reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 114 - Cemeteries and Burials › Section 43d - Location of Community Mausoleums; Exceptions

Section 43D. Every community mausoleum, other than a structure containing crypts erected or controlled by a church or a religious society and used only as a repository for the remains of the clergy or dignitaries of such church or religious society, and every crematory, columbarium or other structure, other than a columbarium located within or adjacent to a building owned or occupied by a church or religious society in which regular religious services are held and used only as a repository for the ashes of the regular attendants at such religious services and their families, intended to dispose of or hold or contain the bodies or remains of the dead, erected on or after July first, nineteen hundred and thirty-six, shall be located only within the limits of a cemetery containing no less than twenty acres, which shall have been in existence and actually used for burial purposes for a period of at least five years immediately preceding the time of the erection thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 114 - Cemeteries and Burials › Section 43e - New Community Mausoleums; Plans and Specifications; Approval; Construction

Section 43E. No community mausoleum, the crypts of which are available to the public for burial purposes, shall be erected without the consent and approval of the department of environmental protection. Before commencing the erection of any such structure, full detailed plans and specifications shall be presented to said department for its approval. Such approval shall be evidenced by a certificate in writing, signed by the proper officer of said department. No community mausoleum or any structure intended to hold or contain the bodies of the dead permanently, which is available to the public for said use, shall be erected or added to, and no building not previously used or intended to be used for the permanent disposition of the human dead shall be altered or changed for such use or used for such purposes, unless constructed of such materials and workmanship as will insure its durability and permanence as well as the safety, convenience, comfort and health of the community in which it is located, as dictated and determined at the time by modern mausoleum construction and engineering science.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 114 - Cemeteries and Burials › Section 43f - Community Mausoleums; Construction; Supervision

Section 43F. The department of environmental protection shall have supervisory control over the erection of any such community mausoleum and shall enforce compliance with the approved plans and specifications therefor. Said department shall appoint an inspector, experienced in modern mausoleum construction and engineering science, to supervise the erection of any such mausoleum and said department shall determine the reasonable amount of compensation of said inspector, which compensation shall be paid by the cemetery association or other agency erecting such community mausoleum. No departure from the original plans and specifications shall be permitted, except upon approval of said department evidenced in like manner and form as the approval of the original plans and specifications.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 114 - Cemeteries and Burials › Section 43g - Use of Community Mausoleum Prior to Completion; Care and Improvement Fund

Section 43G. No community mausoleum, crypt or structure erected as aforesaid shall be used for the purpose of depositing therein the remains of any dead body until such mausoleum, crypt or structure, or a component section thereof, is fully completed, and the permanent care and improvement fund required by section forty-three J has been established.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 114 - Cemeteries and Burials › Section 43i - Removal of Bodies Constituting Menace to Public Health

Section 43I. Whenever any mausoleum, vault, crypt or other structure containing one or more dead human bodies shall, in the opinion of the department of public health, become a menace to public health, and the owner thereof fails to remedy or remove the same to the satisfaction of said department, any court of competent jurisdiction may order the owner of said structure to remove such dead body or bodies for interment in some suitable cemetery at the expense of such owner. If such owner cannot be found, such removal and interment shall be at the expense of the cemetery association or other agency in the cemetery of which such mausoleum, vault, crypt or other structure is situated.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 114 - Cemeteries and Burials › Section 43j - Permanent Care and Improvement Fund for Community Mausoleums

Section 43J. Every cemetery association or other agency establishing, maintaining and operating a community mausoleum on or after July first, nineteen hundred and thirty-six, shall create and establish a permanent care and improvement fund, distinct and separate from the permanent care and improvement fund of its cemetery. The fund established under authority of this section shall be created by applying to such fund at least thirty per cent of the proceeds received, in full or in instalments, from the sales of crypts in such mausoleum. The income of such fund shall be devoted to the care, maintenance and improvement of such community mausoleum.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 114 - Cemeteries and Burials › Section 43k - Custodian of Fund; Administration and Investment

Section 43K. The treasurer of the cemetery in which such community mausoleum is situated shall be the custodian of the permanent care and improvement fund established therefor as aforesaid and every such fund shall be held, administered and invested in the manner provided by law for funds in savings banks of the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 114 - Cemeteries and Burials › Section 43l - Abating or Enjoining Nuisance

Section 43L. Any cemetery, community mausoleum or columbarium established, maintained or operated in violation of or contrary to any provision of this chapter shall be a nuisance and may be abated or enjoined as such at the suit of any taxpayer of the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 114 - Cemeteries and Burials › Section 43n - Penalties; Violations of This Chapter

Section 43N. Whoever fails to comply with or violates any provision of this chapter in respect to the establishment, maintenance or operation of a cemetery, community mausoleum, crematory or columbarium, or to the disposal of dead human bodies, shall, unless another penalty is provided by this chapter, be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 114 - Cemeteries and Burials › Section 43o - Sale of Monuments for Cemetery Lots by Cemetery Corporations

Section 43O. The following corporations owning or operating cemeteries shall not sell or engage in the business of selling monuments for cemetery lots:— Municipal corporations, cemetery corporations organized under general laws, and cemetery corporations organized by acts of incorporation passed since March eleventh, eighteen hundred and thirty-one. This act shall be deemed an amendment of any charters heretofore granted except charters in which the right to sell monuments is expressly conferred. This act shall not prohibit the sale by any of said corporations of monuments in their possession prior to the effective date of this act.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 114 - Cemeteries and Burials › Section 44 - Cremation of Bodies

Section 44. The body of a deceased person shall not be cremated within 48 hours after his decease unless he died of a contagious or infectious disease, and, if the death occurred within the commonwealth, the body shall not be cremated by any corporation authorized to cremate the bodies of the dead until its officers have received the certificate or burial permit required by law before burial, and a certificate from a medical examiner or similarly authorized person that he has viewed the body and made personal inquiry into the cause and manner of death, and is of opinion that no further examination or judicial inquiry concerning the same is necessary. If the death occurs without the commonwealth, the medical examiner's certificate may be provided by a medical examiner or similarly authorized person in whose jurisdiction said death occurred or the reception and cremation of the body of a deceased person shall be governed by a by-law or regulation made or approved by the department of public health as provided in section nine.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 114 - Cemeteries and Burials › Section 44a - Receptacles for Cremated Remains; Caskets

Section 44A. The body of a deceased person to be cremated shall be contained in a suitable receptacle; provided, however, that a casket shall not be used for such cremation unless such use has been requested by a person lawfully entitled to the custody and control of such body.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 114 - Cemeteries and Burials › Section 45a - Funeral Director's Name Used in Connection With Death Certificate or Burial Permit

Section 45A. No funeral director, whether doing business as an individual, partnership or corporation, shall permit his name to be used in connection with any death certificate or burial permit unless he was specifically engaged to perform the burial to which such permit or certificate relates.
Any violation of this section shall be punished by a fine of fifty dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 114 - Cemeteries and Burials › Section 46 - Permit for Burial of Bodies Brought Into Commonwealth; Certificate; Recording

Section 46. Whenever a dead body is brought into the commonwealth for burial, accompanied by a removal permit issued under the laws of the state from which such body is brought, such permit shall be received as sufficient authority for burial, and the superintendent or person or persons in charge of the cemetery where the burial is to take place shall make proper endorsements on said removal permit and send it forthwith to the local board of health in the city or town where said cemetery is located. The board of health shall make and retain a copy of said removal permit and return the original to the city or town issuing the same; but if not accompanied by such permit no funeral director or other person shall bury such body or the ashes thereof until he has received a permit so to do from the board of health or its agent appointed to issue such permits, or if there is no such board, from the clerk of the town where the body is to be buried, or from a person appointed to have the care of the cemetery or burial ground in which the interment is made, if a record is kept of the names of all persons buried therein, or from a duly appointed superintendent of burials in such town who keeps a record of interments. Such permit shall not be issued until the funeral director or other person has delivered a certificate to said board, agent, clerk, superintendent or person having such care, giving the name of the deceased, his age as nearly as can be ascertained, the cause of death, the name of the town where he last resided or from which the body was brought, or, if the death occurred at sea, the name of the vessel upon which it occurred, and any other facts required for record which could be obtained with reasonable diligence, including, in case the deceased was a veteran, a recital as required by section ten of chapter forty-six.
The board of health or its agent, or the superintendent or person having such care, shall, upon receipt of such certificate, forthwith countersign it and file it in his office.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 114 - Cemeteries and Burials › Section 46a - Veterans; Burial; Affidavit; Veteran Graves Officer

Section 46A. No permit for the burial or other disposition of the body of a deceased veteran, known to be such, as the term veteran is defined in section twenty-one of chapter thirty-one, shall be issued unless and until an affidavit, as hereinafter set forth, shall have been filed with the board of health, or body or person having similar powers and duties, issuing such permit, by the undertaker or other person authorized to make such burial or disposition. Such affidavit shall set forth, as far as is known to the person executing it, the name and last known address of the deceased, the date and place of his or her birth, the date, place and cause of his or her death, a summary of his or her service record, and a detailed statement of the location of the burial or other disposition of his or her body.
A certified copy of the affidavit shall be transmitted by the undertaker or other person authorized to make the burial or disposition, within 30 days of the burial or disposition, to the veterans' agent or part-time veterans' agent of the city or town of burial or other disposition of the body. Upon receipt of the certified copy, the veterans' agent or part-time veterans' agent shall transmit the certified copy to the veterans' graves officer, appointed under section 9 of chapter 115, of the city or town of burial or other disposition of the body. Upon receipt of such certified copy, said veteran graves officer shall, if said deceased veteran did not have his settlement in such city or town, thereupon transmit a copy of such affidavit to the veteran graves officer of the city or town in which said deceased veteran had his settlement, and in the event that said deceased veteran had no settlement in the commonwealth and was not a resident of the city or town of burial or other disposition, a copy of such affidavit shall be transmitted to the veteran graves officer of the city or town where said deceased veteran last resided.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 114 - Cemeteries and Burials › Section 47 - Certificates for Burial, Removal or Cremation; Indorsement of Coupon Accompanying Permit; Record

Section 47. No person having the care of a cemetery, burial ground or crematory shall permit the burial, removal or cremation of a human body until the permit for such burial, removal or cremation has been delivered to him, nor permit the ashes of a human body to be buried therein until there has been delivered to him a certificate that the burial permit and the certificate of the medical examiner prerequisite to the cremating of said body have been duly presented.
Upon the burial, removal, or cremation of a body, the superintendent or other officer in charge of the cemetery or crematory shall indorse upon the coupon accompanying the permit the fact of such burial, removal or cremation, with the date thereof, shall make and preserve in the files of the cemetery or crematory a record of such burial, removal or cremation, including any recital in the burial permit relative to service of the deceased as a veteran as defined in section ten of chapter forty-six, and also the location of the grave or other receptacle of the body or ashes of the deceased, and shall forthwith return the coupon to the office issuing the same; provided, that if there is no officer in charge of the cemetery or crematory, such duties shall be performed by the undertaker.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 114 - Cemeteries and Burials › Section 48 - Cremation; Certificates for Burial

Section 48. An undertaker shall not bury the ashes of a human body until he has received from the person having the charge of the crematory a certificate that the burial permit and the certificate of the medical examiner prerequisite to the cremating of said body have been duly presented.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 114 - Cemeteries and Burials › Section 49 - Licensing of Funeral Directors; Revocation or Suspension; Hearing; Fees; Permits

Section 49. The board of health of each town shall annually, on or before May first, license persons to act as funeral directors therein upon such terms and conditions as the board of registration in embalming and funeral directing, established by section twenty-nine of chapter thirteen, shall prescribe. All such licenses shall expire April thirtieth each year, unless sooner suspended or revoked. Such licenses shall be issued only to persons certified to the boards of health by said board of registration, before May first each year, as qualified to be licensed as funeral directors. Any license hereunder may, after a hearing, be revoked by the board of health which issued it for any violation of law, local ordinances or the rules and regulations of said board of health, said board of registration or the state department of public health. The fee for such licenses shall be established by said board of health, but in no event shall any such fee be greater than one hundred dollars per year.
Boards of health shall send to said board of registration, immediately upon the issuance of licenses hereunder, the names and addresses of the persons to whom such licenses were issued.
A person registered and licensed as a funeral director may act as a funeral director in any town; provided, that, unless licensed as a funeral director by the board of health of a town, no person shall establish or maintain in such town a place of business or office or agency, or display in such town any sign indicating that he is licensed therein as an undertaker, funeral director or mortician, or hold himself out in such town as a funeral director without clearly indicating the town wherein he is so licensed.
The board of health of a town shall issue a permit for the continuance therein, under the active supervision of a person licensed as a funeral director in any town, of the business of a funeral director licensed by such board who has died, for the benefit of the estate or persons interested in the estate of the decedent, during such period of time and in such a manner and under such conditions as such board may determine.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 114 - Cemeteries and Burials › Section 51 - Embalming Fluid

Section 51. No person shall sell, offer for sale, or supply others with any embalming fluid, or any substitute therefor, which contains more than five milligrams of arsenic per litre. Violation of any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for one year, or both.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVII - Public Welfare › Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits › Section 2a - Enforcement of Decisions Relative to Benefits

Section 2A. If the secretary decides a controversy between an applicant and a veterans' agent relative to the validity or amount of a claim for veterans' benefits, as provided in section two, in favor of the applicant, the said veterans' agent shall, forthwith, make payment to the applicant in accordance with said decision notwithstanding any appeal therefrom by the veterans' agent. If the governor and council sustain the appeal of said veterans' agent as to the validity of such claim, payment to the applicant shall thereupon cease and all amounts paid to the applicant shall be reimbursed by the commonwealth in the manner provided in section six. If the governor and council sustain the appeal of said veterans' agent as to the amount of such claim, payment to the applicant of any amount in excess of the amount approved by the governor and council shall thereupon cease and all amounts paid to the applicant in excess of the amount so approved shall be reimbursed by the commonwealth in the manner provided by said section six.
The decision of the secretary, in accordance with the provisions of said section two, may be enforced by the superior court on a petition in equity.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVII - Public Welfare › Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits › Section 2b - Veterans Employment Opportunities Commission

Section 2B. There shall be a commission on veterans employment opportunities that shall investigate whether veterans are subjected to employment discrimination on the basis of their status as veterans. The commission shall report its findings and recommendation annually on March 1 to the secretary of veterans affairs. The commission shall consist of 5 persons as follows: the secretary of veterans affairs or his designee, the secretary of economic development or his designee, a member appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, a member appointed by the president of the senate and a veteran appointed by the Governor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVII - Public Welfare › Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits › Section 2c - Program to Enhance Employment Opportunities and Outcomes Among Veterans

Section 2C. The secretary shall develop a comprehensive program to enhance employment opportunities and outcomes among veterans by assisting businesses to attract, hire, train and retain veterans. The program shall promote strategies for connecting employers to qualified veterans and shall include: (i) a workforce assessment and training program for participating employers; and (ii) a certification and assessment process for participating employers to set measurable goals for hiring, training and retaining veterans. The secretary shall engage with interested stakeholders and organizations that provide services to veterans in the development of the program.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVII - Public Welfare › Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits › Section 2d - Civilian Licensure and Certification Opportunities Available to Members of the Armed Forces and Veterans

Section 2D. (a)(1) To the extent practicable, the commissioner shall make information on civilian licensure and certification opportunities available to members of the armed forces of the United States, members of the armed forces of the commonwealth and veterans. The information shall be made available in a format that allows the member or veteran to evaluate the suitability of member's or veteran's military training and skills to the corresponding requirements of civilian licenses and certifications available in the commonwealth and shall include, but not be limited to, information on: (i) the civilian occupational equivalents of military or other occupational specialties based on the corresponding branch of the military; (ii) civilian license or certification requirements, including examination requirements; (iii) the availability and opportunities for use of educational benefits; (iv) corresponding training; and (v) continuing education opportunities that provide a pathway to licensure or certification.
(2) The information required under this section shall be made available by the commissioner to members of the armed forces of the United States, members of the armed forces of the commonwealth and veterans in a manner consistent with the Transition Goals Plans Success program administered under the Transition Assistance Program pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 1144.
(b) The commissioner shall, for purposes of providing educational assistance for licensure and certification to members of the armed forces of the United States, members of the armed forces of the commonwealth and veterans, and in compliance with national security and state and federal privacy requirements, compile information related to military training and skills, including, but not limited to: (i) course training curricula and syllabi; (ii) levels of military advancement; (iii) professional skill development; and (iv) specific civilian occupational equivalents of military or other occupational specialties. To implement this section, the commissioner shall make such information available to the division of occupational licensure, the executive office of public safety and security, the department of public health, the executive office of labor and workforce development, the registry of motor vehicles and any other agency approved by the commissioner. The commissioner shall make the information publicly available on the department's website.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVII - Public Welfare › Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits › Section 3 - Appointment of Veterans' Agents; Powers and Duties

Section 3. The mayor of each city, except Boston, shall and the board of selectmen of each town may appoint a veterans' agent who shall serve for a term of up to 3 years and shall be eligible for reappointment. The veterans' agent may act for the mayor or the board of selectmen in the disbursement of veterans' benefits by the city or town; provided, however, that in each town that has a part-time veterans' agent, the town clerk shall receive applications and assist applicants for veterans' benefits and shall submit the applications to the veterans' agent. Two or more contiguous towns may, by vote of the selectmen, appoint one person to serve as veterans' agent for such towns and may apportion the payment of compensation among such towns.
Every veterans' agent shall, from time after the original allowance of any claim for veterans' benefits, make such investigations of the necessities and qualifications of the claimant as to prevent the payment of any such benefits contrary to any provision of this chapter.
Every such agent shall, within three days after his receipt of an application from or in behalf of a civil war veteran, his wife or widow, for special care, under the provisions of section two, notify the secretary thereof upon blank forms approved by him; upon his refusal or unreasonable neglect to give such notice, such agent shall be punished by a fine of twenty-five dollars.
Upon the request of any veteran, the veterans' agent for the city or town in which he resides shall record his discharge or release papers, without charge, in books kept by him for that purpose. Said agent shall keep an index of papers so recorded, and copies thereof, if attested by him, shall be admissible in evidence to the same extent and with the same effect as the originals.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVII - Public Welfare › Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits › Section 3a - Use of Photostatic Copies of Discharge Papers of Veterans

Section 3A. Whenever a veteran shall be required by general or special law to file or exhibit a certificate of discharge from the armed forces of the United States, the filing or exhibition of a photostatic copy of such discharge shall be deemed sufficient to comply with the requirements of such law.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVII - Public Welfare › Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits › Section 4 - Applications for Veterans' Benefits

Section 4. Every application for veterans' benefits shall be in writing, signed by the applicant under the penalties of perjury, and shall contain a statement of the name, age and residence of the applicant and his relationship to the veteran upon whose wartime service his application is based, such information as the secretary may require relative to the commencement, duration, extent and termination of such veteran's wartime service, and such other representations, concerning the needs of the applicant and his reasons for applying for such benefits, as the secretary may require. Every such application shall be filed with the veterans' agent for the city or town from which such benefits are sought, and such agent shall forthwith transmit the same to the secretary.
Veterans agents shall complete applications authorized by the department of public welfare for any veteran, widow and dependent applying for veterans benefits or for medical assistance under chapter one hundred and eighteen E if agreed to by an applicant. The veterans agent shall file the application for the veteran if the veteran selects assistance under said chapter one hundred and eighteen E. The application shall be processed through the said department. Said applicant shall be duly advised of his entitlement to veterans benefits or benefits from public assistance.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVII - Public Welfare › Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits › Section 6 - Reimbursement of Cities and Towns for Veterans' Benefits

Section 6. The amounts expended by any city or town for veterans' benefits, the names of recipients thereof, the amounts paid to or for each applicant, the reasons for granting him such benefits, the names of the veterans on account of whose services the benefits were granted, the names, if any, of the companies, regiments, stations, organizations or vessels in which they respectively enlisted, or to which they were appointed, and in which they last served, and the relationship of each dependent to the veteran on account of whose service the benefits were granted, and such other details as the secretary may require, shall, within thirty days following the month in which such expenditures were made, be certified to said secretary on blank forms provided by him, in a manner approved by him, and under the penalties of perjury, by the veterans' agent and treasurer of such city or town. The secretary shall examine such certificates, shall allow and endorse thereon such amounts as he finds have been paid and reported in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, and shall transmit the certificates to the comptroller. The secretary may decide upon the necessity of the amount paid in each case, and may allow any part thereof which he deems proper and lawful. Subject to such decision and allowance, seventy-five per cent of the amounts of veterans' benefits paid to applicants by the cities and towns wherein they reside, but none of the expenses attending the payment of such benefits, shall be paid by the commonwealth to the several cities and towns on or before November tenth in the year after such expenditures. The commonwealth shall make payments to cities and towns equal to 100 per cent of the amount of benefits paid by cities and towns to or on behalf of recipients living in permanent housing located on real property owned by the federal government or living in institutions or transitional housing, as defined in 108 CMR 2.02, if such housing is located on real property owned by the federal government; provided, however, that such payments shall be made to the city or town in which the recipient resides only for 48 months of residence; provided further, that such payments shall not be made for a recipient who has resided elsewhere in the city or town for the 6 consecutive months immediately preceding the recipient's move into such housing.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVII - Public Welfare › Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits › Section 6a - Annuities to Certain Veterans; Veteran Defined for Secs. 6a to 6c

Section 6A. As used in this section and in sections 6B and 6C, the word ''veteran'' shall mean a person who has performed service as defined in clause Forty-third of section 7 of chapter 4 and whose last discharge or release from the armed forces of the United States was under other than dishonorable conditions and who is a resident of the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVII - Public Welfare › Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits › Section 6c - Annuities to Certain Veterans; Proof of Service and Disability

Section 6C. Evidence of the service and disability mentioned in sections six A and six B shall be furnished to the secretary of veterans' services who shall examine the same and upon being satisfied that the service was performed and the veteran has been rendered blind or permanently paralyzed, as defined in section six B shall so certify to the comptroller, whereupon said annuity shall be paid by the commonwealth, subject to appropriation, from the veterans' services fund.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVII - Public Welfare › Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits › Section 7 - Veterans' Burial Agent; Appointment; Powers and Duties

Section 7. In each city, except Boston, and in each town, the veterans' agent shall be the burial agent; and in Boston, the soldiers' relief commission shall designate a burial agent who shall be a veteran. He shall, under regulations established by the secretary, cause properly to be interred the body of any veteran or adult dependent who dies without sufficient means to defray funeral expenses, and the body of any dependent child of a veteran if such veteran and his wife, or his widow, be without sufficient means to defray funeral expenses. If interment of any such body has taken place without the knowledge of the burial agent, application may be made to him within 60 days after the date of death, or after final interment, if the veteran dies in the service, and if upon investigation he shall find that the deceased was within the provisions of this section and the rules of the secretary, he may certify the same as provided in section eight. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any person who at the time of entering the federal service was a subject or citizen of a neutral country, who had filed his intention to become a citizen of the United States and who afterward withdrew such intention under the act of congress approved July ninth, nineteen hundred and eighteen, nor to any person designated upon his discharge as a conscientious objector. The provisions of this section shall also apply to any person who served as a state guardsman in the military service of the commonwealth between April fifth, nineteen hundred and seventeen, and December twenty-first, nineteen hundred and nineteen, or served in the state guard established during World War II, and was honorably discharged from such service and dies without sufficient means to defray funeral expenses, but shall not apply to any adult dependent or dependent child of such person.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVII - Public Welfare › Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits › Section 8 - Payment and Reimbursement of Burial Expenses; Certificate

Section 8. If a deceased person's estate has insufficient resources to pay for the cost of the funeral and burial of a deceased person covered by this chapter, the burial agent under section 7 shall expend not more than $4,000 for the funeral and burial; provided, however, that the cost of the funeral and burial shall be not more than $5,000. Any resources of such person shall be deducted from the maximum cost of the funeral and burial allowance hereunder and the difference, subject to the limitation set forth in this paragraph, shall be paid by the burial agent. No city or town shall be reimbursed under this section for any amount so expended for a single burial if the total expense of such burial, exclusive of the purchase price of the grave, the cost of the grave opening and the cost of a cement vault liner if one is required by the cemetery regulations, by whomsoever incurred, exceeded $500 for a child under the age of seven or $900 for any other person. The burial shall not be made in a cemetery or burial ground used exclusively for the burial of persons under the provisions of chapter 117 or in any part of a cemetery or burial ground so used. Relatives of the deceased who are unable to bear the expense of burial may be allowed to conduct the funeral. The full amount so expended, the name of the deceased and, if the deceased was a veteran, the regiment, company, station, organization or vessel in which such veteran served, the date of death, place of interment and, if the deceased was a spouse or widow or widower, the name of such veteran's spouse and date of marriage and, if the deceased was a dependent child, the name of the veteran and such other details as the secretary may require, shall be certified on oath to said secretary in such manner as said secretary may approve, by the burial agent and the treasurer of the city or town expending the amount, within three months after the burial. The secretary shall endorse upon the certificate the allowance of such amounts as have been paid and reported according to the foregoing provisions and shall transmit the certificate to the comptroller. Seventy-five per cent of the amounts so paid and allowed for burial expenses of veterans or dependents by the cities and towns wherein they reside shall be paid by the commonwealth to the several cities and towns on or before November 10 in the year after the expenditures have been made. Notwithstanding the requirements as to residence as set forth in section 5, the secretary may authorize the burial agent of a city or town to arrange for the proper interment of the body of an indigent veteran who dies within the commonwealth. The definitions contained in section 1 of chapter 114 shall be applicable to this section and section 9.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVII - Public Welfare › Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits › Section 9 - Care of Graves of Veterans

Section 9. The mayor of every city and the selectmen of every town shall appoint a resident of such city or town who shall be a veteran as defined in clause Forty-third of section seven of chapter four, as a veterans' graves officer, for a term to be determined by the appointing authority; provided, however, that said term shall not exceed five years. It shall be the duty of such veterans' graves officer to cause every veteran's grave within such city or town to be suitably kept and cared for. Such care shall include the clearing of weeds and other unseemly growth from said graves; the repairing, replacement and general up-keep of fences around said graves; the raising and repairing of sunken grave stones and markers and other similar services that may be necessary to restore and maintain such graves and their surroundings in an orderly condition. If the cost of such care and maintenance is not paid by private persons, or by the trustees of the cemeteries where any such grave is situated, it shall be paid by the city or town; and cities and towns may appropriate money therefor. Money so appropriated may be expended directly by the city or town or paid over to the trustees or manager of any cemetery where any such grave is situated; but the sum so paid over in any year shall not exceed for each grave the sum charged for the annual care and maintenance of like lots in the same cemetery, or, if no such charge is made in that cemetery, it shall not exceed the sum charged in other cemeteries in the same city or town for like services. In cities and towns where there are cemeteries containing the remains of deceased veterans, such cities and towns shall cause to be placed on such veterans' graves a flag of the United States on every Memorial day. Upon the approval of the secretary, compensation for 75 per cent of the cost of such flags, but none of the expenses attending the placement of such flags shall be paid by the commonwealth to the several cities and towns on or before November 10 in the year after such expenditures. In cities and towns where there are cemeteries with mausoleums containing the remains of deceased veterans, each such city or town shall cause to be placed on each mausoleum a suitable plaque with the names of all deceased veterans contained therein, and a flag of the United States shall be suitably placed at each mausoleum on every Memorial day.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVII - Public Welfare › Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits › Section 10 - Municipal Departments of Veterans' Services; Creation; Directors; Districts; Treasurer of District

Section 10. The mayors of cities and the selectmen of towns, other than cities and towns which become part of a district as authorized by the second paragraph of this section, shall cause to be established and maintained in their respective cities and towns a department for the purpose of furnishing such information, advice and assistance to veterans and their dependents as may be necessary to enable them to procure the benefits to which they are or may be entitled relative to employment, vocational or other educational opportunities, hospitalization, medical care, pensions, and other veterans' benefits. Each department so established and maintained shall be known as the department of veterans' services, and the officer in charge thereof shall be known as the director of veterans' services. Such director and any assistant or deputy director appointed under this section or section eleven shall be a veteran and shall be appointed in a city by the mayor, with the approval of the city council, and in a town by the selectmen.
Two or more adjoining towns, or two or more adjoining municipalities only one of which is a city, may, in a city by vote of the city council thereof, and in a town by vote of the selectmen thereof, form a district for the purposes set forth in the first paragraph of this section, including the appointment and compensation of a director of veterans' services, for the enforcement therein of such purposes and of such other provisions of law as it may be his duty to enforce. Any constituent city or town by vote may withdraw from the district at the end of any fiscal year of such city or town if such withdrawal is voted in the manner aforesaid not less than sixty days prior to the end of such fiscal year and notice of such vote is filed with the other municipalities comprising the district.
The director of veterans' services of each district established under authority of the preceding paragraph shall, under the direction of the district board referred to in section eleven, perform the duties of his office in each of the municipalities comprising his district.
The treasurer of one of the municipalities comprising such district, designated by the district board thereof, shall be treasurer of the district and shall give to the district a bond, with a surety company authorized to transact business in the commonwealth as surety, for the faithful performance of his duties as treasurer of the district in such sum and upon such conditions as said district board may require. The district treasurer shall disburse the money received under the provisions of section eleven upon warrants approved by the district board.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVII - Public Welfare › Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits › Section 11 - Municipal Departments of Veterans' Services; District Boards; Powers; Apportionment of Expenses; Payment of Costs and Expenses by District Members

Section 11. In every district established under authority of section ten there shall be a board composed of the mayor or his designee of such city, if any, as may be included in the district and the chairman of the board of selectmen or its designee of each of the towns, if any, included in said district and the town manager or his designee in a municipality with a town council form of government, if any, included in said district. Said board shall appoint, fix the compensation of, and may remove the director of veterans services of said district. Said board may appoint, fix the salary of, and remove, a deputy or assistant to such director, if in the opinion of said board such an officer is necessary.
Said board may determine the expenses of said director and deputy or assistant and of the department under the charge of said director, and may apportion said expenses among the several municipalities comprising such district on the basis of the taxable valuation of said municipalities as last established by the general court as a basis of apportionment for state and county taxes, or on the basis of the population of each municipality in such district based on the most recent federal census, or by any other means determined by a unanimous vote of said board to be fair and equitable to each community. Said board shall promptly thereafter notify the treasurers of said municipalities of such apportionment. Every city or town treasurer so notified shall, annually in December, certify the amount of such apportionment to the board of assessors of his municipality, who shall include such amount in the tax levy of the following year.
Upon order of the district board the city or town treasurer of each of the constituent members of the district shall from time to time pay to the district treasurer a sum or sums not exceeding, in the aggregate, the amount certified by the board as its respective share of the costs and expenses of the district. In case a city or town becomes a member of a district at a time when it is too late to permit an assessment as provided by sections ten to fourteen, inclusive, such city or town may appropriate and pay to the district treasurer an amount representing its proportionate share of the expense of the district for the period ending December thirty-first in the year in which such city or town becomes a member of the district.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVII - Public Welfare › Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits › Section 12 - Municipal Departments of Veterans' Services; Advisory Boards; Duties; Rules and Regulations

Section 12. In each city, and in each town not included in a district established under section ten, and in each such district, there may be in the department of veterans' services an unpaid advisory board to be appointed, in cities by the mayor, in towns by the board of selectmen, and in districts by the district board. Said advisory board shall render such assistance to the director of veterans' services of the municipality or district relative to the provisions of this chapter, except as to sections one to nine, inclusive, as said director may request. The secretary is hereby authorized and directed to formulate and publish rules and regulations establishing in a general manner the types of persons, with respect to their occupations, professions and special skills, who may be appointed to such unpaid advisory boards. Every such advisory board shall consist of not less than five nor more than fifteen residents of the city, town or district, as the case may be.