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2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161b - Transportation Facilities, Highway Systems and Urban Development Plans › Section 23 - Contract Assistance

Section 23. The commonwealth, acting by and through the executive office for administration and finance, may enter into contract or contracts with the authorities created pursuant to this chapter providing that fifty per cent of the net cost of service of each authority shall be paid by the commonwealth, and shall not be assessed upon the cities and towns constituting the authorities established by section two and section three. Such amount, not to be so assessed shall be called contract assistance.
Contracts shall provide for payment of debt service by the commonwealth when due except to the extent that the authority shall have previously notified the state treasurer that the revenues of the authority are sufficient for the purpose.
Any debt service on bonds issued by an authority, for which contract assistance is provided, shall mature serially beginning not later than ten years after the date of issue and ending not later than forty years after the date of the bonds, so that the amounts payable in the several years for principal and interest combined shall be as nearly equal as in the opinion of the authority as is practicable to make them or, in the alternative, in accordance with a schedule providing a more rapid amortization of principal.
Any contracts or agreements made between an authority and any private company or carrier for which contract assistance is provided shall be subject to the following limitations: (i) in determining whether assistance is needed under this paragraph with respect to an operating agreement with a private transportation company, and in determining the terms of such assistance, the authority shall review the entire transportation operations of the company and its affiliates and shall make a finding that the assistance will not permit the applicant company to make more than a reasonable return overall; and (ii) that the assistance shall cover only those services determined by the authority to be in the public interest.
Any contract under this section shall include such provisions as the secretary deems necessary and desirable to assure the efficient operation of the authority, and the minimum burden on the commonwealth and on the cities and towns within the authority, and to insure contract assistance is provided for projects which are consistent with the program for public mass transportation of the authority.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161b - Transportation Facilities, Highway Systems and Urban Development Plans › Section 24 - Application of Other Laws

Section 24. Section ten of chapter forty A, sections twenty-eight, fifty-nine to sixty-four, inclusive, eighty-three to eighty-five, inclusive, and ninety-two to one hundred and four, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and fifty-nine, and sections eighty-nine, one hundred and three and one hundred and thirteen of chapter one hundred and sixty-one, shall apply to the transportation authorities created by this chapter, its property and employees in the same manner as though each were a street railway company.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161b - Transportation Facilities, Highway Systems and Urban Development Plans › Section 26 - Stabilization Fund

Section 26. The regional transit authorities shall establish a stabilization fund into which the authorities shall deposit revenues in excess of expenditures. Said stabilization fund shall have a fund balance no greater than 15% of total revenues for all regional transit authorities for the fiscal year most recently ended. Monies from said fund shall be subject to appropriation and used for capital improvements and expenditures, to offset the unforeseen and dramatic loss of revenues within a fiscal year, and to pay current expenses after implementing all efficiencies and savings possible. The authorities may not assume draws from said stabilization fund in preparing their annual budgets. In the event that an authority requires a draw from said fund, it shall file with the secretary of administration and finance, secretary of transportation and construction, joint committee on transportation and the house and senate committees on ways and means a financial plan that projects to produce in the following fiscal year an excess of revenues over expenses, all measures taken to implement efficiencies and savings, the amount necessary to offset operating losses, and any other information that said secretaries or committees may require.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161b - Transportation Facilities, Highway Systems and Urban Development Plans › Section 27 - Regional Transit Authority Council

Section 27. There shall be a regional transit authority council for the purposes of coordination and sharing information and best practices in matters of security and public safety planning and preparedness, service delivery, cost savings, and administrative efficiencies. Members of the council shall include the administrator of each authority established under section 14. The secretary shall be chairman of the council and the general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority shall be a nonvoting member of the council. The council shall meet no less than once each calendar quarter or upon the request, with reasonable notice, of the secretary.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161c - Rail Transportation in the Commonwealth › Section 1 - Declaration of Legislative Intent

Section 1. It is hereby declared that rail transportation offers economic and environmental advantages with respect to land use air and noise pollution, energy efficiency, safety, and costs per ton mile of movement to the extent that the preservation, development and maintenance of such services is a public purpose and in the public interest; that essential rail transportation services for the movement of passengers and freight are threatened with cessation or significant curtailment because of the deterioration or inadequacy of rail rights of way either earlier acquired for a public purpose, or because of the insufficiency or inadequacy of rail facilities and related equipment, and because of the inability of private railroad companies to provide such services or facilities without public financial assistance; that the public convenience and necessity require that the adequate and efficient rail services and facilities be provided in the commonwealth; that these needs cannot be met without substantial action by the commonwealth; and that it is the intent of the general court to provide for such action through an act which authorizes a public agency to plan for and carry out the steps necessary to acquire, preserve, develop and construct when necessary on lands not formerly owned or used by a railroad, which insures the maintenance and operation of, adequate and efficient rail rights of way, related facilities or equipment, and rail services.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161c - Rail Transportation in the Commonwealth › Section 2 - Definitions

Section 2. Whenever used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the following words or terms shall have the following meanings:—
''Executive office'', the office of planning and programming established under chapter six C.
''Rail rights-of-way'', lands other than those owned, operated and maintained by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority or interests in lands which are, may be, or formerly were used, as rights-of-way for rail purposes.
''Related facilities or equipment'', facilities other than those owned, operated and maintained by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority or which are, may be, or formerly were used, for rail or related transportation purposes, including, without limitation, lands or interests in lands, buildings or other structures; and equipment other than those owned, operated and maintained by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which is, may be, or formerly was used, for such purposes, including, without limitation, rail freight or passenger rolling stock.
''Secretary'', the administrator of transportation for mass transit within the department of transportation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161c - Rail Transportation in the Commonwealth › Section 3 - Executive Office of Transportation; Duties

Section 3. The executive office shall take such steps as may be necessary to provide for the development, promotion, preservation, and improvement of an adequate, safe, efficient and convenient rail system for the movement of passengers and freight in the commonwealth. In carrying out the purposes of this chapter, the executive office shall seek to encourage and develop rail services which promote and maintain the economic wellbeing of the citizens of the commonwealth, and which preserve the environment and the commonwealth's natural resources.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161c - Rail Transportation in the Commonwealth › Section 4 - Expenditure of Funds; Application Fees and Rents

Section 4. The executive office or the department of highways acting pursuant to paragraph (f) of section six is hereby authorized and directed to expend such funds as may be appropriated or otherwise made available for the acquisition, construction, preservation, rehabilitation, reconstruction, or other improvement, whether directly, jointly or under contract with other public or private parties, of land, and rail rights-of-way and related facilities or equipment, including but not limited to spurs, sidings and bridges, and for such other purposes, including, without limitation, planning, engineering and administrative purposes, as are incidental thereto; provided that any preservation, rehabilitation, reconstruction, or other improvement of land or of a rail right-of-way and related facilities or equipment shall not be authorized prior to the acquisition of said land, right-of-way and related facilities or equipment.
Subject to any other applicable provisions of law regarding the disposition and use of state property, the executive office may, in the course of exercising its responsibilities of property management of state-owned railroad rights-of-way pursuant to this chapter: (a) set fees for the processing of applications to lease, license, or otherwise use said property; and (b) charge rent for same. Said fees shall be based on the administrative costs necessary to process said applications. Said rents shall be calculated as required under other applicable requirements of state law. Receipts from said applications and rents shall be paid into the treasury of the commonwealth and may be expended, subject to appropriation, for the purpose of property management and maintenance on railroad properties owned by the executive office on behalf of the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161c - Rail Transportation in the Commonwealth › Section 5 - Contracts for Financial Assistance; Limitations

Section 5. The executive office or the department of highways acting pursuant to paragraph (f) of section six of this chapter may enter into contracts or agreements to provide financial assistance, from such funds as may be provided for the purpose, for all or part of the costs of maintaining rail rights-of-way or related facilities or equipment, or operating rail services in the commonwealth.
Any such contracts or agreements shall be subject to the following limitations: (i) in determining whether such assistance is necessary or appropriate under this chapter with respect to an operating agreement with a private transportation company, and in determining the terms and conditions under which such assistance shall be given, the secretary shall review the transportation operations of such company and its affiliates and shall make a finding that such assistance will not permit the applicant company to make more than a reasonable return overall; and (ii) any such assistance shall cover only those services which the secretary determines to be in the public interest.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161c - Rail Transportation in the Commonwealth › Section 7 - Railroad Rights-of-Way or Related Facilities; Sale or Disposition; Commonwealth's Right of First Refusal

Section 7. (a) To the extent not inconsistent with federal law, no railroad company which conducts or has conducted operations within the commonwealth shall sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of railroad rights-of-way or related facilities without first offering such rights-of-way or facilities for sale, transfer or disposition to either the executive office, acting on behalf of the commonwealth, or such other department, authority, agency, or political subdivision of the commonwealth as may be designated by the executive office for the purpose of any such sale, transfer or disposition; provided, that such sale, transfer or disposition may be made by the railroad company to a party other than the executive office or its designee, but only if (i) the executive office or its designee has notified the railroad company in writing of its rejection of such offer; or (ii) ninety calendar days have elapsed from the date on which said offer or a copy of such offer, as provided in the second paragraph, is made to the executive office.
(b) Said railroad company shall make such offer in writing and shall send such offer by certified mail to the executive office or to its designee. In the event that such offer is made to a designee of the executive office, a notarized copy of such offer shall be sent by certified mail to the executive office. Any such offer shall include the price at which said company proposes to offer such rights-of-way or facilities to the commonwealth, and such other terms or conditions which said company proposed to include as part of such sale, transfer or disposition. The executive office or its designee shall notify in writing and by certified mail said railroad company of its acceptance or rejection of such offer within ninety calendar days of such offer, and in the event that the designee of the executive office sends such notice, said designee shall also send a notarized copy of such notice to the executive office. The executive office is hereby authorized to notify any person that the conditions provided in clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (a) have been satisfied and that the commonwealth no longer has the option to acquire the rights-of-way or facilities as provided in said paragraph. Any such notice shall be binding on the commonwealth.
In no event shall said railroad company offer to sell, transfer, or otherwise dispose of railroad rights-of-way or facilities to any person on terms or conditions more favorable to said person than those offered to the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161c - Rail Transportation in the Commonwealth › Section 8 - Surplus Railroad-Related Materials and Equipment; Offer to Freight Railroads Operating on In-State Tracks Owned by the Commonwealth

Section 8. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of transportation may offer and convey surplus rail and other track material, surplus rail-related equipment, such as signals, and surplus railroad bridge materials to freight railroads operating on tracks in the commonwealth to which they have rights and to the freight railroads operating on in-state tracks owned by the commonwealth. Working in concert with the Massachusetts Railroad Association, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation shall design and implement a fair, reasonable and orderly system to distribute the surplus assets; provided, however, that the department may change that system, as needed, in order to improve it in any way consistent with the objectives of the reuse program. The assets shall only be conveyed to a railroad which has demonstrated an impending need for the assets at a specific in-state location. The secretary shall cause to be created and published periodically a list of surplus rail assets which may be made available through the department or from department projects and from Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority projects to the freight railroad companies operating in the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161d - The Massachusetts Intercity Bus Capital Assistance Program › Section 1 - Declaration of Need and Intent

Section 1. It is hereby declared that intercity bus transportation services offer economic and environmental advantages with respect to energy conservation and efficiency, air and noise pollution, public safety and costs per passenger mile of movement to the extent that the preservation, development, promotion and maintenance of such services is a public purpose and in the public interest; that essential intercity or intrastate bus transportation services for the movement of passengers are threatened by a crisis within the commonwealth's intercity bus carriers industry brought about a rapid inflation of the cost of intercity bus equipment and severe fluctuations in the interest rates of our national financial market, hence, these economic conditions have severely retarded the ability of intercity carriers to purchase new vehicular equipment in order to maintain modern fleets attractive to the general public and accrue adequate returns of investment, consequently limiting said carriers from expanding these critical transportation services to the travelling public; these needs cannot be met without constructive action by the commonwealth; and that is the intent of the general court to provide for such actions through an act which authorizes a public agency to ensure intercity bus carriers with the necessary capital equipment to improve and further develop these essential public transportation services within the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161d - The Massachusetts Intercity Bus Capital Assistance Program › Section 2 - Definitions

Section 2. Whenever used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the following words or terms shall have the following meaning:—
''Executive office'', the office of planning and programming established under chapter six C.
''Intercity coach'', any vehicle with a seating capacity of forty or more, and which is appropriate for the provision of long distance highway travel or commuting.
''Intercity bus carrier'', any entity possessing legally required certification, issued by an agency of the commonwealth, or any political subdivision thereof, for the carriage of passengers for hire between fixed and regular termini.
''Intercity service'', the movement of passengers between two or more distinct municipalities.
''Secretary'', the administrator of transportation for mass transit within the department of transportation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161d - The Massachusetts Intercity Bus Capital Assistance Program › Section 3 - Expenditure of Funds

Section 3. The executive office is hereby authorized to expend such funds as may be appropriated or otherwise made available for the acquisition of intercity coaches, and for necessary planning and other costs incidental to said acquisition, and to lease said coaches to eligible intercity bus carriers as provided in this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161d - The Massachusetts Intercity Bus Capital Assistance Program › Section 5 - Lease Agreements; Limitations

Section 5. Pursuant to the provisions of section four, the executive office may enter into lease agreements with eligible intercity carriers for the use of intercity coach vehicles. The terms of each such agreement shall be set forth by the secretary and be subject to the following limitations:
(1) Said lease shall not exceed a duration of seven years;
(2) The rate of said lease shall be set at a level below the prevailing market rate for the purchase of such vehicles;
(3) Said rate shall be set by the secretary, and shall as nearly as possible, produce sufficient revenues to the commonwealth in combination with the estimated revenues from the sale of such vehicles under the provisions of clause (4), to recover the principal cost to the commonwealth of said program; provided, however, that the rate for any lease entered into pursuant to this chapter and in effect as of December twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred and eighty-five shall not be increased except as specifically permitted by the lease and any reduction authorized by the secretary pursuant to this section shall not be retroactive;
(4) Upon termination of said lease, the vehicle shall be sold to the highest bidder in accordance with General Laws relative to competitive bidding, with no preference being given to the carrier or carriers to whom the vehicle was leased during the preceding time periods;
(5) In the event of a declaration of emergency, by the governor, the secretary reserves the right to temporarily reassign use of such vehicle by the lessee; and
(6) Notwithstanding the provisions of clause (1), the secretary may extend the term of a lease entered into pursuant to this section; provided, however, that the term of such lease including any extension thereof shall not exceed twelve years; provided, further, that the rate for any lease extension may be adjusted and shall, as nearly as possible, produce sufficient revenues to the commonwealth in combination with the revised estimated revenues from the sale of such vehicles after twelve years under the provisions of clause (4) to recover the principal cost to the commonwealth of said program.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 162 - Electric Railroads › Section 1 - Definitions

Section 1. In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the ''department'' means the department of public utilities. An ''interested party'', in any proceeding under this chapter before the department, the board of aldermen of any city or the selectmen of any town, shall include any person whose land is to be taken or whose estate abuts upon any highway through which the electric railroad is to pass, and any railroad corporation or street railway company having a location in any city or town included within the proposed route of the electric railroad company.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 162 - Electric Railroads › Section 4 - Powers

Section 4. Such company may, subject to this chapter, construct, operate and maintain a railroad or railway, including poles, wires, or other appliances and equipment connected therewith, of the class operated by electricity or by any power other than steam, which the department approves, and constructed wholly upon private land purchased or taken by said company under this chapter; or constructed partly upon such private land and partly upon public ways and places, but at least one half of which is constructed upon such private land. Such company shall have all the powers and privileges, and be subject to all the duties, liabilities and restrictions, relative to railroad corporations, set forth in chapters one hundred and fifty-nine and one hundred and sixty, except as is otherwise specially provided in this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 162 - Electric Railroads › Section 5 - Content of Agreement of Association; Execution of Agreement

Section 5. The agreement of association shall state—
(a) That the subscribers thereto associate themselves with the intention of forming an electric railroad company;
(b) The corporate name assumed, which shall be one not in use by any other electric railroad company in the commonwealth, or, in the judgment of the department, so similar thereto as to be likely to be mistaken for it, or for any railroad corporation or street railway company in this commonwealth, and which shall contain the words, ''electric railroad company'', at the end thereof;
(c) The termini of the railroad;
(d) The length of the railroad, as nearly as may be;
(e) The name of each county, city and town in which the railroad is to be located;
(f) The gauge of the railroad, which shall be four feet eight and one half inches;
(g) The total amount of the capital stock of the company, which shall be not less than ten thousand dollars for each mile;
(h) The par value of the shares, which shall be one hundred dollars;
(i) The names and residences of at least five persons, who shall be subscribers to the agreement of association, to act as directors until others are chosen and qualified in their stead.
Each associate shall subscribe to the agreement of association his name, residence, post office address, and the number of shares of stock which he agrees to take, but no subscriber shall be bound to pay more than ten per cent of the amount of his subscription unless a company is incorporated.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 162 - Electric Railroads › Section 7 - Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity

Section 7. After compliance with section three and the two preceding sections, and within thirty days after the first publication of notice of the agreement of association therein required, the directors therein named shall apply to the department for a certificate that public convenience and necessity require the construction of a railroad as proposed in such agreement. With such application said directors shall file a map of the railroad showing the cities and towns through which it will pass, the principal highways, railways, railroads, navigable streams and tide waters to be crossed, and the extent to which the route of the railroad will be fixed upon private land or will be located longitudinally upon public ways and places, together with a general profile of the railroad showing the grades, and an estimate showing in reasonable detail the cost of construction. The directors shall also furnish such additional maps and information as the department may require. Prior to the decision of the department the directors may change or modify the route in any city or town in whole or in part either at the suggestion of the department or otherwise. If the department refuses to issue such certificate, no further proceedings shall be had, but the application may be renewed after one year from the date of such refusal.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 162 - Electric Railroads › Section 8 - Fixing of Route; Application to Municipality

Section 8. If the department grants the certificate specified in the preceding section, the directors may, within sixty days after the granting thereof, apply to the board of aldermen of each city and to the selectmen of each town where the railroad is to be located to fix the route of the railroad in such city or town, and with such application the directors shall file a copy of the maps and general profile, and, upon request, the other information presented to the department. The board of aldermen and the selectmen shall give fourteen days' notice of the time and place for a hearing on such application by publication thereof in one or more newspapers, if any, published in said city or town; otherwise in such newspaper or newspapers published in the county where the city or town is situated as shall be designated by the department; and written notice of the time and place at which such hearing will be held shall be mailed at least seven days before said hearing by the clerk of the city or town, where the application for locations has been filed, to the owners as determined by the last preceding assessment for taxation of real estate along the public ways or parts of ways upon which it is proposed to construct said line and to the owners of private land upon which the route of the railroad is to be fixed; and said clerk shall make and deliver to the directors at the hearing a certificate setting forth the fact that such notice was published and mailed as herein provided, and such certificate shall be conclusive evidence thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 162 - Electric Railroads › Section 10 - Location Upon Public Way or Place

Section 10. If the board of aldermen or the selectmen deem public convenience and necessity require the railroad to be constructed in part longitudinally upon a public way or place, they may, in granting or agreeing to a location thereon, prescribe how the tracks shall be laid, the kind of wires, poles, rails and other appliances which shall be used, and may impose such terms, conditions and obligations incidental to and not inconsistent with the objects of a street railway company as the public interests may require, and the department approves.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 162 - Electric Railroads › Section 12 - Commencement of Construction

Section 12. If an electric railroad company, incorporated under this chapter, does not begin the construction of its railroad and expend thereon at least ten per cent of the amount of its original capital stock within two years after the date of its certificate of incorporation, and does not complete and open its railroad for use within four years after said date, its corporate powers and existence shall cease, unless the department, after public notice and a hearing, extends said time by a certificate, stating that it deems due diligence has been exercised by the corporation, and that public necessity and convenience require such extension.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 162 - Electric Railroads › Section 13 - Extensions; Date of Completion and Opening for Use

Section 13. If an electric railroad company, incorporated under this chapter, does not complete and open for use an extension within four years after the date of the authorization of the extension by the department, the power of the company to construct and operate the same shall cease, unless the department after public notice and a hearing, extends said time by a certificate stating that it deems due diligence has been exercised by the corporation, and that public necessity and convenience require the said extension of time.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 162 - Electric Railroads › Section 14 - Common Carriers of Baggage and Freight

Section 14. An electric railroad company shall act as a common carrier of baggage, express matter and freight in such cases, upon such parts of its railroad, and to such extent, in any city or town as, after public notice and a hearing upon the petition of the president or a majority of the directors of the company or any interested party, the board of aldermen or the selectmen, or those exercising the powers of such board or selectmen, in such city or town, shall by order approve; provided, that a company shall actually engage in the business of a common carrier under this chapter only in such cases, upon such of the parts of its railroad, and to such extent, approved as aforesaid, as the department shall certify, after public notice and a hearing upon said petition, that public necessity and convenience require; and provided, that any company acting under authority hereof shall be subject to such regulations and restrictions as may from time to time be made by the local authorities aforesaid, with the approval of the department, and shall also be subject to all laws relating to common carriers so far as consistent herewith and with said regulations and restrictions.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 162 - Electric Railroads › Section 15 - Statutes Applicable to Electric Railroads

Section 15. An electric railroad company shall be subject to sections twenty-five, forty, forty-two, forty-six, forty-nine, fifty, seventy, seventy-one, seventy-seven to ninety-eight, inclusive, one hundred to one hundred and three, inclusive, one hundred and twenty-nine to one hundred and thirty-one, inclusive, and one hundred and forty-one of chapter one hundred and sixty-one and section one hundred and two of chapter two hundred and sixty-six.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 162 - Electric Railroads › Section 16 - Statutes Not Applicable to Electric Railroad

Section 16. An electric railroad company shall not be subject to the following provisions of law relative to railroad corporations contained in chapter one hundred and sixty: so much of section twenty-two as refers to tracks laid longitudinally within the limits of a public way; so much of section forty-one as applies to grain elevators; sections sixty-five to sixty-seven, inclusive, and sections one hundred and thirty-eight, one hundred and fifty-one, one hundred and fifty-two, one hundred and sixty-eight to one hundred and seventy-one, inclusive, and two hundred and twenty-seven; but the department shall prescribe rules and regulations relative to the equipment of cars, the ringing of bells, the sounding of whistles and the giving of signals, for the prevention of accidents.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 162 - Electric Railroads › Section 17 - Elevated Structures, Recovery of Damages for Additional Servitude

Section 17. The location, construction, maintenance or operation of said lines of railroad in so far as the same are located longitudinally upon an elevated structure upon a public way or place shall be deemed an additional servitude, and shall entitle parties having an estate in such public ways or places, or in premises which abut thereon, and who are damaged by reason of such location, construction, maintenance and operation, to recover such damages from the electric railroad company under chapter seventy-nine.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 163 - Trackless Trolley Companies › Section 2 - Powers

Section 2. Any corporation organized as provided in this chapter, and any domestic street railway company may, as hereinafter provided, transport for hire passengers, freight, express parcels and mail over public ways or over private lands with the consent of the owners thereof by the system known as trolleymotor or trackless trolley, and may build, equip, operate and maintain vehicles for such transportation, and establish and maintain power houses, poles, wires, conduits or other structures within the limits of and over or under such public ways or private lands for the generation and transmission of electricity for the operation of such vehicles, and the authorities having jurisdiction over such public ways may grant permits for the operation of the said vehicles over such ways, and for the erection of poles, wires and other necessary structures within, over or under such public ways in the manner and to the extent provided by law for the granting of locations to street railway companies.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 163 - Trackless Trolley Companies › Section 4 - Content of Agreement of Association; Execution of Agreement

Section 4. The agreement of association shall state—
(a) That the subscribers thereto associate themselves with the intention of forming a trolleymotor or trackless trolley company;
(b) The corporate name assumed, which shall be one not in use by any other trolleymotor or trackless trolley company, or by any street railway company, or, in the judgment of the department, so similar thereto as to be likely to be mistaken for it, and shall contain words indicating the object of the company;
(c) The termini of the proposed route;
(d) The length of the proposed route as nearly as may be;
(e) The name of each county, city and town where the proposed route is to be situated;
(f) The total amount of the capital stock of the company, which shall not be less than two thousand dollars for each mile, nor in any event less than twenty thousand dollars;
(g) The par value of the shares, which shall be one hundred dollars;
(h) The names and residences of at least five persons, who shall be subscribers to the agreement of association, to act as directors until others are chosen and qualify in their stead.
Each associate shall subscribe to the agreement of association his name, residence, post office address, and the number of shares of stock which he agrees to take, but no subscriber shall be bound to pay more than ten per cent of the amount of his subscription unless the company is incorporated.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 163 - Trackless Trolley Companies › Section 6 - Permit From Authorities Having Jurisdiction Over Public Ways

Section 6. Every corporation undertaking to perform in public ways the kind of public service authorized by this chapter shall first procure a permit from the authorities having jurisdiction over such public ways in the manner prescribed in and in accordance with section seven of chapter one hundred and sixty-one, and the granting of such permit shall be subject to the approval of the department as provided in said section for the location of street railways. The fee for such a permit shall be set by the authorities having jurisdiction over such public ways. No such approval shall be given for any line any part of which, in the opinion of the department, is so nearly contiguous or adjacent to the line of a street railway company that its construction would result in a competitive service injurious to the public and to such street railway company: provided, that the latter is ready and willing and offers to construct and does construct, within such reasonable time as the department may fix, a line of street railway or a line of trolleymotor or trackless trolley in the public way described in the petition, which the department deems will serve the public as well as would the proposed line described in the petition; and no such approval shall be granted in any event if the department deems that the granting of the same would be unduly injurious to any street railway or trackless trolley line covering the same or substantially the same territory.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 163 - Trackless Trolley Companies › Section 7 - Service as Common Carrier

Section 7. Every corporation undertaking to perform the kind of public service authorized by this chapter shall thereupon become a common carrier, with all the duties and liabilities of common carriers, and the department shall have the same jurisdiction over the operation and the service rendered that it has over street railway companies, except that no corporation shall be required, without its consent, to extend its trackless trolley service beyond that described in its petition under the preceding section or in its offer to the department thereunder, and the department may permit the suspension or curtailment in whole or in part of the trackless trolley service of any corporation operating under authority of this chapter whenever, by reason of weather or traffic conditions, or of the condition of the highways, or the season of the year, such suspension or curtailment may be desirable for the safety of the traveling public or to avoid loss in operation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 163 - Trackless Trolley Companies › Section 8 - Application of Laws Governing Street Railways

Section 8. Every corporation doing business under this chapter shall be subject to general laws governing street railway companies in respect to the future issue of stocks and bonds, consolidation, leases, revocation of permits and locations; and shall also be subject to the same regulation and supervision, and shall file with the department the same reports and information required of street railway companies, so far as such regulation, supervision and requirements are applicable to corporations doing business under this chapter and are consistent with its provisions.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 163 - Trackless Trolley Companies › Section 9 - Commencement of Operation; Limitation

Section 9. The right of any corporation to erect poles, wires and other appliances in accordance with any permit granted under section six, and to operate trackless trolley vehicles upon the line designated in such permit, shall cease as to so much thereof as shall not be in operation within two years after the date of approval by the department, or within such further time as it may, after a hearing, grant.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 163 - Trackless Trolley Companies › Section 10 - Purchase of Electricity

Section 10. Any corporation doing business under this chapter may purchase electricity from any person, city or town, engaged in its manufacture or distribution or from any street railway company, on such terms and conditions as the department approves, and, with like approval, may make contracts with any corporation having poles, wires, conduits or other structures or appliances within the limits of public ways or on private lands for the purchase or for the use of such poles, wires, conduits or other structures.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 163 - Trackless Trolley Companies › Section 12 - Security for Liability of Company; Persons Enforcing Payment

Section 12. The department of its own motion or upon petition of any interested party may, if after notice and a hearing it finds that such action is necessary for the protection of the public, require any corporation doing business under this chapter to furnish security by bond and/or otherwise, in such amount and of such character as it may, from time to time, determine and approve, for the payment of any final judgment which may be rendered against such corporation for any injury to person or property or for damages for causing the death of any person, by reason of any negligent or unlawful act, on the part of such corporation, its agents or employees, in the use or operation of vehicles by said system known as trolley motor or trackless trolley. Any bond so required shall run to the state treasurer as obligee. Any person so injured or damaged, or his executor or administrator, or the executor or administrator of any person whose death was so caused, may enforce payment of such judgment by suit on such bond in the name of the state treasurer, and in such suit the court may make any appropriate order for the application of any security required as aforesaid.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 164 - Manufacture and Sale of Gas and Electricity › Section 1c - Marketing Companies

Section 1C. Any marketing company formed by an electric company shall be in the form of an affiliate of the electric company and shall be separate from any generation, transmission, or distribution company affiliate of the electric company. The department shall promulgate standards of conduct which shall ensure the separation of such affiliates and which shall be consistent with the following provisions: (i) a distribution company shall not give any affiliates any preference over non-affiliated suppliers or customers thereof in matters relating to any product or service; (ii) all products, services, discounts, rebates, and fee waivers offered by a distribution company shall be available to all customers and suppliers simultaneously, to the extent technically possible, on a comparable basis; (iii) a distribution company shall process all same or similar requests for any product, service, or information in the same manner and within the same period of time; (iv) a distribution company shall not condition or tie the provision of any product, service, or rate agreement by the distribution company to the provision of any product or service to which an affiliate is involved; (v) a distribution company shall not share with any affiliate any market information acquired or developed by the distribution company in the course of responding to requests for distribution service or any proprietary customer information without the prior written authorization by the customer; (vi) a distribution company shall refrain from presenting that any advantage accrues to customers or others in the use of its services as a result of that customer or others dealing with any such affiliate; (vii) a distribution company shall not engage in joint advertising or marketing programs with any affiliate; and (viii) employees of a distribution company shall not be shared with, and shall be physically separated from those of, any generating or marketing affiliate.