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 35 - Keeper; Appointment; Oath; Penalty for Failure to Appoint Keeper

Section 35. The mayor of each city, except Boston, and in Boston the police commissioner, and the selectmen of each town required to maintain a lockup shall annually, by a writing recorded with the town clerk, appoint a keeper of the lockup, who shall have the care and custody thereof and of persons committed thereto. He shall accept the appointment within three days after notice thereof, shall be sworn and shall hold office for one year unless sooner removed. If the selectmen neglect to appoint a keeper, each selectman shall forfeit ten dollars for each month during which such neglect continues; and if the mayor, except in Boston, or in Boston the police commissioner, neglects for three months to appoint a keeper, he shall forfeit thirty dollars and ten dollars additional for each subsequent month of such neglect.
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 36 - Keeper; Powers; Compensation; Fees

Section 36. Such keeper shall have the power of a police officer and shall receive the compensation to be fixed by the selectmen upon his appointment. For the expenses of detention and support of each person committed, shown by the officer's return to have been actually detained in the lockup, there may be charged upon the precept, if any, and paid to the town, not more than fifty dollars for each day or fraction 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 36a - Report of Death or Suicide of Lockup Inmates; Records of Attempts At, or Threats Of, Suicide

Section 36A. Whenever a person is in police custody and commits suicide or dies at a lockup facility established pursuant to the provisions of section thirty-four of chapter forty, or under the jurisdiction of the metropolitan police, or whenever a person in police custody inflicts self-injury at a lockup facility which subsequently results in his death, the officer in charge of the lockup facility shall make a report of such incident, identifying the deceased and describing the circumstances of such death. One copy of said report shall be sent, within seven days of such death, together with copies of any incident pertaining thereto to the medical examiner's office in the county wherein such incident occurred, and one copy of said report shall be retained in the lockup files. Said report shall be in addition to the requirement of notification pursuant to section six of chapter thirty-eight.
Upon receipt for said reports, the medical examiner may send a copy, together with a copy of each incident report, autopsy reports and medical examiner's reports, upon request, to the next of kin of the deceased person. Upon request for said reports by the next of kin of the deceased, the medical examiner shall furnish said reports within fourteen days of the request. If an autopsy is performed, the next of kin may have a physician of his own choice present. The next of kin may waive this right in writing, or, if next of kin fails to designate a physician within forty-eight hours of the death, the right will be considered waived.
Whenever a person in police custody attempts or threatens suicide at a lockup facility, the officer in charge of the lockup shall, within twenty-four hours of such incident, record in the department of criminal justice information services computer the name, address, and the age of such person, the charge or reason for such detention and the nature and date of said attempt or threat. Such information shall be made part of the criminal offender record information system. It shall be disseminated only to those agencies and offices authorized under section one hundred and seventy-two of chapter six.
Whenever a person in police custody attempts or threatens suicide at a lockup facility and said person is transferred to another lockup facility, the officer in charge shall notify in writing the receiving lockup facility of the exact nature of said attempt or threat.
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 36b - Cells; Protective Coverings, Electronic Audio Systems and Electronic Security Devices

Section 36B. Each cell utilized for the detention of persons within a city, town, or state lockup facility which is under the jurisdiction of a local police department or the state police shall have a protective covering of high-impact, transparent wall facing. Such protective covering shall cover all bar structures accessible to such detained persons. Adequate ventilation shall be provided to persons detained in the cell.
At least one such cell within such lockup facility shall have installed within it, but beyond the access of any person detained within such cell, an electronic audio system whereby a police officer or other lockup personnel at the duty desk within such lockup facility is brought within audible range of such cell; provided, however, that no such electronic audio system is required to be installed if at least one such cell within such lockup facility is within audible range of the duty desk without electronic assistance.
Each occupied cell within such a lockup facility should be physically or visibly checked by a law enforcement officer or other lockup personnel as often as is required by a reasonable standard of care of detainees.
Every lockup facility shall have installed within the cell area an electronic security device which will record the date and time of day of each cell check made by a law enforcement officer or other lockup personnel. All checks made shall be recorded on such electronic security device.
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 36c - Police; Training in Suicide Detection, Intervention and Prevention

Section 36C. All law enforcement officers, as defined in section 1 of chapter 6E, shall be trained in the detection, intervention and prevention of suicide. Said training shall include training in the nature and symptomatology of suicide, training in communicating with suicidal detainees, and training in appropriate suicide prevention techniques and emergency procedures. Said training shall be approved and coordinated by the municipal police training committee, and shall be included in the curriculum of all police training schools and academies, including the state police academy.
In-service training shall be provided for law enforcement officers having previous basic recruit training. Shift commanders shall complete such training within one year of the passage of this act, and all other officers shall complete such training within three years of the passage of this act. Completion of a refresher seminar in suicide prevention shall be a condition of promotion for all law enforcement officers affected by the provisions of this act.
All lockup facilities established pursuant to section thirty-four of chapter forty, or under the jurisdiction of the state police, shall establish written procedures to be followed in any situation which threatens or may threaten the safety of persons detained therein.
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 37 - Accessibility of Lockup to Police; Penalty for Refusing Access

Section 37. Such lockups shall at all reasonable hours be accessible to the state police, sheriffs, constables and police officers for any legal and proper use; and a keeper thereof neglecting to keep it so accessible, or refusing to said officers the use of the same, shall be punished by a fine of not less than five nor more than twenty dollars.
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 38 - Purchase, Development and Use of Public Water Supply

Section 38. A city, by a two thirds vote of its city council, ratified by a majority of the voters thereof at an election called for the purpose, or a town, by action of its selectmen, ratified by a majority of its voters present and voting thereon at a town meeting at which the voting list shall be used, may, for the purpose of supplying water to itself and its inhabitants, purchase of any municipal or other corporation the right to take water from its sources of supply or from its pipes; or may purchase its whole water rights, estates, franchises and privileges, and thereby become entitled to all its rights and privileges and subject to all its duties and liabilities; or, by its board of water commissioners or officers performing like duties, may contract with any such corporation for a supply of water. Any municipal corporation, by its water department, may make such a sale or enter into such a contract to supply water to a city or town.
A city or town having a water supply or water distributing system may develop and use any source of water supply within its limits, not already appropriated for purposes of public water supply, and for such purpose may proceed under any laws applicable to such system as though the authority granted hereby had been contained in such laws; provided, that no source of water supply and no lands necessary for protecting and preserving the purity of the water shall be taken or used without first obtaining the advice and approval of the department of environmental protection.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing any city, town, or political subdivision which derives any part of its water supply from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, except in case of emergency, to use for water in contravention of any provision of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority Act, and no such city, town, political subdivision nor any water company therein shall purchase water, except in case of emergency, from any municipality without written permission to do so by the said Authority.
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 39 - Conveying Water Through Another Town; Liability for Damages

Section 39. If the water is conveyed through another town, pipes may be laid through any public ways therein which the board of aldermen or selectmen thereof may designate; and the town laying such pipes shall be liable for damages caused thereby.
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 39a - Water Supply or Distributing System; Establishment; Maintenance and Operation; Exception

Section 39A. A town, by a majority of its voters present and voting thereon at a town meeting at which the voting list shall be used, may establish a water supply or water distributing system and maintain and operate the same, in accordance with sections thirty-nine B to thirty-nine G, inclusive; but no such system shall be established to supply water in any town while the inhabitants of any part thereof are being served directly by a water company or a water supply district, water district, or fire district supplying water to its inhabitants, except in accordance with section thirty-eight or with special law. Any town may vote to authorize its board of selectmen to act as water commissioners, with all the powers and duties of such commissioners, until water commissioners shall be elected as hereinafter provided. A town which has so voted may, at an annual town meeting, or at a special town meeting called for the purpose and held at least thirty days before the next annual town meeting, vote that at such next annual town meeting water commissioners shall be elected.
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 39b - Acquisition of Land and Water; Conditions

Section 39B. For the purpose of establishing a water supply or water distributing system as authorized by section thirty-nine A, any town, by its board of water commissioners or selectmen authorized to act as such, may take by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine, or acquire by purchase or otherwise, and hold, the waters, or any portion thereof, of any pond, brook, spring, stream or ground water sources within its limits, not already appropriated for purposes of public water supply, and any water or flowage rights connected therewith; and also for said purpose may take by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine, or acquire by purchase or otherwise, and hold, all lands, rights of way and other easements necessary for collecting, storing, holding, purifying and treating such water and protecting and preserving the purity thereof and for conveying the same to any part of the town; provided, that no source of water supply and no lands necessary for protecting and preserving the purity of the water shall be taken or used without first obtaining the advice and approval of the department of environmental protection, and that the location and arrangement of all dams, reservoirs, wells or filter galleries, filtration and pumping plants or other works necessary in carrying out the provisions of sections thirty-nine A to thirty-nine E, inclusive, shall be subject to the approval of said department.
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 39c - Construction and Maintenance of Dams, Wells, Reservoirs and Other Buildings; Conditions

Section 39C. A town may construct and maintain on the lands acquired and held by it under section thirty-nine B proper dams, wells, reservoirs, pumping and filtration plants, buildings, standpipes, tanks, fixtures and other structures, including also purification and treatment works, the construction and maintenance of which shall be subject to the approval of the department of environmental protection, and may make excavations, procure and operate machinery, and provide such other means and appliances and do such other things as may be necessary for the establishment and maintenance of complete and effective water works; and for that purpose may construct, lay and maintain aqueducts, conduits, pipes and other works, under or over any lands, water courses, railroads, railways and public or other ways, and along any such way in said town in such manner as not unnecessarily to obstruct the same; and for the purposes of constructing, laying, maintaining, operating and repairing such conduits, pipes and other works, and for all other proper purposes of sections thirty-nine A to thirty-nine E, inclusive, a town may dig up or raise and embank any such lands, highways or other ways in such manner as to cause the least hindrance to public travel thereon; provided, that all things done upon any such way shall be subject to the direction of the selectmen of the town or, in the case of a state highway, of the state department of highways; and provided, further, that no such town shall enter upon, or construct or lay any conduits, pipes or other works within, the location of any railroad corporation except at such time and in such manner as it may agree upon with such corporation or, in case of failure so to agree, as may be approved by the department of telecommunications and energy.
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 39d - Surveys

Section 39D. Such a town may enter upon any lands for the purpose of making surveys, test pits and borings, and may take or otherwise acquire the right to occupy temporarily any lands necessary for the construction of any work or for any other purpose authorized by said sections thirty-nine A to thirty-nine E, inclusive.
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 39e - Management of Water System

Section 39E. The land, water rights and other property taken or acquired under section thirty-nine B, and all works, buildings and other structures erected or constructed under sections thirty-nine C and thirty-nine D, shall be managed, improved and controlled by a board of water commissioners to be elected as provided by section sixty-nine A of chapter forty-one, or by its selectmen authorized to act as such, in such manner as they shall deem for the best interests of 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 39g - Pollution of Water; Damage to Property; Penalties

Section 39G. Whoever wilfully or wantonly corrupts, pollutes or diverts any of the waters taken or held under said sections thirty-nine A to thirty-nine E, inclusive, or injures any structure, work or other property owned, held or used by a town under the authority and for the purposes of said sections, shall forfeit and pay to said town three times the amount of damages assessed therefor, to be recovered in an action of tort; and upon conviction of any one of the above wilful or wanton acts shall be punished by a fine of not more than $5,000 or by imprisonment in state prison for not more than 5 years or in the house of correction for not more than 2 years or by both such fine and imprisonment.
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 39h - Right to Aid Other Governmental Units; Compensation

Section 39H. A city, town, commission or district through its water department, if any, if thereunto authorized by ordinance, or by-law or by vote of its governing body if a commission or district or a water company, as defined in section one of chapter one hundred and sixty-five, may make contracts with, or may go to aid any other city, town, commission, district or any other water company, as so defined, with regard to the operation, administration, repair and maintenance of its water supply system. Any such ordinance, by-law or vote may authorize the head of the department in charge of sewers and drains to enter into contracts or to extend such aid subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be prescribed therein. Members of such departments of cities, towns, commissions or districts while in the performance of their duties under such contracts or in extending such aid shall have the same immunities and privileges as if performing the same work in their respective cities, towns, commissions, and districts. Any city, town, commission, district or water company aided under this section shall compensate any city, town, commission, district or water company rendering aid as aforesaid, for such aid and for the whole or any part of any damage to its property sustained in the course of rendering such aid. Any contracts under this section may be for a period not exceeding twenty years.
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 39i - Water Meters; Testing

Section 39I. Any person using water supplied by a city, town or district, measured by a meter, shall be entitled to an examination and test of such meter to determine the accuracy of the same in any quarter or period, upon written application therefor, which shall be made before the expiration of the time when the rate for such quarter or period is required to be paid, to the board, commissioner or officer in charge of the water works of the city, town or district. Such examination and test shall be made by a competent person employed by the city, town or district. A written report of the result of the examination and test shall be furnished to the person making the application, and if it appears that the meter has registered with substantial accuracy, the expense of the examination and test shall be paid by the person applying therefor, and in no case shall the expense so required to be paid exceed three dollars for each examination and test, but if it appears that the meter has not registered within two per cent of accuracy and that the person has been charged with, or has paid for, more water than he should have been charged with or should have paid for, the amount of such excess shall forthwith be credited to such person or remitted to him if he has paid the same, and the expense of the examination and test shall be borne by the city, town or district supplying the water; if, however, it appears that the person has been charged with, or has paid for, less water than he should have been charged with or should have paid for, he shall forthwith be charged with the proper additional amount and shall pay the same, together with the expense of the examination and test, to the city, town or district supplying the water.
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 39j - Pricing System; Costs

Section 39J. In any city or town which accepts the provisions of this section, either by a vote of the city council, board of selectmen, board of water commissioners, or by vote of said city or town in a general election or town meeting, said city or town shall for the purposes of water conservation, water resource management, water resource planning and comprehensive financial management, adopt a pricing system which includes the costs of the provision of water and sewer services to the residents and industrial and commercial users of said city or town receiving said services. The definition of costs as used in this section shall include, but not be limited to, costs of pipe and related appurtenances, replacement stock for water and sewer, costs relating to the replacement and repair thereof including street work, maintenance of all equipment and related appurtenances necessary for the provision of water or the removal of wastewater services, all costs relating to the metering of water, all related costs of police and fire protection, all administrative costs relating to the collection of said water and sewer fees, all costs of chemicals relating to the treatment of water and wastewater, all costs relating to the personnel of the departments, as well as any long term planning costs for the continued provision of said services, and any costs of land acquisition relating to long range planning and future water supply development or wastewater treatment facilities.
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 39l - Water or Sewer Service Charges; Descending Unit Rate Basis

Section 39L. No local body shall charge for water or sewer services on a descending unit rate basis. For the purposes of this section a local body shall be a city, town, district, commission or other political subdivision or instrumentality of the commonwealth which is not within Hampden county and which is responsible for providing by itself or through an officer, board, department or division thereof local water supply or local sewer services; except as otherwise expressly provided herein, in any case where local water supply or local sewer services within the territorial boundaries of a local body are provided in whole or in part by a political subdivision or public instrumentality of the commonwealth separate from such local body, the term ''local body'' as used in this section shall mean, within the service area thereof, the political subdivision or public instrumentality.
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 41 - Protection of Water Supply; Conditions

Section 41. Towns and water supply and fire districts duly established by law may, with the consent and approval of the department of environmental protection, given after due notice and a hearing, take by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine, or acquire by purchase or otherwise, and hold, lands, buildings, rights of way and easements within the watershed of any pond, stream, reservoir, well or other water used by them as a source of water supply, which said department may deem necessary to protect and preserve the purity of the water supply. All lands taken, purchased or otherwise acquired under this section shall be under the control of the board of water commissioners of the town or district acquiring the same, who shall manage and improve them in such manner as they shall deem for the best interest of the town or district. All damages to be paid by a town or district by reason of any act done under authority hereof may be paid out of the proceeds of the sale of any bonds authorized by law to be issued by such town or district for water supply purposes or from any surplus income of the water works available therefor. A town may also make a contract to contribute to the cost of building, by any other town situated in the watershed of its water supply, a sewer or system of sewers to aid in protecting such water supply from pollution.
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 41a - Use of Water in Emergencies

Section 41A. A board of water commissioners or a board of public works with the duties of water commissioners of a municipality, water supply, fire and water district or water company having control of water supplies may, on behalf of their respective bodies politic or corporate, upon notification to the water takers, restrain the use of water on public and private premises by shutting off the water at the meter or at the curb cock or by other means as the case may be, during a drought, hurricane, conflagration or other disaster when in the opinion of the department of environmental protection an emergency exists.
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 42 - Laying Pipes and Conduits

Section 42. The board of aldermen or the selectmen may, upon terms and conditions prescribed by them, authorize the laying of pipes and conduits for the conveyance of water under any public way in their town; provided, that this section shall not authorize any person to supply water to any other person in any town where municipal water works are established except with the consent of the board or authority having charge of such water works therein.
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 42a - Collection of Rates and Charges for Supplying of Water; Lien for Delinquent Charges

Section 42A. If the rates and charges due to a city, town or water district, which accepts this section and sections forty-two B to forty-two F, inclusive, by vote of its city council or of the voters in town or district meeting and, by its clerk, files a certificate of such acceptance in the proper registry of deeds, for supplying or providing for water or rendering service or furnishing materials in connection therewith to or for any real estate at the request of the owner or tenant are not paid on or before their due date as established by local regulations, ordinances or by-laws, which due dates shall be so established as to require payments at least as often as semi-annually, such rates and charges, together with interest thereon and costs relative thereto, shall be a lien upon such real estate as provided in section forty-two B. The register of deeds shall record such certificate of acceptance in a book to be kept for the purpose, which shall be kept in an accessible location in the registry. Sections forty-two B to forty-two F, inclusive, shall also apply to a water district which has accepted sections forty-two A to forty-two F, inclusive, and whose clerk has so filed the certificate of acceptance. Wherever in said sections the words ''board or officer in charge of the water department'' or their equivalent appear, they shall also mean and include the officers exercising similar duties in any city, town or district. A fire district authorized to supply water shall, for the purposes of sections forty-two A to forty-two F, inclusive, be deemed to be a water district.
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 42b - Effective Date of Lien; Termination; Enforcement

Section 42B. Such lien shall take effect by operation of law on the day immediately following the due date of such rate or charge, and, unless dissolved by payment or abatement, shall continue until such rate or charge has been added to or committed as a tax under section forty-two C, and thereafter, unless so dissolved, shall continue as provided in section thirty-seven of chapter sixty; provided, however, that if any such rate or charge is not added to or committed as a tax under section forty-two C for the next fiscal year commencing after the inception of the lien under this section, then said lien shall terminate on October first of the third year following the year in which such charge becomes due.
Notwithstanding such lien any such overdue rate or charge may be collected through any legal means, including the shutting off of water, which may be deemed advisable; provided, that after the termination of such a lien, no city, town or water district shall attempt to enforce, by shutting off the water, collection of such rate or charge from any person, not liable therefor, who has succeeded to the title or interest of the person incurring such rate or charge. All such rates and charges excluded by court decree under section seventy-six B of chapter sixty shall, to the extent that they were properly chargeable to the person owning, or to the tenant occupying, the premises for which such rates and charges were incurred, be recoverable from such person or tenant, as the case may be, in an action of contract or otherwise. If at the time of the entry of such decree such person or tenant is still the owner or tenant of the premises, whether through redemption or otherwise, such rates and charges to the extent that they were properly chargeable to him, may be enforced in any other manner provided or available for collection and enforcement of water rates and charges.
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 42c - Unpaid Charges; Report to Tax Collector

Section 42C. If a rate or charge for which a lien is in effect under section forty-two B has not been added to or committed as a tax and remains unpaid when the assessors are preparing a real estate tax list and warrant to be committed by them under section fifty-three of chapter fifty-nine, the board or officer in charge of the water department, or the town collector of taxes, if applicable under section thirty-eight A of chapter forty-one, shall certify such rate or charge to the assessors, who shall forthwith add such rate or charge to the tax on the property to which it relates and commit it with their warrant to the collector of taxes as a part of such tax. If the property to which such rate or charge relates is tax exempt, such rate or charge shall be committed as the tax.
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 42d - Unpaid Charges; Collection as Part of Property Tax

Section 42D. Except as otherwise provided, the provisions of chapters fifty-nine and sixty shall apply, so far as pertinent, to all rates and charges certified to the assessors under section forty-two C. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, upon commitment as a tax or part of a tax under section forty-two C, all such rates and charges shall be subject to the provisions of law relative to interest on the taxes of which they become, or, if the property were not tax exempt would become, a part; and the collector of taxes shall have the same powers and be subject to the same duties with respect to such rates and charges as in the case of annual taxes upon real estate, and the provisions of law relative to the collection of such annual taxes, the sale or taking of land for the non-payment thereof and the redemption of land so sold or taken shall, except as otherwise provided, apply to such rates and charges.
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 42e - Abatements; Appeals

Section 42E. An owner of real estate aggrieved by a charge imposed thereon under sections forty-two A to forty-two F, inclusive, in addition to such remedy as he may have under section ten of chapter one hundred and sixty-five, may apply for an abatement thereof by filing a petition with the board or officer having control of the water department within the time allowed by law for filing an application for abatement of the tax of which such charge is, or, if the property were not tax exempt, would have been, a part, and if such board or officer finds that such charge is more than is properly due, a reasonable abatement shall be made; and except as otherwise provided herein, the provisions of chapter fifty-nine relative to the abatement of taxes by assessors shall apply, so far as applicable, to abatements hereunder. If such petition is denied in whole or in part, the petitioner may appeal to the appellate tax board upon the same terms and conditions as a person aggrieved by the refusal of the assessors of a city or town to abate a tax.
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 42f - Recovery of Delinquent Charges From Tenants

Section 42F. An owner of real estate who, in order to prevent the imposition of a lien thereon or to discharge the same, has paid charges for water furnished to a tenant or other person who was bound to pay the same, may recover from such tenant or other person in an action of contract the amount of the charges so paid with all incidental costs and expenses.
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 42g - Distribution of Water; Payment of Costs by Special Assessment

Section 42G. Any city, town or district having a water supply or water distributing system which, in the case of a city or town, accepts this section and the two following sections in cities other than Plan E cities by vote of the city council subject to the city charter, or Plan E cities by vote of the city council, in towns or districts by vote of its inhabitants at an annual town or district meeting called therefor, may provide by ordinance, by-law or vote for the levy of special assessments to meet the whole or part of the cost thereafter incurred of laying pipes in public and private ways for the conveyance or distribution of water to its inhabitants. Such city, town or district may provide that an owner of land which receives benefit from the laying of water pipes in public and private ways upon which his land abuts or which by more remote means receives benefit through the supply of water to his land or buildings shall pay a proportionate part of the cost not already assessed of extending such water supply to his land.
The amount to be charged against each parcel of land receiving such benefit shall include the cost of the pipes and other material and of the labor in laying them and other expenses incidental thereto and shall be ascertained, assessed and certified by the water commissioners or the other officers in charge of the supply and distribution of water in such city, town or district.
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 42h - Uniform Rate of Assessment

Section 42H. A city, town or district having a water supply or water distributing system may provide that assessment for the cost of providing and laying water pipes thereafter in public and private ways shall be made upon the several parcels of land receiving benefit from the laying of such pipes by a fixed uniform rate based upon the estimated average cost of all the water pipes therein and the laying thereof, according to the frontage of such land on any way in which a water pipe is laid, or according to the area of such land within a fixed depth from such a way, or according to valuation for purposes of taxation in the last annual assessment, or according to two or all of such measures.
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 42i - Recordation of Assessment to Establish Lien on Property; Amount of Assessment; Extension of Time for Payment

Section 42I. Whenever the water commissioners or other officers in charge of the supply and distribution of water in a city, town or district which has accepted sections forty-two G to forty-two I, inclusive, determine to lay water pipes in public and private ways and assessments may be made under said sections for the construction of such improvement, they shall forthwith cause to be recorded in the registry of deeds of the county or district in which such city, town or district is situated a statement of their action, which shall specify the ways in which such water pipes are to be laid and shall describe such land as does not abut upon any such way which is to be assessed for such improvement, and which shall designate as the owner of each parcel upon which a lien is to be imposed by this section the person who was liable to assessment therefor on the preceding January first under the provisions of chapter fifty-nine. All assessments imposed under sections forty-two G and forty-two H upon any land which abuts upon any such ways in which such water pipes are to be laid or is included in such description shall constitute a lien upon such land from the time such statement is recorded. The provisions of chapter eighty relative to the apportionment, division, reassessment, abatement and collection of assessments, and to interest, shall apply to assessments under this chapter. No assessment shall be levied under sections forty-two H to forty-two I, inclusive, in excess of the benefit to the land assessed from the laying of the water pipes for which the assessment is levied, and if any assessment is found to exceed such benefit, it shall be abated. The water commissioners or other officers in charge of the supply and distribution of water as aforesaid shall, if the order for assessment is upon land not built upon, extend the time of payment of the assessment and interest thereon at the rate of four per cent until it is built upon or for a fixed time; and the assessment and interest shall be paid within three months after such land is built upon or at the expiration of such fixed period.
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 42j - Deferral of Charges

Section 42J. In a city, town or district which accepts the provisions of this section, the board responsible for assessing charges for the use of water under section sixty-nine B of chapter forty-one or any other provision of law, shall, upon the application of the owner of the real property to which the water is supplied, if such owner is receiving an exemption from property taxes under clause Forty-first A of section five of chapter fifty-nine with respect to such property, defer charges for water supplied to such property. An application for deferral may be filed with said board within the time limit established for the filing of an application for exemption under said clause Forty-first A.
The board that imposes such charges shall notify the board of assessors of any deferral granted under the provisions of this section, and shall annually thereafter notify said board of assessors of any unpaid water rates and charges to be added to the tax bill. Such charges shall be committed by the assessors along with the real estate taxes for each fiscal year, and secured by the statement of lien executed pursuant to said clause Forty-first A. Upon such qualification for deferral, no further application under this section need be filed in order to qualify for deferral of water charges in subsequent years. No additional notice or statement of lien need be recorded or registered with respect to such deferred water charges, but the amount of such deferred charges shall be listed on any certificate of liens issued under section twenty-three, twenty-three A or twenty-three B of chapter sixty. Whenever a person who has received an exemption under said clause Forty-first A ceases to receive such exemption, the board of assessors shall cease deferring water rates and charges added to the tax bill, and shall notify the board responsible for the assessment of such charges of the discontinuance of such deferral of said charges.
Interest shall be charged upon deferred water charges at the same rate as interest on taxes deferred under said clause Forty-first A. The deferred charges, together with accrued interest shall be due and collectible at the same time and upon the same terms and conditions as taxes deferred under said clause Forty-first A.
The amount of water charges deferred under this section, plus accrued interest, shall not be used in determining whether a taxpayer continues to be eligible for exemption under said clause Forty-first A.
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 42k - Assessment of Betterments

Section 42K. In a city, town or district which accepts the provisions of this section, the water commissioners may assess betterments in accordance with the provisions of chapter eighty for the construction and connection of water mains and services by a uniform unit method which shall be based upon the common main construction costs divided among the total number of existing and potential water units to be served after having allocated the town contribution, if any, and after having proportioned the cost of special (specific unit) and general benefit facilities. Each water unit shall be equal to a single family residence. Potential water units shall be calculated on the basis of zoning in effect at the date of assessment. Existing and potentially and potentially multi-family, commercial, industrial and semi-public uses shall be converted into water units on the basis of residential equivalents.
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 43 - Authorization for Laying of Pipes for the Transmission of Steam or Hot Water

Section 43. The board of aldermen or the selectmen may, upon terms and conditions prescribed by them, authorize the laying of pipes and conduits for the transmission of steam or hot water for heating, cooking and mechanical power, for private use, under any public way in their town, may regulate and control the same, may at any time require the persons using such pipes and conduits to make alterations in the location or construction thereof, and may, after notice and hearing, order the removal thereof. Any use of such pipes and conduits other than herein authorized shall terminate the authority to maintain the same. Sections twelve, thirteen and fourteen of chapter one hundred and fifty-eight shall apply to proceedings hereunder so far as applicable.
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 43a - Permission to Construct Pipelines for Conveying Petroleum or By-Products Thereof; Conditions

Section 43A. The board of alderman or the selectmen may, subject to such terms and conditions as they may deem advisable and subject also to such rules and regulations as may be promulgated by the state department of fire services, grant to any person the right to lay, construct, maintain and operate pipe lines for conveying petroleum or the products or by-products thereof through, over, across or under any public way, other than a way referred to in section forty-four B of chapter thirty, and in connection therewith may grant permission to any such person to dig up, open or tunnel under such public way.
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 44 - Improvement Districts; Purposes; Membership; Tenure; Powers and Duties

Section 44. A town may, at a town meeting, authorize a village or district therein, if it contains not less than one thousand inhabitants, to organize under a name approved by the town for the purpose of erecting and maintaining street lamps, establishing and maintaining libraries, building and maintaining sidewalks, or for employing and paying police officers, and shall accurately define the limits of such village or district. Such village or district shall have a clerk and a prudential committee, and may have a treasurer and such other officers as it determines, each of whom shall hold office for one year and until another is qualified. Such village or district may adopt by-laws to define the manner of calling its meetings and the duties of its officers, may sue and be sued in the name of its inhabitants, and, so far as appropriate, shall be subject to sections sixty-two, sixty-three, sixty-six, sixty-nine, seventy-one, seventy-two, seventy-three, seventy-seven and seventy-nine of chapter forty-eight.
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 44a - Regional Refuse Disposal Planning Committee

Section 44A. A city or town, by vote of the council in a city and by vote of the board of selectmen in a town, may create a special unpaid committee to be known as a regional refuse disposal planning committee consisting of 3 persons to be appointed by the board of selectmen in a town and by the mayor in a city.