reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 90j - Counterfeit Airbag Prohibition › Section 1 - Definitions

Section 1. As used in this chapter, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-
''Airbag'', a motor vehicle inflatable occupant restraint system device that is part of a supplemental restraint system.
''Counterfeit supplemental restraint system component'', a replacement supplemental restraint system component, including, but not limited to, an airbag that displays a mark identical or substantially similar to the genuine mark of a motor vehicle manufacturer or a supplier of parts to the manufacturer of a motor vehicle without authorization from that manufacturer or supplier.
''Nonfunctional airbag'', a replacement airbag that:
(i) has been previously deployed or damaged;
(ii) has an electrical fault that is detected by the vehicle diagnostic system after the installation procedure is completed and the vehicle is returned to the customer who requested the work to be performed or when ownership is intended to be transferred;
(iii) includes a part or object, including, but not limited to, a supplemental restraint system component installed in a motor vehicle to mislead the owner or operator of the motor vehicle into believing that a functional airbag has been installed; or
(iv) is subject to the prohibitions of 49 U.S.C. section 30120(j).
''Supplemental restraint system'', a passive inflatable motor vehicle occupant crash protection system designed for use in conjunction with active restraint systems, as defined in 49 C.F.R. section 571.208. A supplemental restraint system includes 1 or more airbags and all components required to ensure that an airbag works as designed by the vehicle manufacturer, including both of the following:
(i) the airbag operates in the event of a crash; and
(ii) the airbag is designed in accordance with federal motor vehicle safety standards for the specific make, model and year of the motor vehicle in which it is or will be installed.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 90j - Counterfeit Airbag Prohibition › Section 2 - Airbag Fraud; Penalties

Section 2. A person who knowingly and intentionally does any of the following shall be guilty of the crime of airbag fraud and shall be punished by a fine of not more than $5,000 or imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 21/2 years, or by both such fine and imprisonment:
(i) import, manufacture, sell or offer for sale a counterfeit supplemental restraint system component or a nonfunctional airbag;
(ii) install or reinstall a counterfeit supplemental restraint system component or nonfunctional airbag in a motor vehicle;
(iii) sell, offer for sale, install or reinstall a device in a vehicle that causes the vehicle's diagnostic system to inaccurately indicate that the vehicle is equipped with a functional airbag when a counterfeit supplemental restraint system component, nonfunctional airbag or no airbag is installed;
(iv) represent to another person that a counterfeit supplemental restraint system component or a nonfunctional airbag that is or will be installed in a motor vehicle is an airbag; or
(v) assist or cause a person to violate this subsection.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 2 - Duties of Public Works Department Relative to Commonwealth Lands

Section 2. The department shall, except as otherwise provided, have charge of the lands, rights in lands, flats, shores and rights in tide waters belonging to the commonwealth, and shall, as far as practicable, ascertain the location, extent and description of such lands; investigate the title of the commonwealth thereto; ascertain what parts thereof have been granted by the commonwealth; the conditions, if any, on which such grants were made, and whether said conditions have been complied with; what portions have been encroached or trespassed on, and the rights and remedies of the commonwealth relative thereto; prevent further encroachments and trespasses; ascertain what portions of such lands may be leased, sold or improved with benefit to the commonwealth and without injury to navigation or to the rights of riparian owners; and may lease the same. It may sell and convey, or lease, any of the islands owned by the commonwealth in the great ponds. It may make contracts for the improvement, filling, sale, use or other disposition of the lands at and near South Boston known as the Commonwealth flats, may lease any portion thereof with or without improvements thereon, may regulate the taking of material from the harbor and fix the lines thereon for filling said lands. All conveyances and contracts, and all leases for more than five years, made under this section shall be subject to the approval of the governor and council.
In carrying out its duties under the provisions of this chapter, the department shall act to preserve and protect the rights in tidelands of the inhabitants of the commonwealth by ensuring that the tidelands are utilized only for water-dependent uses or otherwise serve a proper public purpose.
The department of environmental protection shall protect the interests of the commonwealth in areas described herein in issuing any license or permit authorized pursuant to this chapter. The activities of the department of environmental management pursuant to this chapter shall be subject to the licensing and permitting authority of the department of environmental protection.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 2a - Powers as to Property Acquired, Built or Improved in Plymouth by Pilgrim Tercentenary Commission

Section 2A. The department, having charge under section two of the lands, pier, structures and other property in the town of Plymouth belonging to the commonwealth which were acquired, built or improved by the Pilgrim tercentenary commission under chapter one hundred and eighty-seven of the Special Acts of nineteen hundred and nineteen, may repair, alter and maintain said pier and other structures, and if it deems it advisable remove said pier, or may equip, operate and administer the same for the benefit of the commonwealth, and may from time to time make such rules and regulations, and may charge such reasonable rates for the use of said pier and equipment, as shall be approved by the governor and council. All receipts hereunder shall be paid into the state treasury. The town of Plymouth shall have police jurisdiction over said lands, pier and other property. Subject to appropriation and with the approval of the governor and council, the department may arrange with said town or with any appropriate memorial or historical society for the care, maintenance and use of said lands, pier and other property or any part or parts thereof, and said town is hereby authorized to appropriate money to pay the costs and expenses of such care and maintenance. With the approval of the governor and council, the department may sell and convey or lease said pier.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 3 - Powers as to Boston Harbor

Section 3. The department shall have all the rights, powers and duties transferred to the directors of the port of Boston under section four of chapter seven hundred and forty-eight of the acts of nineteen hundred and eleven in respect to lands, rights in lands, flats, shores, waters and rights belonging to the commonwealth in tide waters and land under water in Boston harbor, or which adjoin the same or are connected therewith, and shall have the same powers and duties relative thereto as it has with respect to the commonwealth flats under section two. It may, in accordance with such plans as it adopts, excavate and dredge in Boston harbor wherever public convenience and necessity require. It shall at all times have access to any maps, charts, plans and documents in the custody of any public board, commission or officer relating to waters and lands in charge of the department, shall have immediate charge of lands owned or acquired by the commonwealth upon or adjacent to the Boston harbor front, and shall have charge of the construction of piers and other public works in said harbor, shall administer all terminal facilities under control of the department and shall secure and keep full information as to the present and probable future requirements of steamships and shipping and the best means which can be provided at the port of Boston for the accommodation of steamships, railroads, warehouses and industrial establishments.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 4 - Improvement of Boston Harbor; Access to Piers, Railroads, Etc.

Section 4. The department shall undertake such work for the improvement, development, maintenance and protection of Boston harbor as it deems reasonable and proper. It may, with the approval of the governor and council, grade and suitably surface any railroad locations or traffic ways which are or may be located on lands, flats or rights therein, owned or acquired by the commonwealth in Boston harbor, and may carry said ways or railroads over or under any railroad or railway location or public way in order to eliminate crossings at grade, and may provide suitable and convenient track connections between the rails serving any pier or piers and those of any existing or proposed railroad that now reaches or hereafter may reach Boston. All piers controlled by the department shall be accessible and open to all teaming and lighterage traffic, subject to such regulations as the department may from time to time make. Upon application to the department, any railroad company that now reaches or hereafter may reach Boston, either by its own rails or under trackage or traffic contract or agreement with any other railroad company, shall be provided by the department with a track connection with the tracks serving such pier or piers.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 6 - Power to Lease Piers, etc.; Port of Boston Fund

Section 6. The department may lease for a period not exceeding twenty years, under such covenants and conditions as it prescribes, storage facilities, wharves, piers, bulkheads, docks, sheds, warehouses, foreshores and industrial locations in Boston harbor within its charge. It may lease sites for warehouses and industrial locations for a longer period, but every lease of such sites for a period exceeding twenty years shall provide for a readjustment of the rental at intervals of not more than twenty years. No lease for a term exceeding five years shall be valid until approved by the governor and council. The income from all wharfage and storage rates, use of cranes, lighterage, dockage and other charges, and from the leases of lands, storage structures, wharves, piers, docks, sheds, warehouses and industrial sites, all moneys received by the commonwealth under section twenty-one for tide water displacements in Boston harbor, and all moneys hereafter received which on May twenty-eighth, nineteen hundred and twelve, were required to be paid into the Commonwealth's Flats Improvement Fund, shall be collected by the department and paid to the commonwealth, to the credit of the Port of Boston Fund. Said fund may be invested by the state treasurer at his discretion from time to time as provided for the investment of the commonwealth's funds; and all income from such investments shall be added to the fund. The department may expend the Port of Boston Fund to operate, maintain, repair and preserve the property in Boston harbor in the control of the department, and such sums as the legislature may appropriate annually for salaries, office expenses, and general engineering expenses in connection with the work of the department in Boston harbor shall be paid so far as possible from said fund; any balance remaining from said fund after the aforementioned expenses have been paid shall be applied to the payment of interest and to the annual payments on account of principal of any securities which may have been or may be issued to raise money to be expended by the department for the development of the port of Boston.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 7 - Piers, etc.; Freight Loading Equipment; Rules and Regulations

Section 7. All piers and other similar structures in Boston harbor built by the department or its predecessors shall be equipped, either by the department or by the lessees thereof, with fireproof sheds, railway tracks, cranes and other machinery and accommodations for the convenient, economical and speedy loading and discharge of freight; and the department may acquire, hold and operate such lighters and other vessels as it deems convenient and needed therefor. The department shall make such reasonable rules and regulations and charge such reasonable rates for the use of such structures and equipment as it may from time to time deem wise.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 8 - Acquisition of Apple Island and Shore Lands

Section 8. The department shall take all proper measures to obtain from Boston, without expense to the commonwealth, a conveyance of all the present right, title and interest of said city in and to Apple Island, and the flats appurtenant thereto, and in and to any other flats and rights of said city on the easterly side of East Boston, which the department deems are required for the development contemplated by section four, and said Boston may make such conveyance, and in furtherance of the development of the port make conveyance to the department or others, but only for maritime or commercial improvement, of any shore lands owned by it elsewhere, acquired either by purchase or taking.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 9 - Utilization Plans for Acquired Property

Section 9. The department shall make, and, so far as practicable, put into execution, comprehensive plans providing, on the lands now owned or hereafter acquired by the commonwealth in Boston harbor, adequate piers, capable of accommodating the largest vessels, and in connection with such piers suitable highways, waterways, railroad connections and storage yards, and sites for warehouses and industrial establishments.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 10 - Powers and Duties Relative to Harbors, Etc.

Section 10. The department shall have general care and supervision of the harbors and tide waters within the commonwealth, of the flats and lands flowed thereby, of the waters and banks of the Connecticut river and the banks and waters of the non-tidal portion of the Merrimack river and of all structures therein, in order to prevent and remove unauthorized encroachments and causes of every kind which may injure said Connecticut river or said part of Merrimack river or interfere with the navigation of such harbors, injure their channels or cause a reduction of their tide waters, and to protect and develop the rights and property of the commonwealth in such waters, flats and lands; and it may make such surveys, examinations and observations as it deems necessary therefor. The department of environmental protection shall protect the interests of the commonwealth in areas described herein in issuing any license and permit authorized pursuant to this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 10a - Temporary Moorings of Floats or Rafts; Permits, Issuance or Refusal; Review; Public Nuisances

Section 10A. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, the harbormaster of a city or town or whomsoever is so empowered by said city or town may authorize by permit the mooring on a temporary basis of floats or rafts held by anchors or bottom moorings within the territorial jurisdiction of such city or town upon such terms, conditions and restrictions as he shall deem necessary. He shall act on applications for such permits within a period of fifteen days from receipt thereof.
A reasonable fee for such mooring permit, proportionate to the city or town's cost of overseeing mooring permits, may be imposed by the city or town or whoever is so authorized by the city or town, but no mooring fee shall discriminate on the basis of residence. Any mooring fee collected shall be deposited into and used in accordance with the purposes of a municipal waterways improvement and maintenance fund established pursuant to section 5G of chapter 40.
Any person aggrieved by a refusal to permit such temporary mooring, or by any condition or restriction imposed relative to such mooring, may appeal to the division of waterways of the department within thirty days after receiving notice of such refusal or of the imposition of such condition or restriction.
Said division shall review the circumstances resulting in such appeal and shall render a ruling either confirming the action of a harbormaster, setting such action aside, or amending such action and imposing its own conditions and restrictions as deemed necessary.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing the placement of floats or rafts and appurtenant anchors or bottom moorings on private flats of other than the applicant if objected to by the owner or owners thereof.
Actions by a harbormaster and/or the division under this section shall be subject to applicable laws administered by the division of motor boats, the division of marine fisheries, the United States Coast Guard and the United States Corps of Engineers.
Floats or rafts held by anchors or bottom moorings installed without permission from a harbormaster and/or said division shall be considered a public nuisance and may be removed by the harbormaster at the expense of the owner in the event he fails to remove same after notice in writing from the harbormaster.
For the purpose of this section, temporary shall mean for no longer than to the end of any given calendar year.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 10c - Docking of Commercial Vessels; Permits; Applications; Appeal

Section 10C. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, the harbormaster of a city or town or whomsoever is so empowered by said city or town may authorize by written permit the stationing of commercial vessels to a public commercial dock, pier, wharf, float, raft or mooring, fixed or otherwise, within the territorial jurisdiction of such city or town upon such terms, conditions and restrictions as he shall deem necessary. He shall act on application for such permits within a period of seven days from his receipt thereof.
Such application may be left at the office of the city or town clerk by the master of such commercial vessel.
If the harbormaster or whomever is so empowered fails to act within such period, such permit shall then be deemed to have been granted. Any refusal to grant such permits within such period shall be in writing by the harbormaster or whomever is so empowered by said city or town and shall include the reasons for such refusal.
Any person aggrieved by the decision of the harbormaster of said city or town or whomever is so empowered by said city or town relative to such stationing may appeal to the division of waterways of the department within thirty days of such decision.
Said division shall review the circumstances resulting in such appeal and shall render a ruling either confirming the decision, setting such decision aside, or amending such decision and imposing conditions and restrictions deemed necessary by said office.
Actions by a harbormaster or said division of waterways under the provisions of this section shall be subject to applicable laws administered by the division of motor boats, the division of marine fisheries, the United States Coast Guard and the United States Corps of Engineers.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 10d - Scuba Divers and Skin Divers; Access to Commonwealth Tidelands

Section 10D. No person shall be denied access during daylight hours to commonwealth tidelands across any land available to the public for swimming or recreation which is owned or controlled by the commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions for the purpose of scuba diving or skin diving which activities are hereby declared to be water dependent uses; provided, however, that if such tidelands are at any time closed to access by the general public, such access by such scuba diver or skin diver shall not be permitted.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 11 - Improvement and Preservation of Rivers, Streams, Harbors, Etc.

Section 11. The department shall undertake such construction and work for the improvement, development, maintenance and protection of tidal and non-tidal rivers and streams, great ponds, harbors, tide waters, foreshores and shores along a public beach as it deems reasonable and proper, and for this purpose shall have the same powers conferred upon it by section thirty-one. The department, in pursuance of the work authorized, may construct, reconstruct, alter and repair bridges, culverts, conduits, pipes, walls and dams, and may do such other incidental work as may be deemed necessary for the improvement and safety of waterways. In selecting the places to do such work, the department shall consider the general public advantage of the proposed work, the local interest therein as manifested by municipal or other contributions therefor, the importance of the industrial or commercial and other interests to be especially served thereby, and any other material considerations affecting the feasibility, necessity or advantage of the proposed work or the expenditure therefor. No work authorized by this section shall be begun until after a public hearing has been held and a survey and an estimate of the cost has been made.
The department is hereby authorized to enter into agreements with the Soil Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture for the performance of work necessary on resource conservation and development projects approved for the commonwealth. Said agreements shall be limited to those for which the Soil Conservation Service is authorized to share in the installation cost, including flood prevention measures, agricultural water management, erosion and sediment control measures, fish and wildlife measures and recreation development.
In any project undertaken under the authority of this section, the department is authorized to pay the commonwealth's share of funds to the federal government if the Soil Conservation Service is the contracting agency for the project.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 11a - Resource Protection, Navigational Safety and Development Projects; Work Agreements With Local Authorities

Section 11A. The department is hereby authorized to enter into agreements with municipalities, local commissions or local authorities for performance of work necessary for resource protection, navigational safety and protection and development projects approved by the department. Said agreements shall be limited to those for which the department is authorized under sections nine A, ten, ten A1/2, eleven, twenty-nine, twenty-nine A, thirty-one, thirty-eight, and thirty-nine of chapter ninety-one. The department may make application to the government of the United States for reimbursement of any amounts expended under any provisions of this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 12 - License for Structures in Connecticut, Westfield and Merrimack Rivers

Section 12. The department may license and prescribe the terms for the construction or extension of a dam, road, bridge, or other structure, or the filling of land, the driving of piles, or the making of excavations, in, over, or upon the waters below high water mark of the Connecticut river or of that part of the Westfield river, in the towns of West Springfield and Agawam, lying between the confluence of said river with the Connecticut river and the bridge across said river at Suffield street in the said town of Agawam, and in, over and upon the waters of the non-tidal part of the Merrimack river below high water mark; and the provisions of this chapter shall apply to all such licenses. Every erection made, and all work done on or within the banks of the Connecticut river, of said part of the Westfield river or of said part of the Merrimack river, below high water mark, not authorized by the general court or by the department, or made or done in a manner not sanctioned by the department, without a license as hereinbefore provided, shall be considered a public nuisance. The attorney general and the district attorneys within their respective districts shall, at the request of the department, institute proceedings to enjoin or abate any such nuisance. This section and any such license shall not impair the legal rights or remedies of any person.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 12a - License for Structures in Rivers or Streams Where Expenditures for Channel Improvement and Flood Control Already Made

Section 12A. The department may license and prescribe the terms for the construction or extension of a dam, road, bridge or other structure, or the filling of land, the driving of piles, or the making of excavations, in, over or upon the waters below high water mark of any river or stream within the commonwealth with respect to which expenditures from federal, state or municipal funds have been made for stream clearance, channel improvement or any form of flood control or prevention work, and the provisions of this chapter shall apply to all such licenses. Section twenty shall apply to any person authorized by the general court to build structures or do other work in said rivers and streams. Every erection made, and all work done on or within the banks of said rivers and streams, below high water mark, not authorized by the general court or by the department, or made or done in a manner not sanctioned by the department, without a license as hereinbefore provided, shall be considered a public nuisance. The attorney general and the district attorneys within their respective districts shall, at the request of the department, institute proceedings to enjoin or abate any such nuisance. This section and any such license shall not impair the legal rights or remedies of any person.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 13 - Licenses for Booms in Connecticut River and Structures in Great Ponds

Section 13. The department may license any person to construct and maintain booms in or across the Connecticut river, for periods of not more than five years, in such locations and upon such terms as it prescribes, or to build and extend a wharf, pier or shore wall below high water mark in said river, or to build or extend a wharf, pier, dam, wall, road, bridge or other structure, or to drive piles, fill land or excavate in or over the waters of any great pond below natural high water mark, or at or upon any outlet thereof, upon such terms as the department prescribes; but such license shall not validate acts beyond the line of riparian ownership or affecting the level of the waters in such pond, unless approved by the governor and council.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 14 - License for Structures in or Over Tide Water; Conduits or Cables Under Tide Water; Private or Commonwealth Tidelands

Section 14. The department may license and prescribe the terms for the construction or extension of a wharf, pier, dam, sea wall, road, bridge or other structure, or for the filling of land or flats, or the driving of piles in or over tide water below high water mark, but not, except as to a structure authorized by law, beyond any established harbor line, nor, unless with the approval of the governor and council, beyond the line of riparian ownership. A license shall not be granted for the construction of a bridge across a river, cove or inlet, except in a location above a bridge, dam or similar structure authorized by law over such tide water, in which no draw actually exists or is required by law, and not then, if objection is made by the aldermen or selectmen of the town where the bridge is to be built.
The said department may license and prescribe the terms for the construction or extension of a pipe line, conduit or cable under tide water beyond any established harbor line; provided, that such pipe line or conduit is entirely imbedded in the soil and does not in any part occupy, or project into such tide water, and provided also that said department may at any time require any pipe line, conduit or cable to be moved or relocated if channel changes or alterations demand the same.
Except as provided in section eighteen, no structures or fill may be licensed on private tidelands or commonwealth tidelands unless such structures or fill are necessary to accommodate a water dependent use; provided that for commonwealth tidelands said structures or fill shall also serve a proper public purpose and that said purpose shall provide a greater public benefit than public detriment to the rights of the public in said lands.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 15 - Revocation and Expiration of Authority or License; Exception; Mortgageable Interest

Section 15. Every authority or license granted since eighteen hundred and sixty-eight or hereafter granted by the commonwealth to any person to build a structure or do other work in, over and under the Connecticut River or the nontidal part of the Merrimack River or in, over or under the waters of any great pond or at any outlet thereof below high water mark, or upon ground over which the tide ebbs and flows, or to fill up or to enclose the same, whether such ground is above or below low water mark, or within or beyond one hundred rods from high water mark, or whether private property or property of the commonwealth, shall be subject to the following conditions, whether expressed in the act, resolve or license granting the same or not. Said authority or license shall be revocable at the discretion of the general court, or by the department for noncompliance with the terms and conditions set forth therein. The license shall expire as to all work authorized or licensed not completed within five years from the date of such authorization or license or such other period of time specified therein; provided, however, that for good cause shown the department may extend, without public hearing or notice, the construction period of the authorization or license for one or more one-year periods. Revocation by the general court of licenses issued after January first, nineteen hundred and eighty-four shall be treated as a taking of real property requiring payment of just compensation in accordance with the provisions of chapter seventy-nine for valuable structures, fillings, enclosures, uses or other improvements built, made or continued in compliance with said authorization or license. Except as provided herein, the grant of a license pursuant to this chapter shall not convey a property right, nor authorize any injury to property or invasion of rights of others. A license issued pursuant to this chapter is hereby made a mortgageable interest lawful for investment by any banking association, trust company, savings bank, cooperative bank, investment company, insurance company, executor, trustee, or other fiduciary, and any other person who is now or may hereafter be authorized to invest in any mortgage or other obligation of a similar nature.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 16 - Cessation, Determination of Authority or License for Non-Use

Section 16. Every authority or license granted since eighteen hundred and sixty-eight by the general court or by the department or its predecessors to any person to build or extend a wharf or other structure upon, or to drive piles in, or to fill or otherwise occupy, land in tide or navigable water, within Boston harbor, or within the port of Boston as defined by the provisions of section two of chapter ninety-one A, which is revocable at the discretion of the general court, and every other similar right or privilege within Boston harbor or within the port of Boston as defined by the provisions of section two of chapter ninety-one A which is so revocable, whether or not compensation has been paid under any provision of law or otherwise, shall hereafter cease and determine, or be subject to forfeiture, in case of non-use of the same for an unreasonable time without reasonable cause, and it shall be prima facie evidence that the same is held unused in restraint of trade when the tendency of such non-use is to prevent competition in its broad and general sense, unless such person has, prior to July twenty-eighth, nineteen hundred and twelve, made reasonable and substantial use of structures, or has reasonably and substantially occupied land in tide or navigable waters, for the purposes for which the authority or license was granted; and thereupon, every such authority or license and every similar right and privilege shall cease and determine on repayment, or tender of repayment, by the commonwealth or compensation therefor to the amount which shall have been paid to the commonwealth in accordance with the terms of such authority or license; and the department and the attorney general shall cause a proper certificate of the revocation of such authority or license to be recorded forthwith in the registry of deeds for the county where such structure was built or work done.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 17 - Construction of Licenses; Approval

Section 17. No license or other authority to build structures upon or to fill up or enclose any ground mentioned in the two preceding sections shall be construed to interfere with or impair the right of any person affected thereby to equal proportional privileges of approaching low water mark or one hundred rods from high water mark, or harbor lines established by law, or to impair the right to obtain a license or authority so to approach of persons having interests in lands or flats which may be affected thereby, or to impair the legal rights of any person. All things done under such license or authority shall be subject to the approval of the department. If the general court establishes a harbor line within the outer line covered by such license or authority, the same shall be limited by and not extend beyond such harbor line. This section, so far as may be, shall apply to licenses granted under section fifteen to erect structures on great ponds.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 18a - Public Access to Great Ponds; Petition

Section 18A. Upon petition of ten citizens of the commonwealth that in their opinion public necessity requires a right of way for public access to any great pond within the commonwealth, the department and the attorney general or a representative designated by him sitting jointly shall hold a public hearing and receive such evidence thereon as may be presented to them. The joint board may make such additional investigation as it deems desirable and if it appears to said board that such a right of way exists it shall present a petition to the land court for registration of the easement. If it appears that no right of way exists it shall submit a report, together with recommendations thereon, to the general court on or before January first of the following year. This section shall not apply to any body of water used as a source of water supply by the commonwealth or by any town or district, or water company, nor shall it affect the right of the commonwealth or any town or district or water company to the use and control of the waters of any such pond for the purposes of a water supply, nor shall it affect or diminish any existing right to the use of the water of any such pond for mercantile or manufacturing purposes.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 19 - Restriction on Structures in Great Ponds

Section 19. Except as authorized by the general court and as provided in this chapter, no structure shall be built or extended, or piles driven or land filled, or other obstruction or encroachment made, in, over or upon the waters of any great pond below the natural high water mark; nor shall any erection or excavation be made at any outlet thereof whereby the water may be raised or lowered.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 19a - Lowering Waters of Great Ponds; Penalty

Section 19A. No person authorized or licensed to build any structure, drive piles, fill land or to make any dam or other obstruction or encroachment in, over or upon the waters of any great pond below the natural high water mark, or to make any erection or excavation at any outlet of a great pond whereby the water may be raised or lowered, shall, except in case of emergency, lower the water of said pond, except a body of water used for agricultural, manufacturing, mercantile, irrigation, or insect control purposes, or for flowing cranberry bogs, or for public water supply, unless he shall have notified the department of environmental protection of his intention so to do and has received the approval of said department to lower the waters of said pond. Whoever violates the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 20 - Supervision by Department of Erections Under Legislative Grants

Section 20. Whoever is authorized by the general court to build over tide waters a bridge, wharf, pier or dam, to fill flats or drive piles below high water mark, or to build any structures in the Connecticut river, or in the non-tidal part of the Merrimack river, or to build or extend any structure or to do any other work mentioned in the preceding section in, over or upon the waters of any great pond, shall not commence such work until he has given written notice thereof to the department and submitted plans of any proposed structure, the flats to be filled, and the manner in which the work is to be performed, and the same has been approved in writing by the department, which may alter such plans and prescribe any direction, limits and manner of doing the work consistent with the legislative grant. Such works shall be supervised by the department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 21 - Compensation for Displacement of Tidewater

Section 21. The amount of tidewater displaced by any structure below high water mark, or any filling of flats, shall be ascertained by the department, which shall require the person, his heirs or assignees who are responsible for such displacement to make compensation therefor by excavating, under its direction, between high and low water mark in some part of the same harbor a basin for a quantity of water equal to that displaced; or by paying to the commonwealth, in lieu of such excavation, an amount assessed by the department, or by improving the harbor in any other manner satisfactory to the department. The department shall by regulation determine a schedule of rates of assessment to be charged pursuant to this section per cubic yard of water displaced. In determining said rate of assessment the department may consider the following factors: the costs incurred by the department in the licensing of tidelands; the costs typically associated with excavation or improvement of harbors or basins as permitted in lieu of payment of an assessment under this section; and the level of assessments historically charged in the commonwealth or in other states with respect to the displacement of tidewater. An assessment for the tidewater which has been displaced may be recovered in contract in the name of the state treasurer.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 22 - Compensation When Title to Land Is in Commonwealth

Section 22. If authority or a license is granted by the general court or by the department to a person to build a wharf or other structure upon, or to fill or otherwise occupy, land in tide water, or to build or extend any structure or drive piles, fill land or make any obstruction, encroachment or excavation in, over or upon the waters of any great pond, he shall pay to the commonwealth such compensation for the rights granted in any land the title to which is in the commonwealth as shall be determined pursuant to regulations of the department. The department shall by regulation provide for a method for determination of such compensation which may in the department's discretion be based on either a schedule of rates per square yard of commonwealth tidelands occupied or on an appraisal of the fair market value of the rights granted by the commonwealth, and which may in the department's discretion be assessed either as a lump sum payable in full prior to issuance of the license or as a series of annual payments which shall be required as a condition of the license. This section shall not apply to authority granted to a county, city or town for the construction, widening or maintenance of a bridge constituting a part of a highway.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 23 - Unauthorized Work in Public Waters; Public Nuisances

Section 23. Every erection made and all work done within tide water, or within the waters of a great pond or outlet thereof, or on or within the banks of the Connecticut river, or the Merrimack river, below high water mark, not authorized by the general court or by the department, or made or done in a manner not sanctioned by the department, if a license is required as hereinbefore provided, shall be considered a public nuisance. Whoever creates such nuisance, (a) shall be punished by a fine of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars for each day such nuisance occurs or continues, or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both such fine and imprisonment; or (b), shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars for each day such nuisance occurs or continues. The attorney general or the district attorneys within their respective districts shall, at the request of the department, institute proceedings to enjoin or abate such nuisance, or to restrain the removal of material from any bar or breakwater of any harbor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 24 - Money Paid Into General Fund

Section 24. Except as is provided in section six, all moneys received in payment for tide water displaced and for rights and privileges granted in tide water land of the commonwealth and in the commonwealth's land in great ponds, under licenses and permits granted under this chapter for structures and other work, shall be paid into the General Fund.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 25 - Supervision of Province Lands

Section 25. The department shall have general supervision of so much of the province lands at Provincetown as lies north and west of a line beginning at a point at or near the shore of Provincetown harbor, in latitude north forty-two degrees, two minutes, and longitude west seventy degrees, eleven minutes, forty-five seconds; thence northwesterly to a point in latitude north forty-two degrees, three minutes, eight seconds, and longitude west seventy degrees, twelve minutes, forty-eight seconds; thence northeasterly to a point in latitude north forty-two degrees, three minutes, twenty-eight seconds, and longitude west seventy degrees, eleven minutes, thirty-three seconds; thence due north to a point in latitude north forty-two degrees, three minutes, forty-eight seconds; thence due east to a point in the eastern boundary of the province lands.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 26 - Exemption of Portion of Province Lands From Certain Provisions of Law

Section 26. Section two of this chapter, chapter two hundred and sixty-one of the acts of eighteen hundred and fifty-four, chapter one hundred and forty-four of the acts of eighteen hundred and eighty-six, so much of section one of chapter eleven of the province laws of seventeen hundred and twenty-seven as is contained in the following words ''saving always the right and title of this province to the said lands which is to be in no wise prejudiced'', and all other acts or parts of acts which refer to the province lands at Provincetown, except the act incorporating said town, shall not apply to that portion of said province lands lying east and south of the line fixed in the preceding section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 91 - Waterways › Section 27 - Bounds of Province Lands; Regulations

Section 27. The department shall fix and mark the bounds of the province lands within its jurisdiction and establish regulations for the care thereof.
The department may make rules and regulations relative to hunting on or other uses of the province lands; provided, that such rules and regulations shall be consistent with all laws in relation to the protection of birds and mammals. No such regulation shall prohibit hunting within said lands except the hunting of deer. Whoever violates any provision of any such rule or regulation shall be punished by a fine of not more than twenty-five dollars. The aforesaid rules and regulations may be enforced by any state police officer, by any town police officer or by any constable, sheriff or deputy sheriff empowered to serve criminal process.