reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VI - Counties and County Officers › Chapter 37 - Sheriffs › Section 24 - Transportation of Prisoners or Persons in Custody; Sheriffs' Duties

Section 24. The sheriffs of the several counties, and their respective deputies, shall be responsible under the provisions of this section for the transportation of prisoners or other persons in their custody including, but not limited to, the following:
(a) prisoners or other persons in their custody to and from the several divisions or departments of the trial court,
(b) prisoners or other persons placed in their custody by any of the several divisions or departments of the trial court under the provisions of chapter two hundred and seventy-nine,
(c) prisoners or other persons placed in their custody by any of the several divisions or departments of the trial court to be remanded to any noncorrectional facility for the purpose of receiving medical, social, psychological and other related services,
(d) persons under the age of 18 years placed in their custody by any of the several divisions or departments of the trial court under any of the provisions of chapter one hundred and nineteen, and
(e) prisoners or other persons required to be returned from out of the commonwealth for trial or confinement under the provisions of sections eleven to twenty R, inclusive, of chapter two hundred and seventy-six.
Any person placed in the custody of a sheriff who has been transported to a division or department of the trial court shall, upon the completion of such transportation, be transferred into the custody of such court.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VI - Counties and County Officers › Chapter 37 - Sheriffs › Section 25 - Transportation of Prisoners or Persons in Custody; Costs; Appropriations; Report

Section 25. The cost of transportation required by section twenty-four shall be borne by the commonwealth. The secretary of administration and finance shall make an annual request for an appropriation for the purpose of funding said section twenty-four and, subject to such appropriation, said funds shall be paid to the treasurer of each county who shall place said funds in a separate account within the treasury of each county. All funds deposited in said accounts and any interest accruing thereto shall be used solely for the purposes set forth in said section twenty-four. No later than March first of each year, the treasurer of each county receiving funds under this section shall file a written report with the house and senate committees on ways and means detailing expenditures made from such accounts in the preceding calendar year.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VI - Counties and County Officers › Chapter 37 - Sheriffs › Section 26 - Identification Cards for Full-Time Deputies

Section 26. The sheriff shall issue to every full-time deputy employed by the sheriff an identification card bearing the deputy's photograph and identifying information. The secretary of public safety and security may adopt regulations relative to the form, content and issuance of identification cards and to the carrying thereof by deputies.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VI - Counties and County Officers › Chapter 38 - Medical Examiners and Inquests › Section 1 - Definitions

Section 1. As used in this chapter, the following words shall, unless the context requires otherwise, have the following meanings:—
''Commission'', to the commission on medicolegal investigation, established by section one hundred and eighty-four of chapter six.
''Office'', the office of the chief medical examiner.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VI - Counties and County Officers › Chapter 38 - Medical Examiners and Inquests › Section 2b - Duties of Chief Medical Examiner Regarding Death of a Child Under the Age of 2

[ Text of section added by 2023, 28, Sec. 24 effective July 1, 2023. See 2023, 28, Sec. 115.]
Section 2B. In the case of the death of a child under the age of 2, the chief medical examiner shall review and approve: (i) the findings and report of the medical examiner performing the autopsy to determine the cause of death; and (ii) any change to the autopsy report.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VI - Counties and County Officers › Chapter 38 - Medical Examiners and Inquests › Section 3 - Duty to Report Deaths; Failure to Report

Section 3. It shall be the duty of any person having knowledge of a death which occurs under the circumstances enumerated in this paragraph immediately to notify the office of the chief medical examiner, or the medical examiner designated to the location where the death has occurred, of the known facts concerning the time, place, manner, circumstances and cause of such death:
(1) death where criminal violence appears to have taken place, regardless of the time interval between the incident and death, and regardless of whether such violence appears to have been the immediate cause of death, or a contributory factor thereto;
(2) death by accident or unintentional injury, regardless of time interval between the incident and death, and regardless of whether such injury appears to have been the immediate cause of death, or a contributory factor thereto;
(3) suicide, regardless of the time interval between the incident and death;
(4) death under suspicious or unusual circumstances;
(5) death following an unlawful abortion;
(6) death related to occupational illness or injury;
(7) death in custody, in any jail or correctional facility, or in any mental health or mental retardation institution;
(8) death where suspicion of abuse of a child, family or household member, elder person or disabled person exists;
(9) death due to poison or acute or chronic use of drugs or alcohol;
(10) skeletal remains;
(11) death associated with diagnostic or therapeutic procedures;
(12) sudden death when the decedent was in apparent good health;
(13) death in any public or private conveyance;
(14) fetal death, as defined in section 202 of chapter 111, where the period of gestation has been 20 weeks or more or where fetal weight is 350 grams or more;
(15) death of children under the age of 18 years from any cause;
(16) any person found dead;
(17) death in an emergency treatment facility, medical walk-in center, child care center or under foster care; or
(18) deaths occurring under such other circumstances as the chief medical examiner shall prescribe in regulations promulgated pursuant to chapter 30A.
A physician, police officer, hospital administrator, licensed nurse, department of children and families social worker, or licensed funeral director, within the commonwealth, who, having knowledge of such an unreported death, fails to notify the office of the chief medical examiner of such death shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars. Such failure shall also be reported to the appropriate board of registration, where applicable.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VI - Counties and County Officers › Chapter 38 - Medical Examiners and Inquests › Section 4 - Investigation; Transportation of Bodies

Section 4. Upon notification of a death in the circumstances enumerated in section three, the chief medical examiner or his designee shall carefully inquire into the cause and circumstances of the death. If, as a result of such inquiry, the chief medical examiner or such designee is of the opinion that the death was due to violence or other unnatural means or to natural causes that require further investigation, he shall take jurisdiction. The body of the deceased shall not be moved, and the scene where the body is located shall not be disturbed, until either the medical examiner or the district attorney or his representative either arrives at the scene or gives directions as to what shall be done at the scene. In such cases of unnatural or suspicious death where the district attorney's office is to be notified, the medical examiner shall not disturb the body or the scene without permission from the district attorney or his representative.
The medical examiner shall be responsible for making arrangements for transport of the body. The district attorney or his law enforcement representative shall direct and control the investigation of the death and shall coordinate the investigation with the office of the chief medical examiner and the police department within whose jurisdiction the death occurred. Either the medical examiner or the district attorney in the jurisdiction where death occurred may order an autopsy. Cases requiring autopsy shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the office for such purpose. As part of his investigation, the chief medical examiner or his designee may, in his discretion, notwithstanding any other provision of law, cause the body to be tested by the department of public health for the presence of any virus, disease, infection, or syndrome which might pose a public health risk.
If the medical examiner is unable to respond and take charge of the body of the deceased in an expeditious manner, the chief of police of the city or town wherein the body lies, or his representative, may, after conferring with the appropriate district attorney, move the body to another location until a medical examiner is able to respond. Before moving the body the police shall document all facts relevant to the appearance, condition and position of the body and every fact and circumstance tending to show the cause and circumstances of death.
In carrying out the duties prescribed by this section, the chief medical examiner or his designee shall be entitled to review and receive copies of medical records, hospital records, or information which he deems relevant to establishing the cause and manner of death. No person or hospital shall be subject to liability of any nature for providing such records or information in good faith at the request of the office. The chief medical examiner shall notify the local district attorney of the death of a child immediately following receipt of a report that such a death occurred.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VI - Counties and County Officers › Chapter 38 - Medical Examiners and Inquests › Section 4a - Death Resulting From Single-Vehicle Accident; Blood Sample Analysis; Liability of Medical Examiner

Section 4A. If, after making inquiry pursuant to section four, the medical examiner is of the opinion that death may have resulted from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident, and that the death occurred within four hours of such accident, that the deceased was the operator and sole occupant of the motor vehicle, and that no other individuals were involved in the accident, the medical examiner shall submit to the state police laboratory a sample of blood from the deceased in an amount sufficient for chemical analysis if it is obtainable at an autopsy. If such chemical analysis indicates the presence of a controlled substance or alcohol, such sample shall be preserved for no less than one hundred and twenty days from the date the sample is taken to permit an independent analysis. Such independent analysis shall be done upon the written request and at the expense of the next of kin of the decedent. No independent analysis of blood performed after sixty days pursuant to this section shall be admissible as evidence of the level of alcohol or controlled substance in any legal proceeding. The medical examiner shall not be civilly or criminally liable for any action taken in compliance with this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VI - Counties and County Officers › Chapter 38 - Medical Examiners and Inquests › Section 5 - Cooperation With Office of Chief Medical Examiner

Section 5. All law enforcement officers, district medical examiners, hospitals and other medical facilities, and other state, county and local officials shall cooperate with the office of chief medical examiner in the investigation of medicolegal cases. The office of the chief medical examiner may use the services of the department of state police laboratory for the performance of tests, documentation of evidence, investigating procedures and consultation on special problems. The chief medical examiner, subject to appropriation, may establish and operate a pathology laboratory within the office of chief medical examiner to meet the needs of that office. If other services required by the office of chief medical examiner are not available in the department of state police laboratory, the chief medical examiner may employ the services of other appropriate laboratories.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VI - Counties and County Officers › Chapter 38 - Medical Examiners and Inquests › Section 6 - Unmarked Human Remains; Notice to Office of Chief Medical Examiner; Reasonable Attempt to Identify; Notification of Commission on Indian Affairs When Remains Suspected to Be 100 Years Old or More

Section 6. (a) It shall be the duty of a person who discovers unmarked human remains, or who knowingly causes human remains to be disturbed through construction or agricultural activity, to immediately notify the office of the chief medical examiner.
(b) The medical examiner shall make reasonable attempts to promptly identify unmarked human remains including, but not limited to, obtaining: (i) photographs of the human remains prior to an autopsy; (ii) dental or skeletal X-rays; (iii) photographs of items found with the human remains; (iv) fingerprints from the remains, if possible; and (v) a sample of bone, hair or tissue for DNA testing.
(c) The office shall conduct an inquiry to determine whether the remains are suspected of being 100 years old or more and, if so determined, shall immediately notify the state archaeologist. The state archaeologist shall determine if the skeletal remains are Native American. If the remains are deemed likely to be Native American, the state archaeologist shall immediately notify the commission on Indian affairs which shall cause a site evaluation to be made to determine if the place where the remains were found is a Native American burial site.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VI - Counties and County Officers › Chapter 38 - Medical Examiners and Inquests › Section 7 - Attorney General; Notice of Circumstances of Death

Section 7. If, during the course of investigation, the medical examiner is of the opinion that the death may have been caused by the act or negligence of another, he shall at once notify the district attorney within whose district the deceased was found or, if such act or negligence has occurred in a different district, the district attorney for such other district. He shall also make available to the district attorney any and all records pertaining to such investigation. He shall in all cases forthwith certify to the city or town clerk or registrar in the place where the deceased died, the name and address, if known, or otherwise a description as full as may be of the deceased, and the cause and manner of death. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, such certification may indicate that the death was caused by auto-immune deficiency syndrome, so-called.
In cases of homicide, after indictment and arraignment, and while the defendant is in custody or subject to the jurisdiction of the court, upon his request, a copy of the official autopsy report and a copy of the inquest report, if any, shall be made available to him by the district attorney in accordance with the provisions of the Massachusetts Rules of Criminal Procedure.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VI - Counties and County Officers › Chapter 38 - Medical Examiners and Inquests › Section 8 - Inquests

Section 8. The chief medical examiner or his designee may request the attorney general or the district attorney to direct that an inquest be held. The attorney general or district attorney may, regardless of whether or not action has been taken by the office of the chief medical examiner, require an inquest to be held in case of any death. The district court which has jurisdiction over the matter shall thereupon hold an inquest.
The court shall give seasonable notice of the time and place of the inquest to the department of telecommunications and energy, in any case of death by accident upon a public conveyance regulated by said department, and to the registry of motor vehicles in any case of death in which any motor vehicle is involved. Such notice shall also be given to any parent, spouse, or other member of the deceased's immediate family or to the deceased's legal representative or legal guardian.
Any person who has been identified by the attorney general or the district attorney, as the case may be, as the target of an investigation in connection with the death of the deceased may be present during the holding of such inquest and be represented by counsel, and may request leave of the court to present or examine witnesses, and shall at the completion of the court's report of said inquest have the right to examine said report; provided, however, that no indictment shall be dismissed nor shall any evidence be suppressed for violation of the provisions of this paragraph. All other persons not required by law to attend may be excluded from the inquest; provided, however, that the parents, guardian or next of kin of the person whose death is the subject of the inquest shall be deemed to be interested persons who may be present during the holding of such inquest. The court may order, as it deems appropriate, that witnesses to be examined during the inquest be sequestered.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VI - Counties and County Officers › Chapter 38 - Medical Examiners and Inquests › Section 9 - Accidental Deaths; Public Conveyances; Transcript of Inquest

Section 9. If the court determines that the inquest relates to an accidental death upon a conveyance regulated by the department of telecommunications and energy, the court shall cause a transcript of the inquest proceedings, after review and written approval by the court, and the bill for such transcript, to be forwarded to said department within thirty days after the closing of the inquest proceedings, and, when made, a copy of the court's report on the inquest.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VI - Counties and County Officers › Chapter 38 - Medical Examiners and Inquests › Section 10 - Report of Findings by Court

Section 10. The court shall report in writing when, where, and by what means the person met his death, the person's name, if known, and all material circumstances attending the death, and the name, if known, of any person whose unlawful act or negligence appears to have contributed thereto. The court shall file its report and a transcript of the inquest proceedings in the superior court for the county in which the inquest is held. Said transcript shall be impounded until the district attorney files a certificate with the superior court indicating that he will not present the case to a grand jury, or files notice with the superior court that the grand jury has returned a true bill or a no bill after presentment by the district attorney.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VI - Counties and County Officers › Chapter 38 - Medical Examiners and Inquests › Section 11 - Persons Charged With Crime; Arrest

Section 11. If a person charged by an inquest report with the commission of a crime is at large, the district court, upon the request of the district attorney, shall forthwith issue process for such person's arrest, returnable before any court or magistrate having jurisdiction.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VI - Counties and County Officers › Chapter 38 - Medical Examiners and Inquests › Section 12 - Embalming Fluid; Restriction on Use

Section 12. No embalming fluid, or any substitute therefor, shall be injected into the body of any person whose death is being investigated by the office until authorization from a representative of the office has first been obtained.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VI - Counties and County Officers › Chapter 38 - Medical Examiners and Inquests › Section 14 - Bodies Intended for Cremation or Burial at Sea; Authorization; Fees

Section 14. A medical examiner or forensic investigator designated by the chief medical examiner shall, on payment of a fee as determined from time to time by the secretary of public safety, which shall be not less than $75, view the body and make personal inquiry concerning the cause and manner of death of any person whose body is intended for cremation or burial at sea and shall authorize such cremation or burial at sea only when no further examination or judicial inquiry concerning such death is necessary. Said fee shall be paid by the person to whom such authorization for cremation or burial at sea is given. Cremation fees collected by the office of the chief medical examiner shall be utilized to support the comprehensive system of medico-legal investigative services delivered by the agency. District medical examiners employed on a fee-for-service basis shall be compensated for performance of cremation views at a rate set by the secretary of public safety. Other medical examiners or forensic investigators performing cremation views will not receive additional compensation beyond their specified salaries.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VI - Counties and County Officers › Chapter 38 - Medical Examiners and Inquests › Section 15 - Personal Property of Deceased; Disposition

Section 15. A medical examiner responding to the scene of a death shall take charge of any money or other personal property of the deceased found on or near the body, or may request the police department to do so. The medical examiner or police department shall, unless such money or property is required as evidence, deliver it to the person entitled to its custody or possession, or, if not claimed within sixty days, to a public administrator. A medical examiner or police officer who fraudulently refuses to deliver such property within ten days after demand or who converts such property to his own use shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than two years.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VI - Counties and County Officers › Chapter 38 - Medical Examiners and Inquests › Section 16 - Required Reports Relating to Certain Controlled Substances; Sole Cause of Death; Exposure of Children

Section 16. (a) The chief medical examiner shall file a report with the Food and Drug Administration's MedWatch Program any time the determined cause of death of an individual was due solely to the ingestion of a schedule II through schedule VI, inclusive, controlled substance, under chapter 94C. A report shall also be sent to the commissioner of public health in a manner determined by the commissioner of public health.
(b) Acute hospitals, as defined in section 64 of chapter 118E, shall file a monthly report regarding the exposure of children to controlled substances with the commissioner of public health in a manner to be determined by the commissioner of public health. The report shall include, but not be limited to: (i) the number of infants born in the previous month identified by the hospital as having been exposed to a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance under chapter 94C or those controlled substances in Schedule III under said chapter 94C that the drug formulary commission, established by section 13 of chapter 17, has determined have a heightened level of public health risk due to the drug's potential for abuse and misuse; and (ii) the number and specific causes of hospitalizations of children under the age of 11 caused by ingestion of a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance under said chapter 94C or those controlled substances in Schedule III under said chapter 94C that the drug formulary commission has determined have a heightened level of public health risk due to the drug's potential for abuse and misuse.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 1 - Allocation of Powers

Section 1. Except as otherwise provided by law, city councils shall have the powers of towns; boards of aldermen shall have the powers, perform the duties and be subject to the liabilities of selectmen, except with respect to appointments, and the mayor shall have the powers, perform the duties and be subject to the liabilities of selectmen with respect to appointments, but all his appointments shall be subject to confirmation and rejection by the aldermen, and upon the rejection of a person so appointed the mayor shall within one month thereafter make another appointment. In cities having a single legislative board other than a board of aldermen, such board shall, so far as appropriate and not inconsistent with the express provisions of any general or special law, have the powers, perform the duties and be subject to the liabilities of the board of aldermen.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 2 - Presiding Officer of Board of Aldermen; Voting Rights

Section 2. If the mayor acts as presiding officer of the board of aldermen, he shall not vote in meetings of said board nor in conventions of the two branches of the city council. The board of aldermen may elect one of its number as president, who shall, in the absence of the mayor, preside at meetings of the board. This section shall apply to every city, notwithstanding any special law enacted prior to April twenty-ninth, eighteen hundred and eighty-two.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 3 - Elections of City Officers by Municipal Bodies; Manner of Voting

Section 3. No election of a city officer by a municipal body or board shall be valid unless made by a viva voce vote, each member present answering to his name when called by the clerk or other proper officer, stating the name of the person for whom he votes, or that he declines to vote. The clerk or other proper officer shall record every such vote.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 4 - Mayor to Sign Every Ordinance; Veto Power; Effect

Section 4. Every ordinance, order, resolution or vote requiring the concurrence of the board of aldermen and of the common council, except the question of a convention of the two branches or of the election of an officer, shall be presented to the mayor. If he approves it, he shall sign it; if he disapproves it, he shall return it, with his written objections, to the branch wherein it originated, which shall enter such objections at large on its records and again consider it; and if two thirds of the members present and voting pass it, notwithstanding such objections, it shall, if not originally requiring concurrent action, be in force; but if originally requiring concurrent action, it shall be sent, with the objections of the mayor, to the other branch, where it shall be again considered, and if passed by two thirds of the members present and voting, it shall be in force; but in all cases the vote shall be by yeas and nays. Such ordinance, order, resolution or vote shall be in force if not returned by the mayor within ten days after it has been presented to him. This section shall not apply to budgets submitted under section thirty-two of chapter forty-four, or to appropriations by a city council under section thirty-three of said chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 5 - Performance of Mayoralty Duties During Vacancy

Section 5. Except as otherwise provided by city charters, upon the death, resignation or absence of the mayor, or his inability to perform the duties of his office, the president of the board of aldermen shall perform them; and if there is no such officer, or if he also is absent or unable from any cause to perform them, they shall be performed by the president of the common council, or, if there is no such officer, or if he is absent or unable to perform such duties, by such alderman as the board of aldermen may from time to time elect, until the mayor or the president of the board of aldermen is able to attend to said duties or until the vacancy is filled. The person upon whom such duties devolve shall be called ''acting mayor'' and shall possess the powers of mayor only in matters not admitting of delay, and shall not make permanent appointments.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 6 - Election Warrants; Issuance; Acceptance of Provisions of Section

Section 6. If, at or after the time for the mayor and aldermen to enter upon the performance of their duties, it appears that the mayor or the full number of aldermen has not been elected, such of said officers as have been elected shall issue warrants for the election of a mayor or of aldermen as the case may be. If none of said officers has been elected, the president of the common council shall issue such warrants. If no mayor has been elected, the president of the board of aldermen shall perform the duties of the office until a mayor is chosen and sworn. If there is a vacancy in the board of aldermen, in the common council, or in a city or ward office which is to be filled by an election of the people, the board of aldermen shall issue their warrant for an election to fill such vacancy at a time and place designated by them. A city officer shall, notwithstanding his removal from one ward of the city to another, continue to perform his official duties during his term of office. This section shall not be in effect in any city unless the city council accepts it or has accepted corresponding provisions of earlier laws.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 6a - Municipal Salaries; Increases and Decreases; Procedure

Section 6A. Notwithstanding the provisions of any city charter to the contrary, the mayor and the members of the city council, or other legislative body of a city, shall receive for their services such salary as the city council or other legislative body of a city shall by ordinance determine, and shall receive no other compensation from such city, except that a member of a city council of said city may receive a salary for serving as an instructor in a municipal college of such city, except that a member of a city or town council in a municipality with a city or town council form of government may receive a salary for serving as a municipal employee of said municipality in lieu of receiving compensation for serving as a member of said council and except that, in accordance with the provision of the seventh paragraph of section twenty of chapter two hundred and sixty-eight A, any elected municipal official, other than a mayor, may choose to receive either the compensation for such service or compensation for service as an employee of a housing authority in such municipality, but may not receive both. No increase or reduction in such salaries shall take effect during the year in which such increase or reduction is voted, and no change in such ordinance shall be made between the election of a new council or other legislative body and the qualification of the new council or other legislative body. Such ordinance shall be subject to the provisions of sections forty-two, forty-three and forty-four of chapter forty-three.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 7 - Holding Other Offices

Section 7. The mayor or an alderman or a member of the common council of a city which adopts this section or has adopted corresponding provisions of earlier laws, may at the same time hold any other office under the city government to which he may be chosen, except one of emolument.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 8a - Removal of Officers; Procedure; Exception

Section 8A. Unless otherwise provided in any general law or in any special law relating to a city, any officer or official appointed or elected by the city council may be removed by said council for cause after a public hearing, written notice of which shall be given said officer or official fourteen days, at least, prior to the date thereof. This section shall not apply to any officer or official who is subject to the provisions of chapter thirty-one.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 9 - Annual Meeting; Other Meetings; Election of Officers; Times; Adjournment; Holidays

Section 9. Except as otherwise provided by special law or a charter adopted or revised or amended under Sections two, three, or four of Article LXXXIX of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth which may provide for a different time for the election of town officials and other matters to be determined by ballot, the annual meeting of each town shall be held in February, March, April, May or June; and other meetings may be held at such times as the selectmen may order or the charter or by-law prescribe; provided, however, that, notwithstanding the provisions of this section or of any other law, by-law, or charter to the contrary, a town, by the vote of its board of selectmen or town council may delay the annual town meeting; and provided, further, that such a delayed annual town meeting shall complete its business on or before June 30 except in the event of an emergency that poses an immediate threat to the health or safety of persons or property that prevents the completion of the business of the delayed town meeting on or before June 30 if the governor has declared a state of emergency with respect to such emergency. Town meetings shall be held within the geographic limits of the town unless a special law, charter or by-law provides otherwise; provided, however, that any meeting for the election by ballot of federal, state or other officers or the determination of other matters that are to be determined by ballot at an election shall be held within the geographic limits of the town. Meetings may be adjourned from time to time and meet and adjourn to any place authorized by law provided that officers shall be elected, and matters required by law to be elected or determined by ballot, shall be so elected or determined during the hours during which polls shall remain open as hereinafter provided. If the day set for a town meeting by by-law or otherwise falls on a legal holiday, such meetings shall be held on the day following. A town may by by-law designate the hour at which the annual town meeting shall be called and subject to section sixty-four of chapter fifty-four by vote or by-law designate the hours during which polls shall remain open in meetings for the election of officers and the determination of other matters that are required by law to be determined by ballot.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 9a - Election of Officers and Other Matters Determined by Ballot; Meetings; Time and Place; Warrants

Section 9A. Except as otherwise provided by special law or a charter adopted or revised or amended under Sections two, three or four of Article LXXXIX of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth, a town may provide by charter or by-law that the election of town officials and other matters to be determined by ballot shall take place in February, March, April, May or June before or after the annual meeting held for the transaction of other business, provided said annual meeting for the transaction of other business is also held or commences in February, March, April, May or June. The time and place of holding such election and vote and meeting for the transaction of other business may be stated in one warrant for the annual town meeting if called within thirty-five days of each other and such election and vote shall be deemed parts of the annual town meeting. If the election and other matters to be determined upon by ballot and the annual meeting for the transaction of other business are more than thirty-five days apart, separate warrants shall be used.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 11 - Persons Authorized to Call Meetings Upon Resignation of Selectmen

Section 11. If a majority of the selectmen or any less number shall vacate their offices, or if the full number shall fail to be elected or qualified, the selectmen in office may call a town meeting. If there are no remaining selectmen, the town clerk may call it; and, if there is no town clerk, a justice of the peace may call it in the manner prescribed in the following section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 12 - Persons Authorized to Call Meetings Upon Refusal of Selectmen

Section 12. If the selectmen unreasonably refuse to call a town meeting, a justice of the peace, upon written application of one hundred registered voters or of ten per cent of the total number of registered voters of the town, may call a meeting by a warrant under his hand, stating the subjects to be acted upon, directed to the constables of the town if there are any, otherwise to any of the persons applying therefor, directing them to summon the inhabitants qualified to vote in town affairs to assemble at the time and place and for the purposes expressed in the warrant. In a town having a form of representative town meeting government a special town meeting called under this section shall be conducted as a representative town meeting, and notice thereof shall be given to the town meeting members as provided by law.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 13 - Quorum; Application of Section

Section 13. Towns may prescribe by by-law the number of voters necessary to constitute a quorum at town meetings; provided, that a number less than a quorum may from time to time adjourn the same. This section shall not apply to such parts of meetings as are devoted exclusively to the election of town officers.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 14 - Moderators; Election; Tenure; Vacancies; Assistant Moderators

Section 14. At every town meeting when moderators are not elected for the term of one or three years, a moderator shall first be elected. The election of a moderator at a meeting for the choice of town officers shall be by ballot, and the voting list shall be used thereat.
Any town or district which has so voted or hereafter so votes may at any annual election of town or district officers elect from the registered voters thereof by ballot a moderator to preside at all town or district meetings. His term of office shall begin as soon as he is qualified, and shall continue until the next annual town or district meeting and until his successor is qualified. Any town or district which has elected a moderator for the term of one year shall thereafter elect a moderator at every annual election of town or district officers, unless the town or district votes to discontinue the electing of moderators for said term.
If a vacancy in the said office occurs during any term, it may be filled by the voters of the town or district. If a moderator so elected is absent, a temporary moderator may be elected.
In towns or districts where official ballots are used, the vote to elect a moderator for the term of one year shall be taken at a meeting held at least thirty days before the annual town or district meeting at which the vote is to become operative; and at the first annual meeting after the town or district has so voted a moderator shall be chosen as herein provided to serve at that meeting, and the moderator elected on the official ballot at that meeting shall act at subsequent town or district meetings until his successor is qualified.
At every town or district meeting until a moderator or temporary moderator is elected, the clerk of the town or district shall preside; but if he is absent or if there is no clerk, the chairman of the selectmen or prudential committee or body exercising similar powers, if present, otherwise the senior member present in point of continuous service, shall preside; but if no selectman or member of said committee or body is present, the justice of the peace calling such meeting, if the meeting is so called, shall preside. Such presiding officer shall have the powers and perform the duties of a moderator.
If, as provided for in section ten, a town meeting is held in separate places equipped with a public address system and loud speaker facilities, the moderator may appoint an assistant moderator to preside at each place of meeting whereat the moderator is not present. The assistant moderator shall have all the powers vested by law in the moderator to preside at and regulate the proceedings in the meeting at which he presides except that he shall not recognize any citizen desiring to address the meeting except after first obtaining permission of the moderator.
The word ''district'', as used in this section, so far as apt, shall be construed as it is defined in section one A of chapter forty.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 15 - Moderators; Powers and Duties

Section 15. The moderator shall preside and regulate the proceedings, decide all questions of order, and make public declaration of all votes, and may administer in open meeting the oath of office to any town officer chosen thereat. If a vote so declared is immediately questioned by seven or more voters, he shall verify it by polling the voters or by dividing the meeting unless the town has by a previous order or by-law provided another method. If a two thirds, four fifths or nine tenths vote of a town meeting is required by statute, the count shall be taken, and the vote shall be recorded in the records by the clerk; provided, however, that a town may decide by by-law or vote not to take a count and record the vote if a two-thirds vote of a town meeting is required by statute; and provided, further, that if the vote is unanimous, a count need not be taken, and the clerk shall record the vote as unanimous.
A town may pass by-laws, subject to this section, for the regulation of the proceedings at town meetings. Such by-laws shall be approved and published in the manner prescribed by section thirty-two of chapter forty.
In any town having a representative town meeting form of government the town meeting members shall not use the secret ballot when voting in the exercise of the corporate powers of said town or on any motion unless two thirds of the town meeting members present and voting thereon vote that a secret ballot be used.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 16 - Appropriation, Advisory or Finance Committees; Appointment; Tenure; Powers and Duties

Section 16. Every town whose valuation for the purpose of apportioning the state tax exceeds one million dollars shall, and any other town may, by by-law provide for the election or the appointment and duties of appropriation, advisory or finance committees, who shall consider any or all municipal questions for the purpose of making reports or recommendations to the town; and such by-laws may provide that committees so appointed or elected may continue in office for terms not exceeding three years from the date of appointment or election.
In every town having a committee appointed under authority of this section, such committee, or the selectmen if authorized by a by-law of the town, and, in any town not having such a committee, the selectmen, shall submit a budget at the annual town meeting.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 17 - Powers of Moderator; Preservation of Order

Section 17. No person shall address a town meeting without leave of the moderator, and all persons shall, at the request of the moderator, be silent. If a person, after warning from the moderator, persists in disorderly behavior, the moderator may order him to withdraw from the meeting, and, if he does not withdraw, may order a constable or any other person to remove him and confine him in some convenient place until the meeting is adjourned.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 20 - Precinct Voting

Section 20. Towns divided into voting precincts may, for their annual town election, establish precinct voting for all town officers to be chosen thereat, by accepting this section at a meeting held seventy days at least before the annual town meeting. The acceptance of this section or corresponding provisions of earlier laws may be revoked by the town at a meeting held seventy days at least before the annual town meeting; and if so revoked this section shall cease to be in force therein. Towns by vote or by-law may authorize voting precincts at special elections of town officers.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 39 - Municipal Government › Section 23d - Adjudicatory Hearings; Attendance by Municipal Board, Committee and Commission Members; Voting Disqualification

Section 23D. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, upon municipal acceptance of this section for 1 or more types of adjudicatory hearings, a member of any municipal board, committee or commission when holding an adjudicatory hearing shall not be disqualified from voting in the matter solely due to that member's absence from no more than a single session of the hearing at which testimony or other evidence is received. Before any such vote, the member shall certify in writing that he has examined all evidence received at the missed session, which evidence shall include an audio or video recording of the missed session or a transcript thereof. The written certification shall be part of the record of the hearing. Nothing in this section shall change, replace, negate or otherwise supersede applicable quorum requirements.
(b) By ordinance or by-law, a city or town may adopt minimum additional requirements for attendance at scheduled board, committee, and commission hearings under this section.