reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 60 - Establishment of Fire Departments in Districts; Duties of Officers

Section 60. Fire departments may be established in districts containing not less than one thousand inhabitants, or not less than five hundred inhabitants in towns the population of which does not exceed two thousand; and the officers thereof shall have charge of and be responsible for the apparatus for the extinguishment of fire therein, in the same manner as firewards and enginemen of towns.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 61 - Establishment of District; Procedure

Section 61. Before a district is constituted and organized, a petition shall be presented to the town at a meeting, stating the limits of the proposed district, and requesting the town to raise taxes for the establishment and maintenance of a sufficient fire department for the reasonable protection of the inhabitants and property within said limits. If the town refuses or neglects so to do, the inhabitants of the proposed district may organize it and establish a fire department therein.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 62 - Organization; Notice of Meeting

Section 62. The selectmen, on written application of not less than seven freeholders, inhabitants of such proposed district, setting forth the limits thereof, and requiring them to notify a meeting of the voters thereof to consider the expediency of organizing such district and establishing a fire department, shall forthwith give such notice in the manner of notifying town meetings, requiring the voters to assemble at some suitable place within the district for said purpose, the substance of which shall be expressed in the notice. If the selectmen refuse or neglect to give notice of such meeting, a justice of the peace may do so.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 63 - Election of Clerk; Removals; Vacancies

Section 63. If at such meeting the voters determine to organize such district, they shall choose a clerk, who shall be sworn. He may be removed by the district, and in case of a vacancy another may be chosen; or in such case, or in case of his disability, the selectmen may appoint a temporary clerk, who shall be sworn and shall perform such duties until the vacancy is filled or the disability removed. Immediately upon the establishment of such a district, written notice thereof shall be sent by the clerk to the commissioner of revenue.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 64 - Establishment of Fire Department

Section 64. The district at such meeting may vote to establish a fire department, to consist of a chief engineer and as many assistant engineers, enginemen, hosemen and hook and ladder men as they may consider necessary, not exceeding seventy-five for each suction engine, thirty-five for each common engine, five for each one hundred and fifty feet of leading hose kept for use within the district, and not exceeding twenty-five hook and ladder men. Each of said officers and members shall be furnished with a certificate, signed by the chief engineer and clerk, declaring his station in the department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 65 - Selection of Engineers

Section 65. The chief engineer and assistant engineers shall be chosen for terms not exceeding three years; provided, however, that the district, at any meeting held in accordance with section 66, may vote to authorize the prudential committee to appoint the chief engineer and assistant engineers on merit for an indefinite period of time. A chief engineer or assistant engineer may be removed for cause at any time after a hearing by such prudential committee. Fire districts may accept the provisions of section 42.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 66 - District Meetings; Time; Manner of Giving Notice; Selection of Moderator

Section 66. Every district meeting, except as otherwise provided by special law, shall be called in pursuance of a warrant under the hands of the prudential committee, notice of which shall be given seven days at least before such meeting. The warrant shall be directed to a constable of the town, or to some other person, who shall forthwith give notice of such meeting in the manner prescribed by the by-laws, or, if there are no by-laws, by a vote of the district, or by posting in two or more public places or advertising in a newspaper published in the town in which the district is located, if any, otherwise in a newspaper published in the county. The warrant for all district meetings shall state the time and place of holding the meeting and the subjects to be acted upon thereat. The prudential committee shall insert in the warrant for the annual meeting all subjects the insertion of which shall be requested of them in writing by ten or more registered voters of the town residing in the territory comprising the district and in the warrant for every special district meeting all subjects the insertion of which shall be requested of them in writing by fifty registered voters or by ten per cent of the total number of the registered voters of the town residing within the territory comprising the district. The prudential committee shall call a special district meeting upon request in writing of one hundred registered voters or of twenty per cent of the total number of registered voters of the town residing within the territory comprising the district, such meeting to be held not later than thirty days after the receipt of such request, and shall insert in the warrant therefor all subjects the insertion of which shall be requested by said petition. No action shall be valid unless the subject matter thereof is contained in the warrant. Two or more distinct district meetings for distinct purposes may be called by the same warrant.
At every meeting a moderator shall be chosen by ballot, unless the district has voted to elect a moderator for a term as provided by section fourteen of chapter thirty-nine. The moderator shall have the powers of the moderator of the town meeting.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 67 - Voting Lists; Preparation and Correction

Section 67. The registrars of voters of towns containing fire districts, or the prudential committee in districts composed of portions of two or more towns, shall, at least ten days before the annual fire district election, make correct alphabetical lists of all persons qualified to vote at such election; shall cause such lists to be posted in two or more public places in said district; and shall correct said lists in the same manner as they are required by law to correct voting lists for town elections.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 69 - Taxation; Purposes

Section 69. Such districts may, at meetings called therefor, raise money by taxation for the purchase of engines and other articles necessary for the extinguishment of fires, for hydrant and water service, for the purchase of land, for the erection and repairs of necessary buildings, for the erection and maintenance of street lamps within their limits, for the purchase, operation and maintenance of ambulances, for the payment of a proper charge of an insurance company for acting as surety on an official bond which may be given to such district by any of its officers, and for other incidental expenses of the fire department. The prudential committee of such district may accept an insurance company as sufficient surety upon such bond.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 71 - Prudential Committee; Selection; Duties; Treasurer; Bond; Duties

Section 71. Such districts shall choose a prudential committee, which shall expend, for the purposes prescribed by the district, the money so raised or borrowed, and shall choose a treasurer, who shall give bond for the faithful performance of his official duties in a sum and with sureties approved by the prudential committee. He shall receive all money belonging to the district, and shall pay over and account for the same according to its order or that of the prudential committee.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 72 - Temporary Treasurer; Bond

Section 72. If the treasurer is prevented from performing his official duties, or if the office is vacant, the prudential committee may in writing appoint a temporary treasurer, who shall give a bond in like manner as the treasurer and shall hold his office until another is chosen.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 73 - Collection of Taxes

Section 73. The clerk shall certify to the assessors of the town all votes of the district authorizing interest to be added to taxes and all sums of money voted to be raised, which shall be assessed and collected in the same manner as town taxes, and shall be paid over to the district treasurer. The assessors, treasurer and collector of a town in which such district is organized shall have the same powers and perform the same duties relative to the assessment and collection of the money voted by the fire district as they have and exercise relative to the assessment, collection and abatement of town taxes, and the sums so voted shall be assessed upon the property, real and personal, within the district.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 74 - Board of Engineers; Rules and Regulations; Appointment of Personnel

Section 74. The board of engineers may make and publish rules and regulations as provided in case of fire departments by sections fifty-three and fifty-four. It may appoint and remove enginemen, hosemen and hook and ladder men, and fill vacancies in the companies.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 75 - Engineers; Extent of Authority; Liability of Districts

Section 75. Engineers shall have and exercise within their district the powers and authority of firewards of towns relating to the extinguishment of fires and the demolition of buildings; and districts shall be liable in the same manner for acts done by such engineers, or by their orders, as towns for acts done by firewards.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 77 - Authentication of District Rules and Regulations

Section 77. No by-law, rule or regulation adopted by a fire district imposing a penalty shall be in force until approved by the attorney general and published at least three times in one or more newspapers, if any, published in the town; otherwise, in one or more newspapers published in the county where the fire district is situated.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 77a - Holding Real Estate for Public Use; Lease of Land or Public Building

Section 77A. A fire district may hold real estate for the public use of its inhabitants and may by its prudential committee let or lease for not more than ten years, on such terms as said committee may determine, land, a public building or part thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 78 - Recovery of Penalties; Prosecution; Disposition

Section 78. Penalties under any of the four preceding sections may be recovered in tort in the name of the chief engineer and appropriated to expenses of the fire department of the district, or on complaint or indictment to the use of the commonwealth. If the chief engineer dies, resigns or removes during the pendency of such action, it shall not abate, but his successor shall be admitted to prosecute it. Residence in the district shall not disqualify a judge, juror or officer in such action.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 79 - Annexation and Exclusion

Section 79. A district, at a meeting called therefor, may annex adjacent territory and its inhabitants, if a majority of the voters of said territory petition therefor, defining the limits thereof; or may, on the petition of any person, with the assent of the town containing such district, exclude him or his estate therefrom; provided, however, that such exclusion shall be granted by the district without such assent of the town if the petitioner or his estate is so situated as to be unable to benefit from any fire or water facilities owned by the district, or is so situated as to be more accessible to the fire or water facilities of another fire district; and provided, further, that such exclusion shall not be granted by the district if the petitioner or his estate is so situated as to be able to benefit either from the fire facilities or the water facilities owned by the district. The petition for exclusion shall be filed with the prudential committee of the district not later than the date set for the filing of petitions for the insertion of articles in the warrant of the district meeting at which the petition is to be acted upon, and shall state the petitioner's reason for seeking exclusion. The prudential committee shall cause an appropriate article to be inserted in the warrant for said meeting, shall examine the reason stated and shall report its findings, with recommendations, to said meeting. Any such petitioner, aggrieved by the action of the prudential committee, or by the action of the voters of the district on his petition, may appeal to the superior court sitting in equity within the county in which the district is located for a remedy. Upon such appeal, said court shall, if the reason set forth by the petitioner is found to lie within the intent of this section, grant such exclusion.
The grant of exclusion shall exempt the person and estate of the petitioner from any tax levied by reason of any appropriation made by the district after the filing of the petition as provided herein.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 81 - Appropriation

Section 81. The sum of eighteen thousand dollars may be paid annually from the state treasury to furnish relief to firemen injured in the performance of their duty at a fire or in going thereto or returning therefrom, or while engaged in company drills, when such drills are ordered by the chief, acting chief or board of engineers of the fire department, or required by city ordinance or town by-law, and to widows and children of firemen killed in the performance of such duty. Payments on account of said relief shall be determined in manner and amount, on properly approved vouchers, by the commissioners on firemen's relief, in the same manner as other claims against the commonwealth. Five hundred dollars of the amount hereby authorized may be expended for the traveling and incidental expenses of said commissioners.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 82 - Additional Persons Eligible for Benefits

Section 82. Any officer or member in active service in an incorporated protective department co-operating with a fire department, and any person performing the duties of a fireman in a town having no organized fire department, shall be entitled to the benefits provided by the preceding section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 83 - Allowance to Families of Deceased Firemen; Exception

Section 83. If a person entitled under either of the two preceding sections to the benefits provided in section eighty-one is killed, or dies within sixty days from injuries received, while in the performance of duties entitling him to such benefits, and his death is certified to the comptroller by the town clerk and the attending physician or medical examiner, the comptroller shall certify for payment to the executor or administrator of such person, out of the appropriation annually made for the purpose, the sum of twenty-five hundred dollars for the use equally of his widow and minor children; or if there are minor children but no widow, to their use; or if there is no minor child, to the use of the widow; and if there is no widow or minor child, to the use of the next of kin if dependent on such deceased person for support. A child of full age dependent upon such person for support shall be regarded as a minor child. No payments shall be made under this section or section eighty-one on account of the death of a member of the fire department of a city or town in respect to which compensation is payable under section eighty-nine of chapter thirty-two.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 87 - Standardization of Fire Fighting Equipment

Section 87. The department of fire services may make rules and regulations providing for the standardization throughout the commonwealth of threads on fire hose couplings, fittings and hydrant outlets for public fire protection. The state fire marshal shall prepare said rules and regulations, and they shall take effect subject to section thirty-seven of chapter thirty when approved by said commissioner and by the governor and council and on such dates as they may fix.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 88 - Fire Fighters; Performance of Police Duties

Section 88. No city or town shall require a permanent member of its fire department to perform the duties of a police officer during his tour of duty. No fire fighter shall, in connection with any industrial or labor dispute, perform the duties of a police officer or any duties other than those regularly performed by him.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 48 - Fires, Fire Departments and Fire Districts › Section 90 - Fire District; Municipal Agency

Section 90. For the purposes of chapter 268A, a fire district shall be considered a municipal agency and each part-time firefighter of such fire district and any person who performs professional services for such a fire district on a part-time, intermittent or consultant basis, shall be considered a special municipal employee.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 1 - Fence Viewers; Appointment; Tenure

Section 1. The mayor of each city, subject to confirmation by the city council, and the selectmen of each town shall annually appoint two or more fence viewers, to hold office for one year and until their successors are qualified.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 2 - Definition of Fences

Section 2. Fences four feet high, in good repair, constructed of rails, timber, boards, iron or stone, and brooks, rivers, ponds, creeks, ditches and hedges, or other things which the fence viewers consider equivalent thereto, shall be deemed legal and sufficient fences.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 3 - Maintenance of Partition Fences

Section 3. The occupants of adjoining lands enclosed with fences shall, so long as both of them improve the same, maintain partition fences in equal shares between their enclosures, unless they otherwise agree.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 4 - Failure to Maintain Partition Fence; Proceedings by Adjoining Occupant

Section 4. If a person refuses or neglects to repair or rebuild the part of a partition fence which under this chapter he is required to maintain, any person aggrieved may complain to the fence viewers, who, after notice to each party, shall view the fence; and if they determine that it is insufficient and that a partition fence is required, they shall so state in writing to the delinquent occupant, and direct him to repair or rebuild his part within such time as the fence viewers may determine; and if the fence is not so repaired or rebuilt, the complainant, after having repaired or rebuilt his part of said fence, may repair or rebuild the part of such occupant.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 5 - Remedy for Repair of Deficient Fence

Section 5. If a deficient fence which has been built up or repaired by a complainant is, after due notice to each party, adjudged sufficient by the fence viewers, and the value of the part of the delinquent occupant, together with the fees of the fence viewers, has been ascertained by a certificate under their hands, the complainant may demand either of the owner or of the occupant of the land where the fence was deficient double the amount so ascertained; and upon the neglect or refusal to pay the same for one month after demand, he may recover the same, with interest at one per cent a month, in an action of contract.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 6 - Disputes Regarding Repairs; Arbitration

Section 6. When a dispute arises concerning the part of a partition fence which under this chapter each party is required to build or maintain, either party may apply to the fence viewers, who, after notice to each party and a hearing, may in writing assign to each his share thereof, and may direct the time within which each party shall erect or repair his share; which assignment, being recorded in the office of the city or town clerk upon the payment by the party so applying of the fee provided by clause (33) of section thirty-four of chapter two hundred and sixty-two, shall be binding upon the parties and upon the succeeding occupants of the land.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 7 - Remedy for Repair of Deficient Fence Assigned by Fence Viewers

Section 7. If a person refuses or neglects to erect and maintain the part of a fence assigned to him by the fence viewers, it may be erected and maintained by the adjoining occupant, and if adjudged sufficient by the fence viewers, he shall be entitled to double the value thereof, which shall be ascertained and recovered in the manner aforesaid.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 8 - Remedy for Repairing More Than Just Share of Partition Fence

Section 8. If a partition fence is required under this chapter between the lands of adjoining occupants, and either of them has, before complaint made, voluntarily erected the whole fence or more than his just share thereof, or has otherwise become proprietor thereof, the fence viewers may order the other occupant to pay the value of so much thereof as may be assigned to him to repair or maintain, to be ascertained and recovered as provided in this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 9 - Construction and Maintenance of Fences Between Lands Divided by a River

Section 9. If lands of different persons, required under this chapter to be fenced, are divided by a river, brook, pond or creek, and one of the occupants refuses or neglects to join in making a partition fence, or they disagree respecting the same, the fence viewers shall, upon application, forthwith view such river, brook, pond or creek; and if they determine that it is not sufficient as a fence, that it is impracticable to fence on the true boundary line without unreasonable expense, and that a partition fence is required, they shall, after notice to the parties, determine how or on which side the fence shall be set up and maintained, or whether partly on the one side and partly on the other, as to them may appear just, and shall reduce their determination to writing; and if either party refuses or neglects to make and maintain his part of the fence according to such determination, it may be made and maintained as before provided, and the delinquent party shall be subject to the same costs and charges, and they shall be recovered in like manner.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 10 - Fences on Lands Owned in Severalty and Occupied in Common; Construction

Section 10. If land belonging to two persons in severalty has been occupied in common without a partition fence, and one of the occupants desires to occupy his part in severalty, and both occupants are in possession of beasts which would be restrained by the erection of a fence dividing the parts of each occupant, and the other occupant refuses or neglects on demand to divide the line where the fence ought to be built, or to build a sufficient fence on his part of the line when divided, the party desiring it may have the same divided and assigned by the fence viewers in the manner provided in this chapter; and the fence viewers may in writing assign a reasonable time, having regard to the season, for making the fence; and if the occupant complained of does not make his part of the fence within the time so assigned, the other party may, after having made up his part of the fence, make up the part of such occupant, and recover therefor double the sum total of the expense thereof and fees, as provided in section five.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 11 - Maintenance of Fences Surrounding Land Laying Common

Section 11. If a division of fence between the owners of improved land has been made either by fence viewers or under an agreement in writing between the parties which has been recorded in the office of the clerk of the town, the several occupants of such land and their heirs and assigns shall erect and maintain said fences agreeably to such division; but if a person lays his land common and determines not to improve any part adjoining the fence so divided, and gives six months' notice of his determination to all the occupants of adjoining land, he shall not be required to keep up or maintain said fence during the time that his land lies common and unimproved.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 12 - Purchase of Rights in Fence

Section 12. If one person ceases to improve his land or lays open his enclosure, he shall not take away any part of the partition fence belonging to him and adjoining the next enclosure if the occupant or owner pays the reasonable value thereof, as determined in writing by the fence viewers.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 13 - Enclosing of Formerly Unenclosed Land; Liability of Owner; Exception

Section 13. If unenclosed land is afterward enclosed or used for depasturing, the occupant or owner shall pay for one half of each partition fence standing upon the line between it and the enclosed land of any other occupant or owner, the value thereof, as determined in writing by the fence viewers; and if thereupon such occupant or owner neglects or refuses, for thirty days after demand, to pay one half of the value, the proprietor thereof may maintain an action of contract therefor and for the costs of ascertaining the same; but the occupant or owner of unenclosed land on the island of Nantucket used only for depasturing shall not be subject to this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 14 - Boundary Disputes

Section 14. If the division line between lands of respective occupants is in dispute or unknown, the fence viewers may designate a line on which the fence shall be built, and may employ a surveyor therefor; and such line shall, for the purpose of maintaining a fence, be deemed the division line between such lands until it is determined that the true line is in another place, and until so determined all laws relative to the erection, maintenance and protection of fences shall be applicable to the fence erected or to be erected on such line.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 15 - Rebuilding of Fence on True Boundary; Duties of Adjoining Owners

Section 15. If it is determined that the true division line is in another place, each occupant shall remove his part of the fence to, and rebuild the same on such line; and in case of neglect or refusal by either to remove and rebuild his share thereof, the other may apply to the fence viewers, who shall view the premises and assign a time within which the fence shall be removed and rebuilt, and shall give the delinquent party notice thereof; and if such party does not remove and rebuild the fence within the time so assigned, the other party may remove and rebuild the same and recover double the expense thereof, with the fees of the fence viewers, to be ascertained and recovered in the manner provided in section five.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 16 - Fence Viewers; Jurisdiction Where Fence Is on Town Boundary

Section 16. If the line upon which a partition fence is to be made or divided is a boundary line of a town or is partly in one and partly in another town, a fence viewer shall be taken from each place.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 17 - Water Fences

Section 17. A water fence, or fence running into the water, shall, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, be built by them in equal shares; and they shall have like remedies as in case of partition fences.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 19 - Penalty for Misfeasance

Section 19. A fence viewer who, when requested, unreasonably neglects to perform any duty required of him in this chapter shall forfeit five dollars to be recovered in tort to the use of the town, or on complaint to the use of the commonwealth, and shall also be liable for all damages to the party injured.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 20 - Fees

Section 20. Each fence viewer shall be paid at the rate of five dollars a day for the time during which he is employed, but his fee for services in any one case shall not be less than one dollar. Such payment shall be made by all or by such of the parties in dispute, and in such proportions, as shall be determined by a certificate in writing under the hands of the fence viewers acting in each case. If any person required to pay the whole or any portion of said fees neglects to pay the fence viewers within thirty days after the certificate has been delivered, they may recover in tort double the amount of the fees due from such delinquent person.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 21 - Fences Deemed a Private Nuisance; Right of Action

Section 21. A fence or other structure in the nature of a fence which unnecessarily exceeds six feet in height and is maliciously erected or maintained for the purpose of annoying the owners or occupants of adjoining property shall be deemed a private nuisance. Any such owner or occupant injured in the comfort or enjoyment of his estate thereby may have an action of tort for damages under chapter two hundred and forty-three.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 22 - Pounds; Establishment; Appointment of Keeper

Section 22. Each town may provide and maintain one or more pounds. The mayor or selectmen may appoint a pound keeper for each pound and one or more field drivers for the town.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 24 - Duties of Field Driver; Taking Up Untended Animals

Section 24. Every field driver shall take up horses, mules, asses, neat cattle, sheep, goats or swine going at large in the public ways, or on common and unimproved land within his town and not under the care of a keeper; and any other inhabitant of the town may take up such cattle or beasts so going at large on Sunday, and for taking up such beasts on said day the field driver or such other inhabitant of the town may in tort recover for each beast the same fees which the field driver is entitled to receive for taking up like beasts.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 25 - Duties of Keeper; Impounding of Untended Animals

Section 25. Beasts so taken up by a field driver or such inhabitant shall be forthwith impounded, and while so impounded shall be furnished with suitable food and water.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 26 - Fees of Field Driver and Pound Keeper

Section 26. A city by vote of its city council, approved in accordance with the provisions of its charter, and a town by order adopted by the selectmen or town meeting members, may establish, and from time to time amend, a scale of fees to be paid a field driver for sheep, goats and for other beasts taken up by him, and a scale of fees to be paid a pound keeper for animals impounded in the pound.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 27 - Payment of Fees

Section 27. The pound keeper shall not deliver to the owner any beast so impounded until the owner pays him his fees, the expense of keeping the beasts, and the fees of the field driver, which, when received, he shall pay to the field driver.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 28 - Use of Premises of Field Driver for Keeping Impounded Animals; Conditions

Section 28. Beasts taken up by a field driver in a town which adopts this section or has adopted corresponding provisions of earlier laws may be impounded on his own premises; and for the purposes of this chapter he shall be considered a pound keeper, and such place on his premises shall be considered a town pound relative to beasts therein impounded.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 29 - Remedies for Damage Done by Untended Animals

Section 29. If a person is injured in his land by horses, mules, asses, neat cattle, sheep, goats or swine, he may recover his damages in an action against the owner of the beasts or by distraining the beasts doing the damage and proceeding therewith as hereinafter directed.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 30 - Care of Distrained Animals

Section 30. Beasts so distrained shall be impounded in the pound or in some suitable place under the immediate care and inspection of the distrainor, and he shall furnish them with suitable food and water while they remain impounded.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 31 - Duties of Distrainor

Section 31. If the beasts are impounded in the pound, the distrainor shall leave with the pound keeper a memorandum in writing, under his hand, stating the cause of impounding and the amount which he demands from the owner for the damage done by them, and also for the daily charges of feeding them; and if they are impounded in any other place, he shall on demand give a like memorandum to the owner.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 32 - Release of Distrained Animals; Conditions

Section 32. The pound keeper shall not deliver the beasts to the owner until his fees, the amount so demanded by the distrainor for the damages and charges aforesaid, the expense, if any, of advertising, and all other legal costs and expenses have been paid to him.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 33 - Notice of Impounding

Section 33. Whoever impounds beasts shall, within twenty-four hours thereafter, give notice in writing, containing a description of the beasts and a statement of the time, place and cause of impounding, to the owner or person having the care of them, if known and living within six miles of the place of impounding, by delivering it to him or leaving it at his place of abode.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 34 - Publication of Notice of Impounding

Section 34. If there is no person entitled to such notice, the person impounding the beasts shall, within forty-eight hours thereafter, post a like notice in a public place in the town and in a public place in each of any two adjoining towns, if within four miles from the place where the beasts were taken; and if their value exceeds thirty dollars and no person claims them within seven days after the day of impounding, a like notice shall be published three weeks successively in a newspaper, if any, published within twenty miles of the pound, the first publication to be within fifteen days after the day of impounding.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 35 - Determination of Amount of Damages in Dispute

Section 35. If the owner or keeper of the beasts is dissatisfied with the claim of the person impounding them, he may have the amount for which he is liable determined by two disinterested persons, who shall be appointed and sworn by a justice of the peace or by the town clerk.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 36 - Procedure for Settlement of Claim

Section 36. If the amount for which the beasts have been impounded and detained is not paid within fourteen days after notice of the impounding has been given as before directed, or after the last publication of such notice, the person who impounded them shall apply to the justice of the peace or to the city or town clerk, who shall, upon the receipt of the fee provided by clause (23) of section thirty-four of chapter two hundred and sixty-two, issue a warrant to two disinterested persons, to be appointed and sworn by the justice or clerk, and they shall determine the amount due from the owner of the beasts for the damages, costs and expenses for which they have been impounded and detained, including fees paid by such person and reasonable compensation for their services.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 37 - Sale of Animals to Satisfy Claim

Section 37. If the amount so determined is not paid forthwith, the person who impounded the beasts shall cause them to be sold by auction in the town where impounded, first advertising the sale by posting a notice thereof for twenty-four hours at some public place in such town.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 38 - Disposition of Proceeds

Section 38. The proceeds of the sale, after paying all damages, costs, expenses and charges for advertising and selling the beasts, shall be deposited in the town treasury for the use of the owner, upon proof of his right thereto within two years from the sale.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 39 - Escaped or Rescued Animals; Right to Retake

Section 39. If beasts lawfully distrained or impounded escape or are rescued, the pound keeper, field driver or other person who distrained them may, within seven days thereafter, retake, hold and dispose of them as if there had been no escape or rescue.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 40 - Penalty for Rescuing Distrained Animals

Section 40. Whoever rescues beasts lawfully distrained or impounded shall be liable in tort to any person injured for all damages sustained thereby and the fees and charges incurred before the rescue; and he shall also 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 49 - Fences, Fence Viewers, Pounds and Field Drivers › Section 41 - Rights of Owner in Distress Proceedings

Section 41. The defendant in an action for rescuing beasts distrained or impounded shall not be allowed to allege or give in evidence the insufficiency of the fences or any other fact or circumstance to show that the distress or impounding was illegal, but if there is such ground of objections to the proceedings he may avail himself thereof in an action of replevin.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 50 - General Provisions Relative to Primaries, Caucuses and Elections › Section 2 - Results of Election; Determination

Section 2. In elections, the person receiving the highest number of votes for an office shall be deemed and declared to be elected to such office; and if two or more are to be elected to the same office, the several persons, to the number to be chosen to such office, receiving the highest number of votes, shall be deemed and declared to be elected; but persons receiving the same number of votes shall not be deemed to be elected if thereby a greater number would be elected than are to be chosen. Except as otherwise provided, this section shall apply to all nominations and elections by ballot at primaries or caucuses. Nothing herein shall derogate from the provisions of chapter fifty-four A.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VIII - Elections › Chapter 50 - General Provisions Relative to Primaries, Caucuses and Elections › Section 3a - Written Acceptance of Candidates

Section 3A. Wherever the written acceptance of a candidate upon a nomination paper or a signature and place of residence of the person filing the same is required by law, it shall be sufficient if such acceptance or signature and place of residence is placed upon one nomination paper only of the group of nomination papers required to secure the nomination.