reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 12d - Authority to Incur Indebtedness; Limitation

Section 12D. A city or town which is a member of a beach district may incur indebtedness within the limit of indebtedness prescribed in section ten of chapter forty-four for the purpose of acquiring beaches and paying an assessment for the construction of a bathhouse and appurtenances, including parking areas and other recreational facilities, in a beach district, and each district is authorized to make such assessments.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 12e - Treasurer of District; Appointment; Bond; Powers and Duties

Section 12E. The treasurer of one of the municipalities comprising such district, designated by the commission, shall be treasurer of the district and shall give to the district a bond, with a surety company authorized to transact business in the commonwealth as surety, for the faithful performance of his duties as treasurer of the district in such sum and upon such conditions as the commissioner of revenue may require. The district treasurer shall disburse the money received under the provisions of section twelve B upon warrants.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 12g - Leasing of Concessions; Procedure

Section 12G. Said commission may at any time in its discretion lease or let out upon such terms and conditions as it sees fit, concessions or grants to operate any bathhouse, parking area or any recreational facility to any persons or corporations, such concessions or grants, however, to be leased or let out after public hearing and then to the highest responsible bidder therefor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 13 - Municipal Buildings Insurance Fund; Management; Use

Section 13. A town which at a meeting, or a city which by its city council accepts this section, or has in like manner accepted corresponding provisions of earlier laws, may appropriate an amount not exceeding in any one year one twentieth of one per cent of its equalized valuation as defined in section one of chapter forty-four to establish and maintain a municipal buildings insurance fund from which any municipal buildings or other municipal property damaged or destroyed or lost by fire, lightning, vandalism, burglary, theft or otherwise, may be repaired, rebuilt or replaced by other buildings or property to be used in place thereof; but no money shall be appropriated for such purpose while the fund equals or exceeds one per cent of such equalized valuation. Such fund shall be managed and administered by the sinking fund commissioners of the town, if any, otherwise by the commissioners of trust funds of the town.
If a city or town which has established such a fund in accordance with this section has neglected or failed for a period of five consecutive years to appropriate for such fund, for any reason other than that the maximum amount authorized by this section has been accumulated, it may vote appropriations from such fund and the income therefrom for the purpose of paying a proper charge for effecting fire insurance on municipal buildings or other municipal property against loss or damage by fire, lightning or otherwise; provided, that nothing in this paragraph shall prevent any city or town from appropriating money for effecting fire insurance under authority of any other general or special law applicable thereto.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 13a - Workers' Compensation Insurance Funds; Management

Section 13A. Any city or town which has accepted chapter eight hundred and seven of the acts of nineteen hundred and thirteen and which accepts this section, by vote of the city council or of the voters in town meeting, may appropriate an amount not exceeding in any one year one twentieth of one per cent of its equalized valuation as defined in section one of chapter forty-four, to establish and maintain an insurance fund to pay workers' compensation, from which any compensation payable under the provisions of sections sixty-nine to seventy-five, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and fifty-two shall be paid; but no money shall be appropriated for such purpose while the fund equals or exceeds one per cent of such equalized valuation. Such fund shall be managed and administered by the sinking fund commissioners of the city or town, if any, otherwise by the commissioners of trust funds of said city or town. If any city or town has such an insurance fund, it may appropriate from such fund, including the income thereof, such sums as may be necessary for the purpose of paying a proper charge for effecting insurance to cover its liability to pay workers' compensation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 13c - Workers' Compensation Claims Reserve Funds

Section 13C. Any city or town which accepts the provisions of this section and has elected to self insure its worker's compensation may establish reserves to pay worker's compensation claims until said claims are fully paid. Said claims reserves shall be segregated by fiscal year and all funds so reserved shall be managed by a designated fiscal officer of such city or town. Any funds remaining after all claims are paid for a particular year, may be placed in another fiscal year's claim reserve fund, if needed, or returned to general funds. Costs of reinsurance, if used, and outside claims and safety services may be disbursed from said funds.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 13d - Reserve Fund for Future Payment of Accrued Liabilities for Compensated Absences Due Employee or Officer of Town Upon Termination of Employment

Section 13D. Any city, town or district which accepts the provisions of this section by majority vote of its city council, the voters present at a town meeting or district meeting or by majority vote of a regional school committee may establish, appropriate or transfer money to a reserve fund for the future payment of accrued liabilities for compensated absences due any employee or full-time officer of the city or town upon the termination of the employee's or full-time officer's employment. The treasurer may invest the monies in the manner authorized by section 54 of chapter 44, and any interest earned thereon shall be credited to and become part of the fund. The city council, town meeting or district meeting may designate the municipal official to authorize payments from this fund, and in the absence of a designation, it shall be the responsibility of the chief executive officer of the city, town or district. In a regional school district, funds may be added to the reserve fund for the future payment of accrued liabilities only by appropriation in the annual budget voted on by the city council of member cities or at the annual town meeting of member towns.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 13e - School District Reserve Funds to Pay for Unanticipated or Unbudgeted Costs for Special Education, Out-of-District Tuition or Transportation

Section 13E. Any school district which accepts this section, by a majority vote of the school committee and a majority vote of the legislative body or, in the case of a regional school district by a majority vote of the legislative bodies in a majority of the member communities of the district, may establish and appropriate or transfer money to a reserve fund to be utilized in the upcoming fiscal years, to pay, without further appropriation, for unanticipated or unbudgeted costs of special education and recovery high school programs, out-of-district tuition or transportation. The balance in such reserve fund shall not exceed 2 per cent of the annual net school spending of the school district.
Funds shall only be distributed from the reserve funds after a majority vote of the school committee and a majority vote of the board of selectman or city council, or, in the case of a regional school district by a majority vote of the board of selectmen or city council in a majority of the member communities of the district.
The district treasurer may invest the monies in the manner authorized in section 54 of chapter 44 and any interest earned thereon shall be credited to and become part of the fund.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 14 - Purchase of Land; Conditions; Limitations; Definition

Section 14. The aldermen of any city, except Boston, or the selectmen of a town may purchase, or take by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine, any land, easement or right therein within the city or town not already appropriated to public use, for any municipal purpose for which the purchase or taking of land, easement or right therein is not otherwise authorized or directed by statute; but no land, easement or right therein shall be taken or purchased under this section unless the taking or purchase thereof has previously been authorized by the city council or by vote of the town, nor until an appropriation of money, to be raised by loan or otherwise, has been made for the purpose by a two thirds vote of the city council or by a two thirds vote of the town, and no lot of land shall be purchased for any municipal purpose by any city subject to this section for a price more than twenty-five per cent in excess of its average assessed valuation during the previous three years.
The words ''municipal purpose'', as used in this section, shall include any such land, easement or right therein within the city or town, so purchased or taken by eminent domain for the purpose of conveying or granting the same to the commonwealth for the use of a regional community college.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 15 - Abandonment of Rights in Realty; Conditions

Section 15. If any officer of a city or town having charge of any land, easement or right taken for such city or town, otherwise than by purchase, notifies the city council or the selectmen that, in his opinion, such land, easement or right, or part thereof, is no longer required for public purposes, and if thereafter the city council or the inhabitants of the town by a two thirds vote authorize the conveyance of such land, or of part thereof, or the abandonment of such easement or right, or part thereof, and specify the minimum amount to be paid for such conveyance or abandonment, the mayor or the selectmen may, for such amount or a larger amount, and upon such other terms as the mayor or selectmen shall consider proper, convey said land, or part thereof, by deed, or declare said easement or right, or part thereof, to be abandoned. Such declaration, being recorded in the registry of deeds for the district where the land is situated, shall extinguish the easement or right, or part thereof.
No land heretofore or hereafter acquired by eminent domain by one city or town within the limits of another city or town shall be conveyed under this section unless the mayor or selectmen authorized to convey such land offer to convey such land to the city or town wherein such land lies for the minimum amount specified as aforesaid, nor unless such offer is not accepted within six months after notice thereof is given to the mayor or selectmen of the city or town wherein such land lies by the mayor or selectmen authorized to convey, nor unless such conveyance is made within three months after the expiration of said six months. Land so offered to a city or town wherein it lies may be purchased by such city or town whether or not needed for the municipal purposes of such city or town, and, if so purchased and if such land is not needed for municipal purposes, it shall be disposed of as such city or town shall determine.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 15a - Transfer of Land; Procedure

Section 15A. Whenever a board or officer having charge of land, including land acquired for playground purposes pursuant to the provisions of section fourteen of chapter forty-five, but excluding land acquired for park purposes, constituting the whole or any part of an estate held by a city or town within its limits for a specific purpose shall determine that such land is no longer needed for such purpose, whether such land was acquired before or after the effective date of this section and whether acquired by eminent domain, purchase, gift, devise or otherwise, such board or officer shall forthwith give notice of such determination to the city council of the city or the board of selectmen of the town. At any time after the receipt of such notice, the city council of the city by a two thirds vote of all its members, in the case of a city having a city manager, with the approval of said city manager, and in the case of other cities, with the approval of the mayor, or the town by a two thirds vote at a regular or special town meeting, may transfer the care, custody, management and control of such land to the same or another board or officer of the city or town for another specific municipal purpose, any provision of general or special law to the contrary notwithstanding; provided, that no such transfer shall be valid if it is in violation of any term or condition of the title of the city or town to such land.
In any city or town which accepts the provisions of this paragraph, when land is being transferred for the purpose of constructing low and moderate income housing, the vote required of the city council or the town meeting shall be by a majority vote.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 15b - Water Supply Works; Sale or Exchange of Property

Section 15B. A town, city, or district authorized to furnish water for domestic purposes, may, with the advice and approval of the state department of environmental protection, sell at public or private sale, or may exchange any real property, or any easements, whether taken by eminent domain or otherwise, no longer needed for public water supply works under its charge, or may from time to time lease any property not then so needed, or may permit the use thereof by the public for recreational purposes; and may in its discretion, by lease, license or other agreement, permit the construction and maintenance on any land under its control of towers, poles, wires, and other structures for the purpose of transmitting electric power over lands and water held for water supply purposes; provided, that such lease, license or agreement will not, in the opinion of the said department, affect or interfere with the water supply; and provided, further, that said city, town or district may, with the approval of said department, revoke said lease, license or agreement for cause to be determined by it.
No land acquired by eminent domain by a city or town within the limits of another city or town, and no land of a district so acquired, may be sold or exchanged pursuant to this section unless it is offered to be conveyed to the city or town wherein it lies for a minimum amount, specified by vote of the city council or a town or district meeting, for which the city, town or district owning it is willing to sell it, nor unless such offer is not accepted within six months after notice thereof is given to the mayor or selectman of the city or town wherein such land lies, nor unless such conveyance is made within three months after the expiration of such six months.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 15c - Scenic Road Designations; Improvements; Fines

Section 15C. Upon recommendation or request of the planning board, conservation commission or historical commission of any city or town, such city or town may designate any road in said city or town, other than a numbered route or state highway as a scenic road; provided, however, that a numbered route may be designated by a city or town as a scenic road if its entire length is contained within the boundaries of said city or town, and no part of said route is owned or maintained by the commonwealth.
After a road has been designated as a scenic road any repair, maintenance, reconstruction, or paving work done with respect thereto shall not involve or include the cutting or removal of trees, or the tearing down or destruction of stone walls, or portions thereof, except with the prior written consent of the planning board, or if there is no planning board, the selectmen of a town, or the city council of a city, after a public hearing duly advertised twice in a newspaper of general circulation in the area, as to time, date, place and purpose, the last publication to occur at least seven days prior to such hearing; provided, however, that when a public hearing must be held under the provisions of this section and under section three of chapter eighty-seven prior to the cutting or removal of a tree, such hearings shall be consolidated into a single public hearing before the tree warden and the planning board, or if there is no planning board, the selectmen of a town, or the city council of a city, and notice of such consolidated public hearing shall be given by the tree warden or his deputy as provided in said section three of chapter eighty-seven. Any city or town making said scenic road designation may make an ordinance or by-law establishing that a violation of this paragraph shall be punished by a fine not to exceed three hundred dollars.
Designation of a road as a scenic road shall not affect the eligibility of a city or town to receive construction or reconstruction aid for such road pursuant to the provisions of chapter ninety.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 16 - Street Sprinkling

Section 16. A town may sprinkle or spread upon its public ways, or parts thereof, any liquid or material suitable for laying or preventing dust and preserving the surface of such ways or for sanitary purposes, may appropriate money therefor, and determine that with respect to the whole or any part of such ways the whole or any part of such expense shall be assessed upon the estates abutting thereon.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 17 - Assessment

Section 17. If a city determines that the public ways or any portion thereof shall be sprinkled in whole or in part at the expense of the abutters, such expense for a municipal year, and the proportion thereof to be borne by abutters, and the rate to be assessed upon each linear foot of frontage upon such ways, shall be estimated and determined by the board of aldermen and assessed upon the estates abutting on such ways in proportion to the number of linear feet of each estate upon such ways or portion thereof sprinkled. The amount of such assessments upon each estate shall be determined by said board, or, if said board so designates, by the board of public works, board of street commissioners, superintendent of streets or other officer; and such board or officer shall, as soon as may be after the first day of January, cause a list of such ways or portions thereof to be made, specifying each estate and the number of linear feet thereof abutting thereon, the amount per linear foot, and the amount on each estate of such assessment, and certify and commit said list to the assessors of taxes. In a town such assessment shall be made by the assessors.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 18 - Collection of Assessment

Section 18. The assessors shall include such assessment in the tax list and warrant committed by them to the collector of taxes for that municipal year, and it shall be included in the next annual tax bill, or if the estate so assessed is otherwise exempt from taxation, it shall be rendered as a tax bill. Such assessment shall be a lien upon the estate, and shall be levied, collected, reassessed, paid, apportioned, and bear interest and become payable, in the same manner as, and shall be a part of, the tax for that year on such estate; but in cities the assessors shall make no abatement thereof except upon the recommendation of the board or officer by whom the list was certified to them.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 19 - Appropriation of Money for Providing Common Necessaries During War or Other Public Exigency; Purposes; Use of Funds

Section 19. For the purpose of maintaining, distributing and providing at reasonable rates during time of war, public exigency, emergency or distress a sufficient supply of food, other common necessaries of life and temporary shelter for their inhabitants, towns may raise and appropriate money outside of any limit imposed by law upon their tax rate or debt; but any bond, note or certificate of indebtedness issued therefor shall be payable in not more than two years from the date of its issue. The receipts from any undertaking or service authorized by this section shall not by applied to municipal purposes, other than those herein described, so long as there are any obligations outstanding issued on account of any such undertaking or service. The expenditure of all money so appropriated shall be under the direction of the mayor, or of an officer appointed by the mayor, with the approval of the city council in cities other than Boston, and in towns shall be under the direction of the selectmen or of an officer appointed by them.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 20 - Selling Price of Necessities; Accounting

Section 20. Articles furnished or services rendered under the preceding section shall be charged for, so far as practicable, at rates calculated to cover all costs and charges connected with the particular undertaking or service, and shall be paid for in cash at the time of delivery or performance. Any town acting under said section shall keep accounts, in the form prescribed by the director of accounts, covering separately, so far as practicable, the cost of the particular undertaking or service in respect to each commodity included therein; and a report in detail of receipts and expenditures connected with such undertaking or service shall be included in the annual report of the town treasurer.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 21a - Powers of Cities and Towns; Regulation of Working Conditions of Employees

Section 21A. A town by by-law and a city by ordinance, unless repugnant to the charter of such city, may establish the hours, days and weeks of work and the hours, days and weeks of leave without loss of pay, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, holiday leave, vacation leave and sick leave, for any or all employees of such town or city other than those appointed by the school committee; provided, that the number of working hours, days or weeks so established shall not exceed, and the number of hours, days or weeks of leave without loss of pay shall not be less than, the number prescribed by any general or special law applicable to such town or city on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and fifty-two.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 21b - Personnel Relations Review Board; Establishment; Purpose; ''grievance'', Defined

Section 21B. Any town by by-law adopted at an annual town meeting, any city having a Plan D or Plan E charter by ordinance adopted in accordance with the provisions of its charter, and any other city by ordinance approved by its mayor may establish a personnel relations review board and may empower such board to adjust the grievances of all employees of such town or city other than those appointed by the school committee; provided, that such a board, by such an adjustment, shall not involve the city or town in an expenditure of money in excess of the appropriation made for the use of such board. As used in this section, the word ''grievance'' shall be construed to mean any dispute between an employee of a city or town and his appointing authority arising out of an exercise of administrative discretion by such authority under the contract of employment between the employee and the city or town, except a dispute concerning a change in one or more of the terms of such contract and except also a dispute which is, or upon proper appeal would be, within the jurisdiction of the civil service commission or the contributory retirement appeal board. No ordinance establishing in any city a personnel relations review board required by this section to be approved by the mayor of such city shall be amended except by ordinance likewise approved.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 21c1/2 - Employees Who Are Veterans; Participation in Veterans or Memorial Day Exercises; Time Off Granted; Exceptions

Section 21C1/2. An employee of a city or town which accepts the provisions of this section who is a veteran as defined in clause Forty-third of section seven of chapter four or is a member of a department of war veterans listed in section seventeen of chapter eight, and who desires to participate in a Veterans Day or Memorial Day exercise, parade or service, may be allowed and granted a reasonable and sufficient period of time off from his duties to attend and participate in such services or exercises. This section shall not apply to employees whose duties and services are critical and essential to the public safety as determined by ordinance or by-law, and the city or town may determine whether such time shall be with or without pay.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 21e - Municipal Charges and Bills; Due Dates; Interest

Section 21E. Any city or town may, by ordinance or by-law, and any district by vote of the district meeting, establish due dates for the payment of municipal charges and bills, and may fix a rate at which interest shall accrue if such charges remain unpaid after such due dates; provided, however, that the rate of interest shall not exceed the rate at which interest may be charged on tax bills under the provisions of section fifty-seven of chapter fifty-nine.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 22 - Regulation of Vehicles; Penalties for Violation; Disabled Veterans and Handicapped Persons Excepted From Parking Violations; Taxicab Licenses

Section 22. Except as otherwise provided in section eighteen of chapter ninety and subject, so far as applicable, to section two of chapter eighty-five and sections eight and nine of chapter eighty-nine, a city or town may make ordinances or bylaws, or the board of aldermen or the selectmen or the town council may make rules and orders, for the regulation of carriages and vehicles used therein, and may set penalties for the violation thereof; and may set and receive an annual fee for each license granted to a person to use any such carriage or vehicle therein. No such rule or order shall prohibit the use of passenger or station wagon type motor vehicles whose gross weight is less than five thousand pounds and which are registered for commercial use, on ways, parkways or boulevards where noncommercial passenger-type motor vehicles are permitted to operate. Such rules and orders shall not take effect until they have been published at least once in a newspaper published in the city, town or county.
No penalty shall be imposed upon any disabled veteran or handicapped person, whose vehicle bears the distinctive number plates, or displays the special parking identification plate authorized by section two of chapter ninety or bears the official identification of a handicapped person issued by any other state, or any Canadian Province, for parking such vehicle on any way for a longer period of time than permitted by said ordinances, by-laws, rules or orders.
Except in the counties of Dukes and Nantucket every metered taxicab licensed under this section shall have the name or the trade name of the owner and the name of the city or town in which it is licensed painted on the sides thereof in letters not less than four inches high and one half inch wide.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 22a1/2 - Parking Benefit Districts

Section 22A1/2. A city or town may establish 1 or more parking benefit districts, as a geographically defined area, in which parking revenue collected therein may be designated in whole or in part for use in that district through a dedicated fund in accordance with the purposes and uses listed in section 22A. A parking benefit district may be managed by a body designated by the municipality, including, but not limited to, a business improvement district or main streets organization.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 22a3/4 - Designation of Parking Space for Veteran Parking at City or Town Hall

Section 22A3/4. (a) A municipality may designate a parking space at the city or town hall for the parking of a veteran in a motor vehicle that is owned and operated by the veteran and that displays a veteran registration plate issued pursuant to section 2 of chapter 90. The parking space shall be available during the normal business hours of the city or town hall for use by such veteran without charge. The municipality shall erect and maintain a sign designating such a parking space that shall bear the words ''Veteran Parking Only— this space is reserved for those who have served. Unauthorized Vehicles May Be Removed At The Vehicle Owner's Expense''. The parking space shall only be used by a veteran that meets the requirements of this subsection.
(b) A violation of subsection (a) shall be punished by a fine of $100 and the city or town may provide for the removal of a vehicle in the manner provided in section 22D. The penalty shall not be a surchargeable offense under section 113B of chapter 175.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 22b - Acquisition and Maintenance of Off-Street Parking Areas and Facilities; Conditions; Exceptions

Section 22B. In a city or town that accepts this section and installs parking meters or coin-operated locking devices for bicycle parking, the city or town may acquire off-street parking areas and facilities by purchase, gift, eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine or chapter eighty A, by lease not to exceed five years, or otherwise, and may pay for such acquisition or lease, including the cost of policing, constructing or reconstructing, surfacing, operating and maintaining such areas and facilities, and including any debt together with interest thereon incurred for such acquisition, in whole or in part and pay for the removal of architectural barriers in public facilities in accordance with the provisions of section thirteen A of chapter twenty-two, from any receipts from said parking meters or such devices and may in each year transfer or pay into its general funds from said receipts a sum or sums in lieu of taxes for the year in question upon the average assessed valuation of said areas and facilities for the three years immediately prior to the date of said acquisition, determined by multiplying each one thousand dollars of such average valuation or fraction thereof by the tax rate set for said city or town for that year; provided, that the off-street parking areas and facilities are located not more than six hundred feet from a building in which the principal activity is business, commercial, manufacturing or industrial in character, and which building is in a business, commercial, manufacturing or industrial zone, but is not more than six hundred feet from the nearest parking meter of any group of not less than thirty parking meters approved by the department of highways, or are located not more than six hundred feet from a public beach area.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 22c - Off-Street Parking Lots; Installation of Parking Meters and Other Devices; Use of Receipts

Section 22C. Any city or town, having installed parking meters or coin-operated locking devices for bicycle parking under section 22A, may install parking meters in municipally owned or leased off-street parking lots and other devices for controlling the off-street parking lots. In a city or town that accepts this sentence, the city or town may use any receipts from those parking meters and other devices for the purpose of purchase or lease of additional parking lots, the care and maintenance of the parking lots, the purchase or lease of a commuter shuttle or commuter shuttle services between the parking lots and available public transportation, the care and maintenance of public transportation station accessibility improvements and in general for traffic control or traffic safety purposes, including payment for public liability coverage in connection with the purchase, lease and use of the municipally owned or leased parking lots and commuter shuttles or commuter shuttle services or any of the purposes and uses listed in section 22A.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 22e - Lease of Air Space Above Structures and Facilities

Section 22E. Whenever the board or officer having charge of a structure or facility owned by a city or town, and not within the limits of playgrounds or lands held for park, conservation or similar purposes whether acquired under general or special law and irrespective of the date of acquisition, determines that the whole or any part of the airspace above such structure or facility is not required for the purposes thereof, such board or officer shall publish once a week for at least three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in such city or town an advertisement of such determination, identifying the structure or facility involved. Such advertisement shall invite sealed proposals for the leasing of such airspace for a term not exceeding ninety-nine years and for the construction of a building therein pursuant to basic drawings and outline specifications to be submitted with such proposal. Such advertisement shall also fix a time, not less than three months after the first publication of such advertisement, and specify a place, at which time and place such board or officer shall publicly open and read such sealed proposals.
Any provision of general or special law to the contrary notwithstanding, the city manager in the case of a city having a Plan D or Plan E charter, when authorized thereto by an affirmative vote of a majority of the city council, the mayor in the case of any other city, when authorized thereto by majority vote of the city council, and the selectmen in the case of a town, when authorized thereto by vote of the town at a town meeting, may lease, in accordance with whichever of the proposals so submitted is deemed most advantageous to such city or town, the whole or any part of the airspace determined as aforesaid to be not required for the purposes of such structure or facility and such parts of such structure or facility or the site thereof as may be necessary for structural supports and means of ingress and egress to and from the building to be erected in such airspace. Buildings and other things erected or affixed pursuant to the lease of any such airspace shall be taxed to the lessee thereof or his assigns in the same manner and to the same extent as if such lessee or his assigns were the owners of the land in fee and the value of the land shall be included in any such assessment.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 22f - License Fees; Service Charges; Acceptance of Section

Section 22F. Any municipal board or officer empowered to issue a license, permit, certificate, or to render a service or perform work for a person or class of persons, may, from time to time, fix reasonable fees for all such licenses, permits, or certificates issued pursuant to statutes or regulations wherein the entire proceeds of the fee remain with such issuing city or town, and may fix reasonable charges to be paid for any services rendered or work performed by the city or town or any department thereof, for any person or class of persons; provided, however, that in the case of a board or officer appointed by an elected board, the fixing of such fee shall be subject to the review and approval of such elected board.
A fee or charge imposed pursuant to this section shall supersede fees or charges already in effect, or any limitations on amounts placed thereon for the same service, work, license, permit or certificate; provided, however, that this section shall not supersede the provisions of sections 31 to 77, inclusive, of chapter 6A, chapter 80, chapter 83, chapter 138, sections 121 to 131N, inclusive, of chapter 140 or section 10A of chapter 148. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any certificate, service or work required by chapters fifty to fifty-six, inclusive, or by chapter sixty-six. The fee or charge being collected immediately prior to acceptance of this section for any license, permit, certificate service or work will be utilized until a new fee or charge is fixed under this section.
The provisions of this section may be accepted in a city by a vote of the city council, with the approval of the mayor if so required by law, and in a town by vote of the town meeting, or by vote of the town council in towns with no town meeting.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 22g - Funds Received From Fines for Handicap Parking Violations; Deposits in Account; Expenditures

Section 22G. Any city or town which has accepted the provisions of section eight J is hereby authorized to allocate all funds received from fines assessed for violations of handicap parking in said city or town to the commission on disabilities.
Funds so received shall be deposited by the city or town treasurer in a separate account and shall be used solely for the benefit of persons with disabilities. Said account shall be established by the city or town treasurer and shall be kept separate and apart from all other monies. Expenditures from said account, including accrued interest, if any, shall be made upon the recommendation of the commission on disabilities in accordance with the accepted procedures of the city or town for the disbursement of funds, including the approval of the mayor and city council or the town manager or board of selectmen. The city or town accountant shall submit annually a report of said account to the mayor and city council or the town manager and board of selectmen for review and a copy of said report shall be forwarded to the bureau of accounts.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 23 - Powers of Cities; Regulation of Erection and Maintenance of Balustrades; Penalty for Violation

Section 23. A city council may make rules and regulations for the erection and maintenance of balustrades or other projections upon the roofs or sides of buildings therein, with penalties for the violation thereof of not more than twenty dollars for each offence; but no such rule or regulation shall take effect until sixty days after its publication in a newspaper published in the city or in the county where the city is situated.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 24 - Powers of Cities; Regulation of the Quality of Ice; Penalty for Violation

Section 24. A city may make ordinances to secure the inspection of ice sold therein and to prevent the sale of impure ice, and affix penalties of not more than twenty dollars for each violation thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 31 - Powers of Towns; Performance of Duty Imposed by By-Laws

Section 31. If a town by-law imposes a duty and affixes a penalty for the neglect or violation thereof, it may also provide that upon such neglect or violation the duty may be performed by officers therein named, at the expense of the person liable to perform the same; and such expense, to an amount not exceeding the penalty, may be recovered in contract by the town.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 32a - Publication of Ordinances

Section 32A. The provisions in the charter of a city which accepts this section by vote of its city council, requiring newspaper advertising of certain ordinances and proposed ordinances shall, in case of any ordinance or proposed ordinance, or codification thereof, exceeding in length eight octavo pages of ordinary book print, be deemed to be complied with if the same is published by the city council in a municipal bulletin or printed pamphlet, but otherwise in conformity with said provisions, except for zoning ordinances or amendments thereto, a summary of which shall be published at least two times in a newspaper of general circulation in the city. The publication of such zoning summaries shall include a statement indicating where copies of the ordinance may be examined and obtained and a statement that claims of invalidity by reason of any defect in the procedure of adoption may only be made within ninety days after the posting or the second publication.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 32b - Publication of Compilations of Zoning Ordinances; Supplements; Distribution and Sale

Section 32B. A city or town may from time to time publish, distribute or sell compilations of zoning ordinances or by-laws and amendments thereto, certified by the city or town clerk, and effective as of a specified date. The compilations and supplements thereto may include zoning maps and subdivision control, public health, safety and other land use control and environmental quality laws, ordinances, by-laws, regulations, rules, and orders, notices of hearings on proposed and pending amendments which, if adopted, would affect construction begun after the notice of hearing, and claims of invalidity of ordinances or by-laws filed with the clerk, all in such manner as to permit public officials, owners, purchasers, mortgagees of property and others to ascertain the zoning pending or applicable to property at any time.
Zoning maps may, in addition to showing boundaries, also identify historic or architectural districts for which special certificates or permits may be required, certified historical landmarks or places, land publicly owned, designated as wetlands or subject to wetlands regulations, land subject to conservation or preservation restrictions under chapter one hundred and eighty-four, and other land use or environmental quality control information.
The city or town clerk may arrange for the distribution of such compilations and supplements thereto to city, town, county, regional and state public offices, and for the public sale of such compilations and supplements thereto at appropriate places, at a price not to exceed the estimated cost of preparation, publication, distribution and sale. The director of housing and community development and registers of deeds may assist the clerk in such distribution. Said director may suggest guidelines for such compilations and supplements thereto, procedures for verifying the text of zoning enactments and the accuracy of zoning maps, require a copy of each zoning compilation, supplement and map, and may also assist in the preparation, publication, distribution and sale of such compilations and supplements thereto.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 40 - Powers and Duties of Cities and Towns › Section 34 - Town; Erection and Maintenance of Lockup; Penalty for Noncompliance

Section 34. Each town containing more than five thousand inhabitants shall, and any town may, maintain a secure and convenient lockup to which persons arrested without a warrant may be committed; and a magistrate may commit, for further examination, a prisoner charged with a bailable offence and not recognizing, to the lockup in the town where the prisoner was arrested or to the lockup in a town where the court is held, if he considers it safe and commodious and that expense may be saved thereby. If a town neglects to provide and maintain a lockup as herein required, it shall forfeit ten dollars for each month during which such neglect continues.
For the purposes of this section, the word ''maintain'' shall include the provision of any prescribed medication and nutritionally adequate meals to a person committed to such lockup. Compliance with this section shall be enforced pursuant to section twenty-one of chapter one hundred and eleven.