 to 183, inclusive, section 184E, sections 295A to 295K, inclusive, sections 299 and 303F of chapter 94; sections 19, 24, 25, 26, 31, 35, 42, 45, 48, 55, and 56A to 56D, inclusive, of chapter 98, any representative authorized by the director of standards and any person authorized under sections 34, 35 or 36 of this chapter may issue a civil citation for violations of said weights and measures laws in the amount of 75 per cent of the maximum criminal fine provided for said violation, to be paid within 21 days of the date of issuance of such citation.
Any person aggrieved by any citation issued pursuant to this section may appeal said citation by filing a notice of appeal with the director of standards within seven days of the receipt of the citation. Any such appellant shall be granted a hearing before a representative of the director of standards in accordance with chapter 30A. The hearing officer may affirm, vacate or modify the citation. Any person aggrieved by a decision of the hearing officer may file an appeal in the superior court pursuant to the provisions of said chapter 30A.
If a person fails to comply with the requirement set forth in any citation issued pursuant to this section, or shall fail to pay any civil penalty provided thereby within 21 days of the date of issuance of such citation, or within 30 days following the decision of the hearing officer if such citation has been appealed, excluding any time during which judicial review of the hearing officer's decision remains pending, the director of the division of standards may apply for a criminal complaint against such person for the violation, or may initiate a civil action in the district court.
All monies collected by a municipality or local consumer aid groups authorized by the director of standards under said civil citations, less any fee owed to the division of standards for contracted enforcement services pursuant to section 35, shall be retained by such municipality or local consumer aid group authorized by the director of standards, and shall be expended for the purposes of enforcement of item pricing and weights and measures laws. All monies collected by the division of standards under said civil citations shall be credited to the general fund.
Any citation issued by a municipality with a population of over 400,000 is exempt from this appellate procedure. All notices of appeals should be filed with said municipality's appellate board.