reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 107 - Special Service Railway Cars and Rates; Working Men's Rates; Children's Rates; Veterans' Rates; Free Passes to Public Officials

Section 107. A company may provide cars for special service, and may make special rates therefor; and may make special rates for working men and working women on week days between the hours of five and seven in the morning and five and seven in the evening, for children attending school, and for veterans of World War II attending schools or other institutions of learning under authority of any provision of the G.I. Bill of Rights, so called, as amended.
A company shall not give free tickets or passes to any state, county, city or town official, or to any person in the employ of the commonwealth or of any county, city or town, except policemen, firemen and letter carriers in uniform; but it may give them to a director of the company or to any person who is connected with it in any executive capacity. A company which violates any of the provisions of this section shall forfeit not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 108 - Railway Fares; Students' Rates

Section 108. The rates of fare charged by street or elevated railway companies for the transportation of pupils of the public day schools or public evening schools, of vocational schools subject to chapter seventy-four, or of private schools, between a given point from or to which it is necessary for them to ride in traveling to or from the schoolhouses in which they attend school and their homes, whether such schoolhouses are located in the city or town where the pupils reside or in another city or town, shall not exceed one half the regular fare charged by such street or elevated railway company for the transportation of other passengers between said points, and tickets for the transportation of pupils as aforesaid, good during the days or evenings on which said schools are in session, shall be sold by said companies in lots of ten each. Upon application of any company alleging abuses in the use of such tickets, the department may impose terms and regulations, not inconsistent herewith, relative to the sale and use of such tickets, and the furnishing of tickets by such company in accordance with the terms and regulations imposed shall be a compliance with the provisions of this section. A railway company violating any provision of this section shall forfeit twenty-five dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 110 - Free Checks or Transfers From One Railway Car to Another; Regulation

Section 110. A company shall not withdraw or discontinue the use of any free checks or free transfers from one car or line of cars to another without the approval of the department, but may regulate the use thereof to conform to rates of fare established under authority of section one hundred and four.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 111 - Notice of Change of Service

Section 111. All companies shall furnish the public with full information, by notice posted for seven consecutive days prior to the date when the same are to take effect in the cars on the lines affected, of any intended change in the running of cars, or the discontinuance of any line, or any change in the general public service of said companies.
The department shall give notice to all such companies of the foregoing provisions.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 112 - Notice of Change of Tariff or Rates to Municipalities

Section 112. The department shall forthwith, upon the filing of a petition or schedule for any change in the tariff or rates of any company, give written notice of the proposed change to the mayor or selectmen of all cities and towns where the street railway is operated, or which, in the opinion of the department, would be affected by the proposed change.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 113 - Misuse of Transfer Ticket; Penalty

Section 113. Every company shall cause to be printed on the transfer tickets issued by it to passengers the conditions under which such tickets may be used. Whoever uses a transfer ticket in violation of any such condition, or whoever uses or attempts to use a transfer ticket not issued to him, or whoever for value disposes of or attempts to dispose of to any other person a transfer ticket issued to him, or whoever for value delivers or attempts to deliver a transfer ticket not issued to him to any person, shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one month.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 113a - Fraudulent Use of Passes; Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Stations or Vehicles; Penalty

Section 113A. Whoever fraudulently attempts to, or does enter upon or leave any vehicle or station of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority by using a stolen employee or prepaid pass or a counterfeit employee or prepaid pass of said authority shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. Whoever attempts to, or does enter or leave a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority station or vehicle in the aforesaid manner may, if such offense is committed in the presence of a police officer, including a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority police officer or railway police officer, be arrested without a warrant.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 115 - Railway Service Provided at Cost; Acceptance of Secs. 115 to 128

Section 115. Any company, except the Boston Elevated Railway Company and the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway Company, and the successors of either of the said companies, which accepts sections one hundred and fifteen to one hundred and twenty-eight, inclusive, as provided in section one hundred and twenty-six, or has accepted corresponding provisions of earlier laws, shall thereafter furnish service to the public at cost, and shall be subject to said sections, inclusive, with reference to the matters specified therein, but in all other respects shall be subject to the general laws relating to street railway companies. The words ''the company'' as used in said sections, inclusive, shall mean any street railway company which has accepted said sections or corresponding provisions of earlier laws.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 116 - Cost of Service; Definitions

Section 116. The cost of the service shall include operating expenses, taxes, rentals, interest on all indebtedness as hereinafter defined, dividends on preferred stock, an interest return at the rate of six per cent per annum upon the stock investment as determined by the department under this section and such allowances for depreciation, obsolescence, and losses in respect to property sold, destroyed or abandoned as may be fixed from time to time in the case of each company by the department, and all other expenditures and charges which, under the classification of accounts of the interstate commerce commission and under the laws of the commonwealth, are properly chargeable against income or surplus. The words ''stock investment'' as used in said sections shall mean the capital investment, as hereinafter defined, less the amount paid in for outstanding preferred stock, bonds and other evidences of funded indebtedness. The words ''capital investment'' as used in said sections shall mean the amount of cash or fair value of the property paid in for stock, bonds and other evidences of funded indebtedness and properly expended for capital purposes, such amount to be determined by the department; provided, that if it has approved the issue of any such securities, no further determination in regard to the capital investment represented by such securities shall be necessary.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 117 - Reserve Fund

Section 117. No company may accept sections one hundred and fifteen to one hundred and twenty-eight, inclusive, until it has provided a reserve fund of not less than six, nor more than twelve per cent, of the gross earnings of the preceding year, except as otherwise provided in this section. Such reserve fund may be provided by the issue of either bonds or stock or preferred stock issued under the laws regulating such issues. The reserve fund shall at all times be kept separate and distinct and shall be used only for the purpose of making up a deficiency of income where the income of the company is insufficient to pay the cost of service as provided in the preceding section. Until so used, the reserve fund may be invested in bonds of the United States, or of this commonwealth or any city or town thereof. The reserve fund shall be fully subscribed for upon acceptance of said sections by the company, but shall be paid in, over a period not exceeding two years, at such times and in such amounts as shall be directed by the department. Any company may furnish a larger reserve fund or increase it with the approval of the department. The reserve fund as originally provided for or as later increased shall be considered the normal reserve fund.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 118 - Service at Cost; Application to Determine Status of Unfunded Debt

Section 118. Any company desiring to accept said sections shall, at the time of its application to the department to determine the amount of its stock investment, apply to it to determine the status of its then unfunded debt. The department shall thereupon disallow any amount thereof which it deems was improperly incurred. Interest charges upon the debt so disallowed shall be borne by the company and charged to the amount which would otherwise be available as a return upon the stock investment. Interest charges upon the residue of the unfunded debt shall be included in the cost of service. Interest charges upon the unfunded debt incurred by the company after its acceptance of said sections shall be included in the cost of service unless the department determines any portion of such debt to be unreasonable or improper. Interest charges upon any portion disallowed shall thereafter be deducted from the return upon the stock investment.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 119 - Use of Reserve Fund

Section 119. Whenever the income of the company is insufficient to meet the cost of service as defined in section one hundred and sixteen, the reserve fund shall be used, so far as necessary, to make up the deficiency, but when the income exceeds the cost of the service, the excess shall be transferred to and become a part of the reserve fund.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 120 - Schedules of Grades of Railway Fare and Transfer Privileges; Public Hearing; Approval or Modification

Section 120. A company accepting said sections shall file with its acceptance a schedule of nine different grades of fare and of transfer privileges. One such grade it shall designate as the initial grade which it desires to establish and which will, in its opinion, enable it to earn income sufficient to meet the cost of service. Four of the other grades shall provide for progressive increases and four for progressive decreases in revenue, and each interval of increase or decrease shall be calculated to increase or decrease the reserve fund by thirty per cent of the normal reserve fund. Within thirty days thereafter, after notice and a public hearing, the department shall either approve the schedule so filed or shall establish a schedule similarly designed in place thereof; provided, that if, during any period of sixty days, more than one company shall file its acceptance of said sections and a schedule of proposed grades of fare, the department shall not be required to approve or establish the grades of fare for any such company until thirty days after it has passed upon all schedules previously filed in accordance with this section. Whenever, by reason of any change in the existing rate of fare, there are less than four grades either above or below the rate of fare then in force, the company shall forthwith file with the department a schedule of additional grades of fare, so that there will always be both above and below the existing rate of fare not less than four grades of fare, and the department shall thereupon, within sixty days thereafter, either approve the schedule so filed or itself establish in lieu thereof the necessary additional grades of fare.
If at any time it shall appear to be in the interest of the public or of the company that the said schedule should be changed either with regard to the method or basis upon which the fares and transfer privileges are established, or because the steps between the different grades are too small or too great, or for any other reason, the company, with the approval of the department, may change the said schedule.
Except as above provided, the department may modify such schedule only after it has been in effect for a period of one year; provided, that no modification of the schedule which diminishes the rate of return on the stock investment shall be continued in effect for a period exceeding four months.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 121 - Change in Grades of Railway Fare

Section 121. If, as of the last day of any March, June, September or December, the reserve fund shall exceed by thirty per cent or more the normal reserve fund, and during the three preceding months the income shall have exceeded the cost of the service, the company shall, within thirty days thereafter, put into effect the next lower grade of fare adopted as aforesaid; and if, as of the last day of any March, June, September or December, the reserve fund shall be less than seventy per cent of the normal reserve fund, and during the three preceding months the income has been less than the cost of service, the company shall, within thirty days thereafter, put into effect the next higher grade of fare, and the fare shall continue to be decreased or to be increased, if the amount of the reserve fund is above or below said limits, as of such quarterly dates. The company, with the consent of the department, may put into effect the next higher or lower grade of fare at any time when the reserve fund is below or above the normal amount.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 122 - Improvement Fund

Section 122. The company shall provide an improvement fund of an amount required by the department but not exceeding five per cent of the capital investment. Such fund may be raised by the issue of bonds or stock or preferred stock. It shall be fully subscribed within sixty days after determination of the capital investment of the company, and shall be paid in from time to time, as required, by a plan of gradual improvement to be approved by the department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 123 - Sale of Railway Property and Franchise to State or Municipality

Section 123. Any company accepting said sections shall be bound thereby to sell its entire property and franchises as a going concern to the commonwealth or to any city or town at any time for an amount in cash equal to the stock investment, and the amount of cash paid in for preferred stock, and the purchaser shall in addition assume all outstanding bonds, contracts, leases and other liabilities of the company. Said sections shall not affect the right of the commonwealth or of any city or town to acquire at any time, by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine, the property and franchises of any company accepting said sections.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 124 - Directors Appointed by Governor; Qualifications; Powers and Privileges

Section 124. The governor, with the advice and consent of the council, shall appoint for terms of three years each three persons to be members of the board of directors of any company which accepts said sections, of whom at least two shall be residents of a city or town served by the company, and none shall be an owner of its stocks or bonds. They shall have and exercise all the power and privileges of the other directors of the company, and shall receive such fees as are paid to the other directors. The by-laws of the company shall be modified so as to permit of the appointment of such persons as directors, and shall also provide for monthly meetings of the board. If any such board shall have an executive committee or a finance committee, or any other standing committee, at least one of the persons appointed by the governor shall be a member of every such committee.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 125 - Monthly Condition Statements; Supervision and Investigation by Department

Section 125. In order that the department may at all times be in a position to take such action as the public interest requires, the companies shall furnish it each month with such statements as it requires, showing the condition of the reserve fund, the income and expenditures of the previous month and such other information as the department may desire. The commonwealth shall be divided by the department into street railway districts, and for each district within which one or more companies has accepted said sections the department shall appoint one or more resident supervisors for terms of three years, their salaries and expense allowance to be fixed by the department and paid by the company as an operating expense, or, if their duties extend to more than one company, their salaries and expenses shall be apportioned among the several companies in respect to which they act, in such manner as the department may determine. Said supervisors shall keep in constant touch with the operation of the companies and inform the department of all complaints and criticism of the service rendered.
If the department deems any special investigation of any company necessary it may order the same at the expense of the company.
The department may require such changes in the management and operation of any company which has accepted said sections as it deems necessary for the efficient conduct of the business of the company in the public interest.
Any foreign company furnishing electric light or power to any street railway company operating under said sections shall file annually with the department a schedule of all rates charged to all its customers for power where the electricity is furnished by a central plant to others than the said railway company and with such other information in such form as the department requires. The department may prohibit the transmission of electricity for either light or power unless such information is filed as requested and the prices charged therefor are determined by it to be fair and reasonable.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 126 - Acceptance of Secs. 115 to 128; Commencement of Operations

Section 126. Any company desiring to accept said sections shall apply to the department to determine the amount of its capital investment and of its stock investment, and upon such determination the company may accept said sections by filing with the department its election so to do, authorized by a vote of not less than a majority of its capital stock, and evidence satisfactory to the department that it has provided or will provide the reserve and improvement funds mentioned in sections one hundred and seventeen and one hundred and twenty-two.
The department may permit any company desiring to operate under said sections to begin operations before the determination of its capital investment and of its stock investment; provided, that the company has met all the other requirements of said sections, but no dividends shall be disbursed to the holders of any common stock until after said determination has been made.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 127 - Disposal of Property No Longer of Service

Section 127. The department may order any company accepting said sections to dispose of any property no longer of service to the company. Any loss thereby incurred it may, with the approval of the department, distribute over such period, not exceeding ten years, as the department shall designate, instead of charging the entire amount of such loss against its earnings or surplus for the year in which such loss may accrue.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 128 - Return on Stock Investment; State Directors of Railway Company; Petition for Reversal of Orders of Department

Section 128. If a majority of the state directors of a company believe that a particular order or decision of the department would impair the ability of the company to pay the six per cent interest return on the stock investment as provided in section one hundred and sixteen, they shall so advise the department in writing, and if, after reconsideration, the department insists upon the order or decision the company may apply by petition to the supreme judicial court for a reversal or modification thereof. The court may appoint three commissioners to determine the facts and questions at issue, and their report, if confirmed by the court, shall be final.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 129 - Avoiding or Abolishing Grade Crossings; Eminent Domain

Section 129. For the purpose of avoiding or abolishing a crossing of a railroad by the tracks of a street railway company at grade, the company may purchase or take by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine land necessary therefor, not exceeding fifty feet in width, outside the limits of a public way; but no land shall be so taken which cannot lawfully be taken for the laying out of a railroad, nor shall it be so taken until a plan on an appropriate scale, showing by metes and bounds the land, and the names of the owners thereof, has, after notice to such owners, and after such public notice and hearing as is required by section seven, been approved in writing by the board of aldermen of the city or the selectmen of the town where such land is situated; nor shall the land of a railroad corporation or of another street railway company be so taken without its consent, except with the approval of the department after notice and a hearing.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 130 - Construction of Overpasses and Underpasses

Section 130. A company, which has acquired land for such purpose, may construct its railway over or under a railroad, in the manner agreed upon by the companies, or, if they do not agree, in the manner prescribed by the department; but no overhead structure shall be built at a height of less than eighteen feet above the railroad track without the written consent of the department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 131 - Structures or Alterations Within Public Way or State Highway

Section 131. The board of aldermen of a city or the selectmen of a town, if a public way, and the department of highways, if a state highway, may authorize structures or alterations within, or partly within, the limits thereof, which are necessary for carrying a street railway over or under a railroad, if such way is not thereby made unsafe for other public travel.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 133 - Filing of Certificate of Name Change

Section 133. A certified copy of such authorization and a certificate of the vote of the company, signed and sworn to by the president, treasurer and a majority of the directors, shall be filed in the office of the state secretary. The department shall require public notice to be given of the change so authorized; and upon receipt of proof thereof the state secretary shall grant a certificate of the name which the company shall bear, which, subject to the restrictions of section four, shall thereafter be its legal name.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 134 - Rights and Liabilities of Railway Company Under New Name

Section 134. A company shall have the same rights, powers and privileges, and be subject to the same duties, obligations and liabilities, under its new name as before its name was changed, and may sue and be sued by its new name; but any action brought against it under its former name shall not be defeated on that account, and, on motion of either party, the new name may be substituted therefor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 135 - Authorization of Sale by Receiver of Railway Property; Powers and Duties of Purchaser

Section 135. A receiver of the property of a company may, by order of the court, sell and transfer the railway and property of such company, its locations and franchises, on such terms and in such manner as the court orders. The purchasers from such receiver, and a company organized under the following section, if such railway has been transferred to it, shall hold and possess said railway, all its rights and franchises and all property acquired in connection therewith, with the same rights and privileges and subject to the same duties and liabilities as the original company; but no action shall be brought against such purchasers or such new company, to enforce any liability incurred by said original company, except debts and liabilities owing from said original company to any city or town where the railway is operated and taxes and assessments for which said original company is liable under the laws relating to street railways, which shall be assumed and paid by said new company. This section shall not impair the powers of the holders of an outstanding mortgage to enforce their rights by suit or otherwise.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 136 - Content of Agreement of Association of Purchasers; Execution of Agreement

Section 136. The purchasers at such sale shall, with their associates, to the number of at least fifteen, within sixty days after such sale, organize a company for the purpose of holding, owning and operating the street railway purchased, by filing in the office of the state secretary a written agreement of association, which shall state:
(a) That the subscribers thereto associate themselves with the intention of forming a street railway company.
(b) The corporate name assumed, which shall be one not in use by any other street railway company in the commonwealth, or, in the judgment of the department, so similar thereto as to be likely to be mistaken for it, and which shall contain the words, ''street railway company'', at the end thereof.
(c) The corporate name of the company whose property and franchises have been purchased.
(d) The termini of the railway.
(e) The length of the railway, as nearly as may be.
(f) The name of each city and town where the railway is located.
(g) The name of the court by which the sale was ordered, the date of such order, and date of sale.
(h) The total amount of the capital stock of the company, which shall be fixed at an amount approved by the department, but which shall not exceed the fair cost, as determined by the department, of replacing the railway and property so acquired, less the amount of any outstanding mortgages to which said railway and property may be subject in the hands of the new company.
(i) The par value of the shares, which may be one hundred dollars, fifty dollars or twenty-five dollars as the department shall authorize.
(j) The names and residences of at least five persons, who shall be subscribers to the agreement of association, to act as directors until others are chosen and qualified in their stead.
Each associate shall subscribe to the agreement of association his name, residence, post office address, and the number of shares of stock which he agrees to take.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 137 - Certificate of Incorporation; Organization of Railway Company

Section 137. The state secretary shall receive the agreement of association, and preserve it in form convenient for reference and open to public inspection, and shall issue a certificate of incorporation in the form authorized by section nine. Thereupon, the company shall organize in the manner provided in this chapter for the organization of a company. Such company may begin business as soon as it is organized, and shall have all the rights and be subject to all the duties of a street railway company, except as otherwise provided in this and the preceding section. If said purchasers fail to organize a company as hereinbefore provided, all rights and powers to operate said railway shall thereupon cease.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 138 - Annual Return Transmitted to Department by Street Railway Company Directors

Section 138. The directors of every street railway company shall annually within the time prescribed by section thirty-two of chapter one hundred and fifty-nine transmit to the department a return of the company for the year ending on December thirty-first preceding which shall be sworn to by the treasurer and the chief accounting officer of the company. Such return shall set forth copies of all leases and contracts made during the year with other street railway companies, and shall contain full and complete information upon the several items contained in the form prescribed by the department. A company owning a leased railway shall be responsible for the completeness and correctness of its annual return to the same extent as if the railway were in its own possession. A company which fails to make a return, or to amend it when notified so to do, shall forfeit twenty-five dollars for each day during which such failure continues.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 140 - Street Railway Lessee's Annual Return

Section 140. The lessee of a street railway shall make to the company which owns it the same annual return on oath of the operations and business of the railway as is required of the company which owns it; and, for failure so to do, shall be liable in tort to said company for all the penalties prescribed by law for failure by it to make its annual return.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 141 - Retention of Records by State Departments and Commissions

Section 141. Every state department and commission shall keep a record of its proceedings in any matter considered by it under any laws affecting street railways in which it shall enter every request, made by any party before it, for a ruling of law and of its action upon such request, and the neglect either to grant or refuse such request shall, subject to section five of chapter twenty-five, be taken in any judicial review of such proceedings as a refusal.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 142 - Equity Jurisdiction

Section 142. The supreme judicial or superior court shall have jurisdiction in equity, on petition of a company, or of the board of aldermen of a city or the selectmen of a town where the street railway is located, or of any interested party, to compel the observance and to restrain the violation of all laws which govern street railway companies, and of all orders, rules and regulations made in accordance with this chapter by the board of aldermen, selectmen or the department, and to review, annul, modify or amend the rulings of any state department or commission relative to street railways as law and justice may require.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 143 - Establishment of Area

Section 143. A city or town may establish, or two or more cities or two or more towns, or two or more cities and towns, may unite for the purpose of establishing, transportation areas for the operation of freight or passenger service, or both, on street railways existing therein, and for the operation of bus, demand response and other services for the transportation of passengers and freight within and outside member towns. Upon the approval of such an agreement by the department and by the voters, as provided in section one hundred and forty-five, such a transportation area shall be a body corporate or politic, and may become vested with all the rights and powers and shall be subject to all the duties and obligations hereinafter conferred or imposed. All the laws and penalties relating to privately operated street railways within the commonwealth, and such rules and regulations as may from time to time be prescribed by the department shall apply to such an area. The area shall be given a distinctive name by the trustees, hereinafter provided for, which shall include the words ''Transportation Area''.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 144 - Preliminary Agreements

Section 144. A city, by vote of its city council, subject to the provisions of its charter, or a town by vote of its board of selectmen, may make preliminary agreements with one or more companies operating within its territory for the lease or purchase and operation of the properties of said company. For the purposes of this section, a company shall act by a majority of its board of directors.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 145 - Acceptance of Preliminary Agreements

Section 145. Upon the acceptance of such a preliminary agreement by a majority in interest of all classes of stock in such a company entitled to vote, and approval by the department after a public hearing of which due notice shall be given, the agreement shall thereupon be binding upon the company, subject to acceptance by the voters as hereinafter provided. The department shall make an appraisal of the property to which the agreement relates, and shall determine the value thereof and the price or rental to be paid therefor by the transportation area. The appraisal shall be on the basis of the actual value at the time of appraisal and not of the cost of replacement. Thereupon the said agreement and appraisal shall be advertised in a newspaper published in every city and town within said area, or in the county as the department may determine, and shall, within sixty days, be submitted to the voters in every such city at a regular or special municipal election, and in every such town at a town meeting called for the purpose, in the form of the following question to be placed upon the official ballot: ''Shall the agreement with the company, providing for the operation of its property by a transportation area under sections one hundred and forty-three to one hundred and fifty-eight, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and sixty-one of the General Laws to which the city of (or town of ) shall be a party, be accepted?'' If approved by a majority of the voters voting thereon by ballot in every such city and town, except such as may have been excluded by the department, acting under section one hundred and fifty-four, the said agreement shall thereupon be binding, but not otherwise, and the mayor and city council and the selectmen shall have authority to execute such further agreements, contracts or leases as may be necessary to effect the purposes and terms of the preliminary agreement.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 146 - Management of Transportation Area; Appointment and Compensation of Trustees

Section 146. The management and control of a transportation area shall be vested in a board of trustees of whom two shall be chosen by the mayor of each city concerned, with the approval of the city council, and two by the selectmen of each town concerned. The initial appointees shall serve for terms of one and two years, respectively, and their successors for terms of two years. If a transportation area is established by a single city, or town, its board of trustees shall consist of five members, of whom the initial appointees shall serve for one, two, three, four and five years, respectively, and their several successors for five years each. Each trustee shall be sworn to the faithful performance of his duty, and a certificate thereof shall be recorded in the records of the secretary of the area, and shall serve until his successor is qualified. A trustee may be removed for cause by the appointing authority, and any vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as an original appointment. The trustees shall not be deemed public officers within the meaning of section forty of chapter two hundred and seventy-one, nor shall they incur any personal liability as such. Together with their agents and employees, they shall be deemed agents of the transportation area. The trustees shall receive no stated salaries, but may be paid not more than ten dollars each for every meeting attended, but no trustee shall receive in the aggregate more than three hundred dollars annually. No stockholder in a street railway company the property of which is leased to a transportation area shall act as a trustee for such area.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 147 - Powers of Trustees; Status of Employees of Acquired Private Companies

Section 147. The board of trustees of a transportation area shall have full power to operate the street railway property leased or acquired thereby, or any equipment or facility otherwise acquired, or to lease or sublease the same, and to enter into contracts with private companies for the operation of mass transportation services within the transportation area, all such powers being subject to such conditions as may be approved by the department, and may appoint and remove and fix the compensation of such officers, managers and assistants as may be necessary. The board shall have the power to apply for and receive aid of any kind under the provisions of any federal or state law.
If, upon the establishment of a transportation area, the board of trustees shall acquire any private company previously operating within its area, the employees of such company, other than its board of directors, shall become employees of the transportation area and no employee of such company becoming an employee of the transportation area in accordance with this section shall, by reason of transfer to employment by the transportation area, without his consent be removed, lowered in rank or compensation or suspended, except for just cause and for reasons specifically given to him in writing twenty-four hours after such removal, suspension, transfer or lowering in rank or compensation; nor shall any such employee, by reason of such transfer, without his consent be in any worse position in respect to workers' compensation, pension, superannuation, sickness or any other benefits or allowances granted by his previous employer to himself, his widow, family or personal representatives than he enjoyed under any person, firm or corporation under whom he held his employment immediately prior to his transfer to the employment of the transportation area; provided that the trustees may abolish any office or post of any existing executive officer if in the opinion of the trustees the same is an unreasonable addition to the staff of the transportation area.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 148 - Officers of Board of Trustees; Election; Treasurer's Bond; Voting; Quorum; Annual Report

Section 148. At the first meeting of the said trustees, and at each annual meeting thereafter, they shall elect from their number a chairman, vice chairman, treasurer and a secretary who shall perform such duties as the trustees shall prescribe. The treasurer shall give a surety company bond in such amount as the trustees shall fix, and the premium thereon shall be paid as an expense of the area. Each trustee shall be entitled to one vote on all matters calling for the determination of the board. The trustees shall hold such meetings and transact such business as may be necessary for the efficient operation of the transportation area. A majority of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business and the action of a majority of those present at any meeting shall be deemed the action of the trustees. The trustees shall annually, before February first, report, with a detailed statement of the finances of the area, to the several cities and towns of the area, and the treasurer shall, once in every three months, make a financial report to said cities and towns in such form as the trustees prescribe.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 149 - Taking of Railway by Eminent Domain

Section 149. Upon the request of the board of trustees of a transportation area established under this chapter the department shall take by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine on behalf of such transportation area the whole property, or any part thereof, of a street railway which the company has ceased, for more than ninety days, to operate, provided that the department has determined that public necessity and convenience require the operation of such street railway, or part thereof and approves the taking, and provided also that the proposed taking has been approved by a majority of the voters, voting thereon, substantially in the manner provided by section one hundred and forty-five, in every city and town included within the transportation area.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 150 - Discharge of Liabilities and Obligations; Basis of Contribution by Municipalities Within Area

Section 150. The cities and towns comprising a transportation area shall contribute to the discharge of its liabilities and obligations on the basis of one third part according to the single track street railway and the bus or other mass transportation route mileage running in or through their respective limits, one third part according to their population, and one third part according to their assessed valuation. The department shall establish the said basis at least once in three years.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 151 - Finances of Transportation Areas

Section 151. The financial year of a transportation area shall end on the last day of each calendar year. The cities and towns comprising the area shall, in proportion to their respective interests, as defined in the preceding section, contribute to make up any financial deficit resulting from the operation of the area for any financial year, and the board of assessors of any such city or town, upon receipt from the trustees of a certificate showing the amount so found to be due, shall include said amount in the annual tax levy of the city or town for the year following the said financial year. If there is a surplus from such operation for any financial year, eighty-five per cent thereof shall be distributed by the trustees among the cities and towns comprising the area in proportion to their respective interests, and fifteen per cent thereof shall be held by the trustees to be applied to reduce any deficit in any succeeding year. In reckoning a profit or a deficit, the trustees shall first charge off as depreciation not less than three per cent and not more than five per cent of the book value of the property. Any sum received by the trustees in aid of the operation of the transportation area under any federal or state law shall be credited before reckoning a profit or a deficit.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 152 - Municipal Borrowing; Limitations

Section 152. For the purpose of acquiring street railway property or other equipment or facility under sections one hundred and forty-three to one hundred and fifty-eight, inclusive, of operating the same, or of contributing toward the sums expended by the transportation area for capital purposes, cities and towns may, with the approval of the department, borrow money in excess of the statutory limit, but not exceeding the sum of two per cent of their respective equalized valuation as defined in section one of chapter forty-four. The board of trustees of a transportation area shall have the power to at one time or from time to time issue bonds and notes for any one or more of the purposes for which a regional transit authority may issue bonds and notes under sections seven, ten and seventeen of chapter one hundred and sixty-one B of the General Laws. The power to issue such bonds and notes shall be subject to the terms set forth in sections seven, ten, eleven, thirteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen and twenty of chapter one hundred and sixty-one B of the General Laws. The board of trustees of a transportation area shall have the power to provide for the issue of interest bearing or discounted notes for the purposes and in the amounts that bonds may be issued in the same manner and subject to the same limitations as are applicable to regional transit authorities under section twenty-one of chapter one hundred and sixty-one B.