reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 111i - Compensation Due Deceased Employees; Disposition

Section 111I. Whenever any officer or employee or former officer or employee of a city or town dies, and such city or town owes his estate any sum or sums by reason of services rendered by him or by reason of section one hundred and eleven E or section one hundred and eleven F or section seventeen E of chapter one hundred and forty-seven or other similar general or special law or by reason of other terms of his employment, and neither a duly appointed executor or administrator nor a voluntary administrator has made written demand for payment upon the treasurer of such city or town and such treasurer shall not otherwise have actual notice that proceedings relative to the formal or informal settlement of such estate have been commenced in any probate court, such sum or sums may, in the discretion of such treasurer, be paid after the expiration of one month from the death of such officer or employee to such person as may have been nominated as beneficiary, on a form approved by the director of accounts and filed with such treasurer, by such officer or employee during his lifetime or, if there is no such beneficiary, then to the husband, widow or next of kin of such officer or employee. Payments made as provided in this section shall discharge all liability of the city or town to all persons with respect to such sum or sums.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 111j - Attendance at Veterans' Conventions

Section 111J. Any employee of a city or town who is a delegate or alternate to a state or national convention of a veterans' organization chartered by the congress of the United States may, when authorized by the board or officer having the power to remove him, attend such convention without loss of pay or vacation leave.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 111k - Firemen; Summer Vacations

Section 111K. In any city or town which accepts this section, any vacation to which a member of its regular or permanent fire force is entitled shall be granted at such times during the period between the first Sunday in June and the Sunday next following Labor Day as, in the opinion of the board or officer in charge of such force, will cause the least interference with the performance of the regular work of such force; provided, however, that such vacations may be granted at such other periods of the year as shall be mutually agreeable to the member and the board or officer in charge of such force.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 111l - Policemen and Firemen; Vacations; 20 Years' Service

Section 111L. In any city or town in which the provisions of section one hundred and eleven D apply and which accepts this section all members of its regular police or fire force may after twenty years of service be granted a vacation of five weeks without loss of pay.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 112 - Preference in Public Employment

Section 112. In towns and regional school districts in which the provisions of chapter thirty-one and the rules governing the civil service have not been applied to the labor service, the city councils, the selectmen and the regional district school committees shall take any necessary action to secure the employment of veterans, as defined in clause Forty-third of section seven of chapter four, in the labor service of their respective cities, towns and districts in preference to all other persons.
In regional school districts in which the provisions of said chapter thirty-one and the rules governing the civil service have not been applied to custodian and janitorial services, the regional district school committees shall take any necessary action to secure the employment of veterans, as so defined, in preference to all other persons.
The second paragraph of this section shall take effect in a regional school district upon its acceptance by vote of the regional district school committee.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 112a - Veterans in Unclassified Positions; Procedure for Involuntary Separation

Section 112A. A veteran, as defined in section one of chapter thirty-one, who holds in the service of a city which accepts this section by vote of its city council, subject to the provisions of its charter, or of a town which accepts the same by vote of its inhabitants at a town meeting, an office or position not classified under said chapter thirty-one, other than an elective office, an appointive office for a fixed term or the offices of city solicitor, assistant city solicitor, secretary to the mayor, clerk of the board of selectmen, town counsel, assistant town counsel, legislative counsel, registrars of voters or other officers performing similar duties, or public school teachers, and has held such office or position for not less than five years, shall not be involuntarily separated from such office or position except subject to and in accordance with the provisions of sections forty-one to forty-five, inclusive, of said chapter thirty-one to the same extent as if said office or position were classified under said chapter. If the separation in the case of any such unclassified office or position results from lack of work or lack of money, such a veteran shall not be separated from his office or position while similar offices or positions in the same group or grade exist unless all such offices or positions are held by such veterans, in which case such separation shall occur in the inverse order of their respective original appointments.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 113 - Use of Official Ballots

Section 113. A district situated in one or more towns where official ballots are used may, at the annual meeting or at a meeting called for the purpose, vote that official ballots shall thereafter be used therein. Sections one hundred and fourteen to one hundred and nineteen, inclusive, shall apply to all such districts and to all districts which are now subject to the corresponding provisions of earlier laws; but any of said districts may, at the annual meeting or at a meeting called for the purpose at least thirty days before the annual meeting, by a two thirds vote discontinue the use of official ballots, and cease to be subject to said sections.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 114 - Application of Election Laws

Section 114. Where official ballots are used nominations for district officers elected by ballot shall be made, ballots and other apparatus therefor provided, and the elections of such officers conducted in accordance with chapters fifty to fifty-six, inclusive, so far as applicable, except as otherwise provided in sections one hundred and fourteen to one hundred and seventeen, inclusive, of this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 115 - Nomination Papers; Filing; Certificates of Nomination

Section 115. Every nomination paper of a candidate for office in said districts shall, before being filed, be submitted, on or before five o'clock in the afternoon of the Saturday preceding the day on which it must be filed, to the registrars of voters of the town where the district is situated, who shall forthwith certify thereon the number of signatures which are names of voters qualified to vote in the district. All nomination papers and certificates of nomination shall be filed with the clerk of the district within the time allowed by the general laws relating to filing nomination papers and certificates of nomination with the town clerk in town elections. In a district composed of parts of two or more towns the prudential committee, if any, otherwise the commissioners, of the district shall act as registrars of voters for the purpose of certifying the signatures on nomination papers.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 116 - Duties of Prudential Committee and Clerk in Certain Districts

Section 116. In carrying out the provisions of sections one hundred and thirteen to one hundred and nineteen, inclusive, the prudential committee, if any, otherwise the commissioners, of the district shall perform all the duties required to be performed by the selectmen in town elections where official ballots are used, and the clerks of said districts shall perform all the duties required to be performed by the town clerk in elections of town officers where official ballots are used.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 117 - District Elections; Provision for Election Equipment; Liability for Expenses

Section 117. The town where a district is situated shall provide for said district an official ballot box and other necessary election paraphernalia when they are required for use in elections in that district, but all expense incurred in any election in the district shall be borne by the district. In districts composed of parts of two or more towns the ballot box and election paraphernalia shall be furnished by the town where the election is actually held.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 118 - District Elections; Provision for Forms, Tally and Vote Sheets

Section 118. Upon request of the clerk of a town wherein any such district uses the official ballot, the state secretary shall supply for use of such district or districts such blank forms, tally sheets and total vote sheets as are supplied to towns for use in town elections.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 119 - District Meetings; Qualifications

Section 119. Said districts may hold the meeting for the election of officers and the business meeting on the same day, or they may hold the election and the business meeting on different days. The election and business meeting may be held in the evening; provided, that the polls shall be kept open for the election of officers at least two hours. Annual district meetings shall be held in February, March, April or May. Meetings may be adjourned from time to time for the consideration of any articles in the warrant, except an article calling for the election of district officers.
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, if any, otherwise the commissioners, 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 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, if any, otherwise the commissioners, 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 of 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, if any, otherwise the commissioners, shall call a special district meeting upon request in writing of one hundred registered voters or twenty per cent of the total number of registered voters of the town residing within the territory comprising the district, such meetings 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 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 120 - Fiscal Year of Districts

Section 120. The fiscal year of all districts shall begin with July first and end with the following June thirtieth, notwithstanding the provisions of special laws or district by-laws to the contrary; provided that the district treasurer shall until July tenth enter on his books all items for the payment of bills incurred and salaries and wages earned during the previous fiscal year, and expenditures therefor shall be deemed to be as of the preceding June thirtieth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 122 - Temporary Treasurer; Appointment; Bond

Section 122. Unless otherwise provided by law, if the office of treasurer of a district is vacant, or if the treasurer is absent, or unable to perform his duties because of disability, the prudential committee, if any, otherwise the commissioners, may appoint a temporary treasurer to hold such office and exercise the powers and perform the duties thereof until another is duly elected or appointed and qualifies according to law or until the treasurer who was disabled or absent resumes his duties. Any such temporary treasurer shall be sworn to and give bond for the faithful performance of his duties in accordance with the provisions of law applicable to the treasurer whose position he fills, and if he fails so to do within ten days after his appointment, the prudential committee, if any, otherwise the commissioners, shall rescind the appointment and appoint another.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 123 - Temporary Clerk; Appointment; Bond

Section 123. Unless otherwise provided by law, if the office of clerk of a district is vacant, or if the clerk is absent, or unable to perform his duties because of disability, the prudential committee, if any, otherwise the commissioners, may appoint a temporary clerk to hold such office and exercise the powers and perform the duties thereof until another is duly elected or appointed and qualifies according to law or until the clerk who was disabled or absent resumes his duties. Any such temporary clerk shall be sworn to and give bond for the faithful performance of his duties in accordance with the provisions of law applicable to the office of clerk which he fills, and if he fails so to do within ten days after his appointment, the prudential committee, if any, otherwise the commissioners, shall rescind the appointment and appoint another.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 123a - Assistant Treasurers and Assistant Clerks; Appointment; Bond

Section 123A. In a district, the prudential committee, if any, otherwise the commissioners, may in writing appoint an assistant treasurer who may be an employee of the district, and an assistant clerk of the district. Such assistants shall be sworn to the faithful performance of their duties and a record shall be made of any such appointment and oath. They shall be citizens of the United States and residents of the commonwealth, and shall give bond annually for the faithful performance of their duties in a form approved, and in an amount determined by the commissioner of revenue. Unless a temporary treasurer or a temporary clerk has been appointed in accordance with law, the assistant treasurer or the assistant clerk, as the case may be, may, in the absence of the treasurer or clerk, as the case may be, perform the duties of such office and in the performance of such duties shall have the powers and be subject to the requirements and penalties applicable thereto.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 124 - Fire and Water Districts; Appropriation for Cost of Water Favorability Studies

Section 124. Fire and water districts, whether established by general law or special law, may appropriate money for the payment to the commonwealth of the district's share of the cost of conducting water favorability studies under the direction of the water resources commission, as authorized by section nine of chapter twenty-one.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 125 - Temporary Housing Assistance Plans

Section 125. The city manager in cities having a plan D or E charter, the mayor in all other cities, and the board of selectmen in towns shall co-ordinate a plan in conjunction with the housing authority, if any, to assist persons who have been deprived of living quarters because of fire or other disaster to obtain temporary living quarters.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 126 - Definitions

Section 126. The following words, as used in sections one hundred and twenty-six to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive, shall have the following meanings, unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context:
''Application statement'', a writing signed by an incumbent in an appointive office which shall include a request for tenure in said office, the name, residential address and title of the office of such incumbent, and the number of years such incumbent has held such office continuously. The writing may also be signed by a department head requesting tenure for members of his department who have held offices for five or more consecutive years.
''Appointive office'', any public office other than an office which is required to be filled by popular vote periodically in a city, town or district, but not including an office within the classified civil service, an office on a board, commission or committee which has two or more members, a teacher or officer in a school department or system, any office which is filled by appointment made by the governor, or any office in an authority, board, commission or other public body which is a separate corporation from the city, town or district in which it exercises powers.
''District'', a fire, water, sewer, light, improvement or other district with such powers which is wholly contained within a city or town.
''Tenure'', the holding of an appointive office under the provisions of sections one hundred and twenty-seven to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive, in a city, town or district without the necessity of periodic reappointment.
The titles of particular municipal officers as used in these said sections shall be construed to mean officers, however titled, who exercise powers similar to those exercised by officers holding titles so used.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 127 - Eligibility to Apply for Tenure; Offices Excepted; Restrictions; Duration of Tenure; Removal for Cause

Section 127. Any person who has held an appointive office in a city, town or district for at least five consecutive years shall be eligible to apply for tenure in such office pursuant to the provisions of sections one hundred and twenty-six to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive, with the exception of the following offices:—city or town manager, executive secretary to the selectmen, city or assistant city solicitor, town or assistant town counsel, and legislative counsel. Any person having tenure in a city or town office who is elected to or accepts an appointment to any of the foregoing offices, whether or not to fill a vacancy, shall thereupon lose such tenure. Any person having tenure in an appointive city or town office may not apply for tenure in any other city or town office, nor may any person apply for tenure in more than one city or town office at any one time, except that a person may apply for tenure as city clerk and city treasurer or town clerk and town treasurer, or, if such person has tenure in either of such offices, he may apply for tenure in the other office; provided that both such offices are appointive offices. If any person is unable to so apply for tenure by reason of holding one of the offices specified above or loses his tenure by reason of being elected or appointed to any such office, he may, following the termination of his service in such office, then apply for tenure in an appointive city or town office. Any person granted tenure of office under these provisions shall, notwithstanding any contrary provision of general or special laws, hold office during good behavior until he has attained age sixty-five unless incapacitated by physical or mental disability from performing the duties thereof, but may be removed for cause after a hearing as provided by sections forty-one to forty-five, inclusive, of chapter thirty-one.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 128 - City Offices; Application Statement; Filing; Approval Procedure; Denial, Re-Application Time Limit

Section 128. Any person applying for tenure in an appointive city office shall file an application statement with the city clerk and shall deliver copies thereof in hand or send same by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to every city officer, or every member of any city board, commission or other body that is required to recommend, make, approve or confirm the applicant's office. Upon receipt of the application statement, the city clerk shall post a copy thereof in his office. The applicant shall forthwith and at his own expense cause a copy of his said statement to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the city once a week for three consecutive weeks. Not less than thirty days after said posting and not less than seven days following the applicant's compliance with the publication requirement, the city council shall vote to approve or deny said application. If the city council approves said application, it shall then be presented to the mayor for his approval or denial. If the mayor approves the said application, at least one hundred and twenty days prior to the next municipal election, the city clerk shall cause to be printed on the ballot for such municipal election a question in substantially the following form:
Shall (name of applicant), incumbent of the position or positions of (title of office), be granted tenure pursuant to sections one hundred and twenty-six to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive, of chapter forty-one of the General Laws?
If a majority of the votes cast in response to the question is in favor of granting tenure, the applicant shall thereupon have tenure in such office. If less than a majority of such votes cast is in favor of granting tenure, the applicant's request for tenure is denied. If the application statement is denied either by the vote of the city council, by the mayor or by vote of the electorate at a municipal election, the applicant shall be ineligible to apply for tenure in his said office for a period of two years following such denial.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 129 - Town Offices; Application Statement; Filing; Approval Procedure; Denial, Re-Application Time Limit

Section 129. Any person applying for tenure in an appointive town office shall file an application statement with the town clerk and shall deliver copies thereof in hand or send same by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested to each selectman. Following receipt of such notice, the selectmen shall vote to approve or deny said application. If the board of selectmen vote to approve said application, the town clerk, at least one hundred and twenty days prior to the next town election, shall post a copy of the said application statement and the selectmen's written approval on the town bulletin board or such other place used for the posting of public notices within the town hall premises. The selectmen shall then cause to be included in the town warrant for said election a question in substantially the following form:
Shall (name of applicant), incumbent of the position or positions of (title of office), be granted tenure pursuant to sections one hundred and twenty-six to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive, of chapter forty-one of the General Laws?
If a majority of the votes cast in response to the question is in favor of granting tenure, the applicant shall thereupon have tenure in such office. If less than a majority of such votes cast is in favor of granting tenure, the applicant's request for tenure is denied. If the application statement is denied either by a vote of the board of selectmen or by vote of the electorate at the town election, the applicant shall be ineligible to apply for tenure in his said office for a period of two years following such denial.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 130 - Applicability of Town Tenure Provisions to Districts

Section 130. The provisions of section one hundred and twenty-seven and sections one hundred and twenty-nine to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive, as they apply to towns, town offices and town officers shall be applicable to districts and for this purpose the word ''selectmen'' shall be construed to mean ''commissioner'' or ''member of the prudential committee'', and other references to specific town offices or officers shall be construed as meaning the equivalent office or officer, if any, in a district. For the purpose of determining whether a person is eligible to apply for tenure in a town office or in a district office and for the purpose of determining whether a person has lost his tenure in such an office, offices in a district shall be deemed to be offices in the town in which they are located.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 132 - Tenure Limitations

Section 132. The tenure provisions of sections one hundred and twenty-six to one hundred and thirty-one, inclusive, shall be limited as follows:
(a) Said provisions shall not apply to persons whose tenure in office is terminated by a law enacted subsequent to his commencement of tenure.
(b) Said provisions shall not prevent abolition of any municipal office or the transfer of any of the powers and duties of any office.
(c) Said provisions shall not prevent termination of tenure upon an appointive office becoming elective. Any person's length of service in an elective office which becomes appointive, however, may be credited to his eligibility period for tenure if he succeeds himself in such office.
(d) Said provisions shall not extend the time at which an officer is otherwise required to retire.
(e) Said provisions shall not waive residency requirements in determining tenure eligibility.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts › Section 133 - Appointment and Reappointment of Police Officers

Section 133. Pursuant to this chapter, and notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, the appointment and reappointment of full-time police officers not subject to the provisions of chapter thirty-one shall be subject to the following provisions:
(a) The initial appointment shall be for a period of one year during which a person shall actually perform the duties of such position on a full-time basis. The initial appointment shall be a probationary period during which police officers shall be deemed employees at will whose removal or dismissal shall be without recourse at any time during such initial appointment.
(b) Appointment subsequent to the initial appointment shall be made annually or for a term of years as the appointing authority shall determine, or for an unspecified or indefinite term of appointment as long as the officer is not removed as described in this paragraph. The appointing authority may remove any such officer for cause, or for some other standard contained in an applicable collective bargaining agreement or employment contract, and after a hearing, at any time during such appointment. For police officers covered by collective bargaining agreements or employment contracts which contain standards for the discharge, termination or removal of employees, the non-reappointment of a police officer serving under an appointment subsequent to an initial appointment shall be considered to be a discharge, termination or removal and the standards shall be enforceable with respect to such non-reappointment by the procedures set forth in the collective bargaining agreement or employment contract.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns › Section 1 - Seaward Boundary

Section 1. The seaward boundary of cities and towns bordering on the open sea shall coincide with the marine boundary of the commonwealth. The boundary lines in tide water between adjacent coastal municipalities, as located and defined by the board of harbor and land commissioners under chapter one hundred and ninety-six of the acts of eighteen hundred and eighty-one, except in so far as the boundary lines so located and defined purported to vary boundary lines in tide water between municipalities theretofore established by the general court, together with such boundary lines theretofore so established, as such boundary lines have been subsequently changed by the general court or defined by decrees of the land court, with such additions to or subtractions from the length thereof as have been made by natural changes in the shore line of the commonwealth, are hereby confirmed and established as the legal boundary lines in tide water between said adjacent municipalities; provided, that such boundary lines shall hereafter be changed from time to time to conform to any change in said shore line.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns › Section 2 - Locating and Marking of Town Boundary Markers; Recordation; Copy of Records to Contiguous Town

Section 2. The boundary markers of every town shall be located, the marks thereon renewed, and the year located marked upon the face thereof which bears the letter of the town locating its boundary, once every five years, by at least two of the selectmen of the town or by two substitutes designated by them in writing. The marking shall be made with a paint or other suitable marking material.
The proceedings shall be recorded with the town clerk and the board of selectmen of the town in writing signed under penalty of perjury setting forth which boundary marks were located, and those which were not located. A copy of such records shall also be sent, by registered letter, to the town clerk and the board of selectmen of any contiguous town.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns › Section 4 - Boundary Monuments; Erection

Section 4. The selectmen of contiguous towns shall, at the joint and equal expense of such towns, erect permanent stone monuments at every angle of their respective boundary lines and wherever a highway crosses such lines, unless such monument, two feet high from the ground, already exists or unless such lines are bounded by the sea or by a permanent stream. The monuments shall be well set in the ground, at least four feet high from its surface, and shall have the initial letters of the respective names of such towns legibly cut thereon.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns › Section 5 - Locating and Marking of Boundary Markers in Border Towns; Notice to Contiguous Towns in Other State; Removal of State Bounds Prohibited

Section 5. The selectmen of towns bordering on another state, if the lines between the state have been established, shall once in every five years locate the boundary markers in such lines, mark them in accordance with the provisions of section two and give notice thereof to the selectmen or other proper officer of contiguous towns in the other state. No bound erected by the commonwealth and an adjoining state shall be removed by such selectmen or other officers.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns › Section 7 - Changes in Boundaries of Adjoining Towns

Section 7. Proposed changes in the boundary lines between adjoining towns shall be submitted to each of the towns affected by the change for their concurrence at town meetings. If approved, they shall be submitted to the department of highways of the commonwealth for review as to clarity and engineering accuracy. Said department may recommend wording to accurately describe the proposed change, but may not alter the intent. The description as approved by said department, shall then be submitted to the next regular session of the general court. If ratified and accepted by the general court, the person, corporation, town, county, or state department initiating the change, shall, at his or its own expense, engage the services of a registered land surveyor to locate and define such change and determine the position of each angle and corner in such new boundary line. A plan of the change and any computations pertaining to it shall be submitted to said department of highways for approval as to accuracy. The selectmen of the contiguous towns, shall, within six months after passage of the legislation, place such monuments at the new points determined, and place such marks on them, in addition to initials, as the department may prescribe and in the manner required by section four. Monuments marking angles and corners in town boundaries, the position of which has not been changed, shall be re-marked in the manner indicated by said department so as to establish a uniform system of designating angles and corners of town boundary lines.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns › Section 8 - Boundaries Formed by Stream or Highway; Filing of Plan

Section 8. If the boundary line between towns is formed wholly or partly by a stream or by a highway, a survey and plan of such stream or highway shall be made by said department, based on the triangulation common to the other town boundary lines, and the plan shall be filed in the office of said department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns › Section 9 - Triangulation Points as Evidence of Town Lines

Section 9. The triangulation points established by said department shall be regarded as a part of the evidence of the location of town boundary lines, and a description of the position and marks of such points shall be communicated in writing by said department to the selectmen of the towns where such points are located, and shall be filed with the perambulation records of such towns.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns › Section 10 - Obliteration of Monuments; Restrictions

Section 10. No person, except as hereinafter provided, shall remove, obliterate or cover up any monument or mark designating a boundary line of a town. The county commissioners of the county where any such monument or mark is wholly or partly situated may grant to any person making written application permission to remove, cover up or obliterate the same, first making provision for preserving the exact location of the original boundary or mark by causing proper witness marks to be set up, or other means taken, which shall, with proper designation and measurement, indicate the position of the original mark or monument. The commissioners shall cause a full description and designation of such witness marks and monuments so made and set up to be recorded in the office of the town clerk of the contiguous towns, and a copy of such description to be forwarded to the state secretary. This section shall not apply to monuments and marks designating boundary lines of the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns › Section 11 - Penalty for Illegal Obliteration of Monuments

Section 11. Whoever violates any provision of the preceding section, or wilfully or maliciously disturbs or injures the monuments or marks aforesaid, shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns › Section 12 - Location of Disputed Boundaries; Procedure

Section 12. If the true boundary between two or more adjacent counties, cities, towns or districts is doubtful or in dispute, the land court may determine the location thereof upon the petition of one or more of such counties, cities, towns and districts and after such notice to all other counties, cities, towns and districts interested as the court shall order, and the court may make such order as to the setting of durable bounds to perpetuate the lines the location of which is so determined, and as to the costs and expenses of the proceedings, as law and justice may require.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43 - City Charters › Section 1 - Definitions

Section 1. The following words as used in this chapter shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the following meanings:
''Officer'', ''officers'' and ''administrative officers'', when used without further qualification or description, any person or persons in charge of any department or division of the city. The said words when used in contrast with a board or members of a board, or with division heads, shall mean any of the persons in sole charge of a department of the city.
''Ordinance'', a vote or order of the city council entitled ''ordinance'' and designed for the permanent regulation of any matter within the jurisdiction of the city council as laid down in this chapter.
''Plan A'', a city government and legislative body composed of the mayor and a city council, the councillors being elected at large.
''Plan B'', a city government and legislative body composed of a mayor and city council, the councillors being elected partly at large and partly from districts or wards of the city.
''Plan C'', a city government and legislative body composed of a mayor and commissioners as hereinafter specified.
''Plan D'', a city government and legislative body, to be known as the city council, composed of seven or nine members, one of whom shall be mayor and shall be the official head of the city, and an administrative officer, called the city manager.
''Plan E'', a city government and legislative body, to be known as the city council, composed of seven or nine members, one of whom shall be elected as mayor by and from such members and shall be the official head of the city, and an administrative officer, called the city manager; the members of the city council and the elective members of the school committee to be elected at large by proportional representation.
''Plan F'', a city government and legislative body composed of a mayor and a city council, the councillors being elected partly at large and partly from wards of the city, with the mayor and city councillors to be nominated in party primaries.
''An optional plan of a city council and a school committee organization in certain large cities'', a legislative body, to be known as the city council, composed of at least nine members or a school committee composed of at least nine members, or both, elected from equally populous districts and one member of the city council or of the school committee elected at large for every one hundred and twenty thousand residents of the city in excess of one hundred and fifty thousand residents, notwithstanding its plan of government or charter.
''Elected at large'', elected by and from all the voters of the city.
''Proportional representation'', any proportional representation method of election authorized by sections ninety-three to one hundred and sixteen, inclusive.
''Regular municipal election'', the annual or biennial election of municipal officers for which provision is made in this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43 - City Charters › Section 2 - Authorization to Adopt a Plan of Government

Section 2. Any city, except Boston, which shall adopt, in the manner hereinafter prescribed, one of the plans of government provided in this chapter shall thereafter be governed by the provisions thereof; and the inhabitants of such city shall continue to be a municipal corporation under the name existing at the time of such adoption, and shall have, exercise and enjoy all the rights, immunities, powers and privileges, and be subject to all the duties, liabilities and obligations provided for in this chapter, or otherwise pertaining to or incumbent upon said city as a municipal corporation; provided, however, that sections one hundred and twenty-eight to one hundred and thirty-four, inclusive, shall apply to all cities of one hundred and fifty thousand or more inhabitants, as enumerated by the most recent federal decennial census except any city which has adopted the Plan E method of city government.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43 - City Charters › Section 4 - Effect of Adoption of Governmental Plan on Ordinances, Etc.

Section 4. Ordinances, resolutions, orders or other regulations of a city or of any authorized body or official thereof, existing at the time when such city adopts a plan of government set forth in this chapter, shall continue in full force and effect until repealed, modified or superseded.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43 - City Charters › Section 5 - Existing Organization to Continue Until Superseded

Section 5. Until superseded under this chapter, the organization of the executive and administrative departments, and the powers and duties of the officers and employees of any city adopting any of the plans provided for in this chapter, and the fiscal year of such city shall remain as constituted at the time of the adoption of such plan; but the city council or other legislative body may at any time by ordinance, consistent with general laws, reorganize, consolidate or abolish departments, in whole or in part; transfer the duties, powers and appropriations of one department to another, in whole or in part; establish new departments; and increase, reduce, establish or abolish salaries of heads of departments or members of boards. This section shall not authorize any action in conflict with chapter thirty-one.
This section shall not authorize the city council in any city which adopts Plan D or E to take any action to accomplish any result not contemplated by the provisions of the said plans.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43 - City Charters › Section 6 - Wards, Number and Boundaries to Continue Until Changed Under Law

Section 6. The territory of a city adopting any of the plans of government provided for in this chapter shall continue to be divided into the same number of wards existing at the time of such adoption, which shall retain their boundaries until changed in accordance with general law.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43 - City Charters › Section 7 - Adoption of Plan; Filing of Petition Calling for Vote

Section 7. A petition addressed to the city council, signed by qualified voters of the city to a number equal at least to ten per cent of the registered voters at the state election next preceding the filing of the petition and in the form provided in section eight may be filed with the city clerk who shall forthwith transmit the same to the registrars of voters, who shall within sixty days certify the signatures thereon in accordance with the provisions of law and return the petition to the city clerk.
The petition shall be filed with the city clerk at least one hundred and forty days before the date of the election at which the question proposed by the petition is to be submitted to a vote of the voters.