reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 16a - Certificate of Acceptance; Effect; Recordation

Section 16A. If the rates and charges due to a city, town, municipality, or sewer district, which accepts this section and sections sixteen B to sixteen F, inclusive, and by its clerk, files a certificate of such acceptance in the proper registry of deeds, and files a copy of said certificate with the collector of taxes of the city or town in which the lien hereinafter mentioned is to take effect, for supplying or providing for a sewer system or rendering service or furnishing materials in connection therewith to or for any real estate at the request of the owner or tenant are not paid on or before their due date as established by local regulations, ordinances or by-laws, which due date shall be so established as to require payments at least as often as annually, such rates and charges, together with interest thereon and costs relative thereto, shall be a lien upon such real estate as provided in section sixteen B. The register of deeds shall record such certificate of acceptance in a book to be kept for the purpose, which shall be kept in an accessible location in the registry. Sections sixteen B to sixteen F, inclusive, shall also apply to a sewer district which has accepted sections sixteen A to sixteen F, inclusive, and whose clerk has so filed the certificate of acceptance. Wherever in said sections the words ''board or officer in charge of the sewer department'' or their equivalent appear, they shall also mean and include the officers exercising similar duties in any city, town or district. A fire or water district authorized to provide a sewer system shall, for the purposes of sections sixteen A to sixteen F, inclusive, be deemed to be a sewer district.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 16b - Effective Date of Sewer Charge Lien; Termination; Methods of Collection and Enforcement of Rate or Charge

Section 16B. Such lien shall take effect by operation of law on the day immediately following the due date of such rate or charge, and, unless dissolved by payment or abatement, shall continue until such rate or charge has been added to or committed as a tax under section sixteen C, and thereafter, unless so dissolved, shall continue as provided in section thirty-seven of chapter sixty; provided, however, that if any such rate or charge is not added to or committed as a tax under section sixteen C for the next fiscal year commencing after the inception of the lien under this section, then said lien shall terminate on October first of the third year following the year in which such charge becomes due.
Notwithstanding such lien any such overdue rate or charge may be collected through any legal means, including the shutting off of a sewer connection, which may be deemed advisable; provided, that after the termination of such a lien, no city, town or sewer district shall attempt to enforce, by shutting off the sewer connection, collection of such rate or charge from any person, not liable therefor, who has succeeded to the title or interest of the person incurring such rate or charge. All such rates and charges excluded by court decree under section seventy-six B of chapter sixty shall, to the extent that they were properly chargeable to the person owning, or to the tenant occupying, the premises for which such rates and charges were incurred, be recoverable from such person or tenant, as the case may be, in an action of contract or otherwise. If at the time of the entry of such decree such person or tenant is still the owner or tenant of the premises, whether through redemption or otherwise, such rates and charges to the extent that they were properly chargeable to him, may be enforced in any other manner provided or available for collection and enforcement of sewer connection rates and charges.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 16c - Certification of Rate or Charge to Assessors; Commitment as Tax

Section 16C. If a rate or charge for which a lien is in effect under section sixteen B has not been added to or committed as a tax and remains unpaid when the assessors are preparing a real estate tax list and warrant to be committed by them under section fifty-three of chapter fifty-nine, the board or officer in charge of the sewer department, or the town collector of taxes, if applicable under section thirty-eight A of chapter forty-one, shall certify such rate or charge to the assessors, who shall forthwith add such rate or charge to the tax on the property to which it relates and commit it with their warrant to the collector of taxes as a part of such tax. If the property to which such rate or charge relates is tax exempt, such rate or charge shall be committed as the tax.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 16d - Application of Other Law; Powers of Tax Collectors

Section 16D. Except as otherwise provided, the provisions of chapters fifty-nine and sixty shall apply, so far as pertinent, to all rates and charges certified to the assessors under section sixteen C. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, upon commitment as a tax or part of a tax under said section sixteen C, all such rates and charges shall be subject to the provisions of law relative to interest on the taxes of which they become, or, if the property were not tax exempt would become, a part; and the collector of taxes shall have the same powers and be subject to the same duties with respect to such rates and charges as in the case of annual taxes upon real estate, and the provisions of law relative to the collection of such annual taxes, the sale or taking of land for the nonpayment thereof and the redemption of land so sold or taken shall, except as otherwise provided, apply to such rates and charges.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 16e - Remedies of Aggrieved Real Estate Owners

Section 16E. An owner of real estate aggrieved by a charge imposed thereon under sections sixteen A to sixteen F, inclusive, in addition to such remedy as he may have under section ten of chapter one hundred and sixty-five, may apply for an abatement thereof by filing a petition with the board or officer having control of the sewer department within the time allowed by law for filing an application for abatement of the tax of which such charge is, or, if the property were not tax exempt, would have been, a part, and if such board or officer finds that such charge is more than is properly due, a reasonable abatement shall be made; and except as otherwise provided herein, the provisions of chapter fifty-nine relative to the abatement of taxes by assessors shall apply, so far as applicable, to abatements hereunder. If such petition is denied in whole or in part, the petitioner may appeal to the appellate tax board upon the same terms and conditions as a person aggrieved by the refusal of the assessors of a city or town to abate a tax.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 16f - Recovery of Real Estate Owner Against Tenants

Section 16F. An owner of real estate who, in order to prevent the imposition of a lien thereon or to discharge the same, has paid charges for sewer connections furnished to a tenant or other person who was bound to pay the same, may recover from such tenant or other person in an action of contract the amount of the charges so paid with all incidental costs and expenses.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 16g - Deferral of Charges

Section 16G. In a city, town or district which accepts the provisions of this section, the board responsible for assessing charges for the use of the common sewers under section sixteen of chapter eighty-three or any other provision of law, shall, upon the application of the owner of the real property served by the common sewers, if such owner is receiving an exemption from property taxes under clause Forty-first A of section five of chapter fifty-nine with respect to such property, defer charges for said use of the common sewers. An application for deferral may be filed with said board within the time limit established for the filing of an application for exemption under said clause Forty-first A.
The board that imposes such charges shall notify the board of assessors of any deferral granted under the provisions of this section, and shall annually thereafter notify said board of assessors of any unpaid sewer charges to be added to the tax bill. Such charges shall be committed by the assessors along with the real estate taxes for each fiscal year, and abated along with such taxes, and secured by the statement of lien executed pursuant to said clause Forty-first A. Upon such qualification for deferral, no further application under this section need be filed in order to qualify for deferral of sewer charges in subsequent years. No additional notice or statement of lien need be recorded or registered with respect to such deferred sewer use charges, but the amount of such deferred charges shall be listed on any certificate of liens issued under section twenty-three, twenty-three A or twenty-three B of chapter sixty. Whenever a person who has received an exemption under said clause Forty-first A is no longer eligible for such exemption, the board of assessors shall cease deferring sewer use charges added to the tax bill, and shall notify the board responsible for the assessment of such charges of the discontinuance of such deferral of said charges.
Interest shall be charged upon deferred sewer use charges at the same rate as interest on taxes deferred under said clause Forty-first A. The deferred charges, together with accrued interest shall be due and collectible at the same time and upon the same terms and conditions as taxes deferred under said clause Forty-first A.
The amount of sewer use charges deferred under this section, plus accrued interest, shall not be used in determining whether a taxpayer continues to be eligible for exemption under said clause Forty-first A.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 17 - Payment for Permanent Sewer Privileges

Section 17. The aldermen of any city except Boston or a town in which main drains or common sewers are laid may determine that a person who uses such main drains or common sewers in any manner, instead of paying an assessment under section fourteen, shall pay for the permanent privilege of his estate such reasonable amount as the aldermen or the sewer commissioners, selectmen or road commissioners shall determine.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 18 - Method of Assessment

Section 18. The city council of a city or a town which itself is, or the officers of which are, entitled, under sections fourteen to seventeen, inclusive, or under any special act, to assess upon land the whole or a part of the cost of laying, making, maintaining or repairing main drains or common sewers, may determine that such assessments shall be made by two or more of the methods provided in said sections or special acts, and may determine what part of the expense or estimated average cost shall be paid under each method.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 19 - Assessments; Extension of Time for Payment

Section 19. The aldermen of a city or the sewer commissioners, selectmen or road commissioners of a town may extend the time for the payment of such assessments upon land which is not built upon until it is built upon or for a fixed time; but interest at the rate of four per cent per annum shall be paid annually upon the assessment from the time it was made, and the assessment shall be paid within three months after such land is built upon or at the expiration of such fixed time.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 20 - Fee for Use of Sewers

Section 20. The owners of land or parts thereof not liable to assessment, or not in fact assessed, may use the common sewers for the disposal of their sewage from such land only on payment of such reasonable amount as the aldermen or the sewer commissioners, selectmen or road commissioners shall determine.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 21 - Assessment on Land Abutting on More Than One Way

Section 21. If land abuts upon more than one way, assessments for sewers based wholly or in part upon frontage shall be assessed upon the frontage upon one such way and upon so much of the frontage upon such other way as is not exempted by the board whose duty it is to make the assessment; and such board may exempt from assessment so much of the frontage upon such other way as they consider just and equitable.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 22 - Assessment of Sewers Built by Landowners

Section 22. If an ordinance or by-law provides that any drain or sewer laid in any land or way, public or private, which is opened or proposed to be opened for public travel and accommodation shall be a main drain or common sewer, and such drain or sewer is laid in a private way or land at the expense of the owner thereof, his land shall not be assessed for such drain or sewer, except for the cost of connecting it with common drains or sewers already established.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 23 - Cost of Sewers; Payment of Portion by Municipality

Section 23. A town by vote of its town meeting or a city by vote of its board of aldermen or city council shall determine whether it shall pay the whole or a portion of the cost of laying out and constructing main drains or of a system or systems of sewerage and sewage disposal, and if a portion, what portion. If the town or city votes to pay less than the whole cost, in providing for the payment of the remaining portion of the cost of said system or systems the town or city may avail itself of any or all of the methods of payment authorized by law to a town or city, and the provisions of chapter eighty relative to the apportionment, division, reassessment, abatement and collection of assessments, to liens therefor and to interests thereon, shall apply to assessments made under this chapter. At the same meeting at which it determines that any portion of the cost is to be borne by the town or city, it may by vote determine by which of such methods the remaining portion of said cost shall be provided.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 24 - Assessment for Particular Sewers

Section 24. The owner of any land benefited by the laying out of a particular sewer from the common sewer to the boundary of the way shall pay to the town for the permanent privilege of using the same such reasonable amount as the aldermen or the sewer commissioners, selectmen or road commissioners determine, which may be fixed at the estimated average cost of all such particular sewers within the territory for which a system of sewers has been built or adopted. The board or officers authorized to lay out sewers shall assess the cost of connecting private land with a common sewer under section three upon the land so connected, and may require that an applicant for a connection of his land with a sewer shall pay in advance an amount equal to the estimated assessment therefor, which shall be applied to the payment of the assessment, and the remainder, if any, shall be repaid to the applicant.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 25 - Establishment of Sidewalks

Section 25. The aldermen of a city or the selectmen or road commissioners of a town may, if in their judgment the public convenience so requires, establish sidewalks in the public ways thereof and determine the grade of each such sidewalk and the materials with which it shall be constructed, and may order the reconstruction of existing sidewalks. No such sidewalk shall be dug up or obstructed without the consent of the board or officer having charge of the maintenance and repair of public ways in a city, or the selectmen or road commissioners in a town. Each city and town shall provide a slanted curbing on sidewalks in its public ways at pedestrian crosswalks when new or replacement curbing is required at such locations.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 26 - Assessments for the Construction or Reconstruction of Sidewalk

Section 26. In the order for the construction of a new sidewalk or the reconstruction of a sidewalk with material of more permanent character than that with which it was originally constructed, the board making the order may provide for the assessment of a reasonable amount, not exceeding one half the cost, upon the abutting estates. If an ordinance or by-law so provides, the total assessed upon any individual estate shall not exceed one per cent of the value thereof as fixed by the last preceding annual assessment for taxes.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 27 - Recording of Statements; Assessment Liens

Section 27. Whenever the aldermen of a city or the sewer commissioners, selectmen or road commissioners of a town lay out or determine to construct a sewer or drain in a public way, or in a way opened or dedicated to the public use which has not become a public way, or adopt an order for the establishment or reconstruction of a sidewalk for such a way, and assessments may be made or charges imposed under this chapter for the construction of such improvement or the use thereof, they shall forthwith cause to be recorded in the registry of deeds of the county or district in which such city or town is situated a statement of their action, which shall specify the ways in which such sewer, drain or sidewalk is located. All assessments made or charges imposed under this chapter upon land which abuts upon any such way in which such sewer, drain or sidewalk is located shall constitute a lien upon such land from the time such statement is recorded and all charges authorized by section sixteen shall from the time of assessment constitute a lien upon the land connected with the common sewer. Liens under this section shall continue for the same period and under the same conditions as a lien established under chapter eighty.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 28 - Application of Betterment Law

Section 28. The provisions of chapter eighty relative to the apportionment, division, reassessment, abatement and collection of assessments, and to interest, shall apply to assessments made under this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 83 - Sewers, Drains and Sidewalks › Section 29 - Betterment Assessments Created by Special Act; Duration of Lien

Section 29. Notwithstanding any provision in any special act to the contrary, any lien for sewer, drain or sidewalk assessments or for betterment assessments of any other nature created pursuant to the provisions of any special act shall continue in effect until the land subject to the lien has been alienated and the instrument alienating the same has been recorded and for such longer period as any special act may provide.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 1 - Repair of Highways and Town Ways at Expense of Towns

Section 1. Highways and town ways, including railroad crossings at grade with such highways and town ways, shall be kept in repair at the expense of the town in which they are situated, so that they may be reasonably safe and convenient for travelers, with their horses, teams, vehicles and carriages at all seasons. A city or town shall submit a letter of request for such repair and for approval by the state department of highways. Upon receipt of such approval, the city or town shall be reimbursed by the commonwealth from monies which may be appropriated therefor by the commonwealth and the federal government to defray expenses of such repairs for safety programming. Such reimbursement will not create liability, of any kind, either civil or criminal on the part of the commonwealth or the federal government.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 2 - Repair of Bridge by Two or More Towns; Repair of Drawbridge

Section 2. If two or more towns within the same county which are required by law to maintain or keep in repair a bridge upon a highway or town way, differ as to the mode or time of doing the same, the county commissioners, upon application of either of said towns, after notice to all parties interested and a hearing, may pass such orders relative to the maintenance and repair of such bridge as in their opinion the public good may require.
If a town or two towns within the same county required by law to maintain and to keep in repair a drawbridge over navigable tide waters which extend from any other town to the sea fail or refuse to maintain and keep in repair said drawbridge, the county commissioners, upon application of the selectmen of such other town, after notice to all parties interested and a hearing, may pass such orders relative to the maintenance and repair of such bridge as in their opinion the public good may require.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 3 - Enforcement of Order for Repair

Section 3. If any town does not comply with any orders passed by the county commissioners under the preceding section, within the time and in the manner prescribed in such orders and to the acceptance of the commissioners, the commissioners shall forthwith cause such bridge to be completed in accordance with such orders and shall direct the expenses and charges of completing the same to be paid in the first instance by the county, and shall order notice thereof to be given to the delinquent town, stating the proportion which it is to pay.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 4 - Warrants Against Delinquent Towns

Section 4. If a delinquent town does not pay its proportion of such expenses and charges within sixty days after the date of such notice, with interest at a rate to be fixed by the county commissioners, not exceeding ten per cent a year from the time when the same was paid by them, the commissioners, after a hearing, may issue a warrant against such town for the amount which it was ordered to pay, with interest and further costs of such notice and warrant, which shall be collected and paid into the county treasury.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 5 - Appropriation for Construction, Repair, and Maintenance of Highway Through Two or More Towns

Section 5. When a highway runs through two or more towns, they may appropriate money for the construction, repair, maintenance or improvement thereof in common, and may purchase road machinery therefor in common. Money so appropriated shall be expended by such persons and in such manner as the towns concerned shall agree upon.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 5a - Removal of Snow or Ice; Equipment and Employees

Section 5A. The selectmen, highway surveyor, highway commissioners, or other board or officer having charge of the maintenance of highways in any town which accepts this section may enter into agreements for the removal of snow or ice from, including sanding on, such public ways in adjoining towns as circumstances make necessary or convenient, and any town performing work in accordance with such agreement may be reimbursed for the expense thereof by the town for which such work is performed from the regular appropriation voted for highway maintenance or snow removal.
For the purposes of this section, equipment and employees of a town while engaged in the removal of snow or ice from, including sanding on, such public ways in another town in accordance with this section shall be deemed to be engaged in the service and employ of the town performing the work hereby authorized.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 6 - Sanding of Tarred Ways

Section 6. Any public way which has been spread with tar, oil or similar substance, shall, within three hours thereafter, be covered with sand, gravel, peastone or other similar material in such manner as to render the way safe for travel. But such way may be so treated without being so covered if the tar, oil or other similar substance is first applied to not more than one half of the traveled width of the way, and such portion becomes safe for travel before the remaining part of the way is similarly treated, or if there is a reasonably safe and convenient alternate route or detour which has not been so treated, or if so treated has been rendered safe for travel as herein provided. Violation of any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten nor more than one hundred dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 7 - Duties of Surveyors of Highways and Road Commissioners

Section 7. Surveyors of highways and road commissioners shall remove whatever obstructs the public ways within their respective towns or districts, or endangers, hinders or incommodes persons traveling thereon; and shall forthwith cause snow to be removed or trodden down so as to make such ways reasonably safe and convenient. If a town neglects to vote a sufficient amount for the proper repair of ways therein, or does not otherwise effectually provide therefor, each surveyor, in his district, or the road commissioners, may employ persons to make such repairs, who shall be paid by the town; and towns may authorize their surveyors or road commissioners or any other person to enter into contracts for making or repairing the ways therein.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 7a - Notice of Repair, Construction or Reconstruction of Road or Highway

Section 7A. Surveyors of highways, road commissioners, or any other person, agency, or authority responsible for road or highway repairs shall notify the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority not later than forty-eight hours prior to the repair, construction or reconstruction of any road or highway used by said Authority in the operation of regular route service if such repairs, construction or reconstruction shall prohibit the operation of regular route service by the Authority over such road or highway.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 8 - Fences, Gates or Bars to Prevent Spread of Disease; Removal

Section 8. No surveyor, road commissioner or other person shall, without an order from the board of health, remove or take down fences, gates or bars which have been placed on a way for the purpose of preventing the spread of a disease dangerous to the public health.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 9 - Ditches by Side of Ways

Section 9. A surveyor or road commissioner may cause a watercourse occasioned by the wash of a way to be conveyed by the side of the way; but the aldermen or selectmen, upon complaint of a person whose building has been incommoded or whose business has been obstructed thereby, may, after a view, order the surveyor or road commissioner to make alterations in such work.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 10 - Entry Upon Land to Secure and Protect Public Way; Damages

Section 10. The selectmen or road commissioners may enter upon, use or survey or take by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine any land they may deem necessary for the purpose of securing or protecting a public way; and any person thereby injured in his property and any owner of land adjoining a way who has sustained damage in his property by an act done for the purpose of repairing the way may recover such damages under chapter seventy-nine.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 11 - State Aid for Keeping Highway Open in Winter

Section 11. The department of highways may co-operate with the proper officers of cities, towns and counties in keeping open and reasonably passable for vehicles during the winter months such highways as may be selected by said department, having regard to the importance thereof for commercial uses and the co-operation and aid to be rendered by cities, towns and counties and persons in carrying on this work, and for this purpose may expend such sums as may be annually appropriated therefor and may accept financial or other assistance from any city, town, county or person; provided, however, that the work carried on under this section shall be supplemental to work undertaken and performed by cities and towns under other provisions of law, and that nothing in this section shall render the commonwealth liable for damages for which it is not liable under other provisions of law or relieve cities or towns from keeping their highways clear from ice and snow as required by other provisions of law.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 11a - Maintenance of Highways Constructed or Improved in Whole or in Part by County

Section 11A. When a public way other than a state highway has been constructed or improved in whole or in part by aid of money contributed by a county, the said way shall be kept and maintained in good repair and condition by the town in which the same lies, but the county may aid in such maintenance, and for such purpose the county commissioners may grant sums of money from the county treasury to be paid to the town to aid in such repairs as the commissioners may order. Such money may be paid to the town from time to time as the work progresses to the extent that the commissioners are satisfied that the same is being done in accordance with their directions. Such grants or contributions shall not render a county liable for defects in any way or for damages to persons traveling thereon, and when the work of repair or maintenance for which such grants or contributions are made is completed there shall be no further obligation on the part of the county as to the repair or maintenance thereof until a further grant or order is made by the county commissioners for such purposes.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 12 - Meeting of Proprietors and Occupants of Private Way or Bridge; Warrant; Clerk and Surveyor

Section 12. If four or more persons are the proprietors and rightful occupants of a private way or bridge, and three of them make application in writing to a clerk of the district court of the district or the clerk of the city or town wherein the private way or bridge is located or to a justice of the peace to call a proprietors' meeting, the clerk or justice may issue his warrant therefor, stating the time, place and purpose of the meeting. The warrant shall be posted in a public place of the town in which such way or bridge is situated, seven days at least before the time appointed for the meeting. The proprietors and occupants so assembled shall choose a clerk and surveyor, who shall be sworn. They may determine the manner of calling future meetings, what repairs of the way or bridge are necessary and the proportion of money and of labor and materials to be furnished by each proprietor and occupant for such repairs. The surveyor shall have the same powers with respect to such way or bridge as are exercised by surveyors of highways.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 13 - Refusal or Neglect of Proprietor or Occupant to Comply With Vote

Section 13. A proprietor or occupant who refuses or neglects to comply with such vote, when required by the surveyor, shall be liable to him in contract for the amount of his proportion, with ten per cent interest thereon. If a person chosen clerk or surveyor under the preceding section refuses or neglects to accept that trust and take the oath, he shall forfeit five dollars. Damages and forfeitures recovered under this section shall be applied to the use of the proprietors for repairing said way or bridge.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 14 - Financing Repairs

Section 14. The proprietors and occupants may, at a meeting for that purpose, authorize any person to contract for making and keeping in repair such private way or bridge, may vote to raise such amount as they consider necessary for carrying such contracts into effect; and may choose assessors, who shall assess each proprietor and occupant for his proportion of such amount according to his interest in such way or bridge, and shall deliver the lists of such assessments to the surveyor, with proper warrants of distress, in substance as is prescribed by law for collection of town taxes, and the surveyor may levy and collect such taxes in the same manner as collectors of taxes are empowered to collect taxes. If a surveyor neglects or refuses to pay over according to the direction of his warrant the moneys so collected, he shall be liable to such proprietors or occupants in contract for the amount collected, together with twenty per cent interest in addition thereto.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 15 - Personal Injuries or Property Damage From Defective Ways

Section 15. If a person sustains bodily injury or damage in his property by reason of a defect or a want of repair or a want of a sufficient railing in or upon a way, and such injury or damage might have been prevented, or such defect or want of repair or want of railing might have been remedied by reasonable care and diligence on the part of the county, city, town or person by law obliged to repair the same, he may, if such county, city, town or person had or, by the exercise of proper care and diligence, might have had reasonable notice of the defect or want of repair or want of a sufficient railing, recover damages therefor from such county, city, town or person; but he shall not recover from a county, city, town or local water and sewer commission more than one fifth of one per cent of its state valuation last preceding the commencement of the action nor more than five thousand dollars; nor shall a county, city or town be liable for an injury or damage sustained upon a way laid out and established in the manner prescribed by statute until after an entry has been made for the purpose of constructing the way, or during the construction and repairing thereof, provided that the way shall have been closed, or other sufficient means taken to caution the public against entering thereon. No action shall be maintained under this section by a person the combined weight of whose carriage or vehicle and load exceeds six tons.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 16 - Damage Caused by Excessive Load

Section 16. If a person, without the consent of the county, city, town or person required by law to keep a bridge in repair or his or its agent, permits more than twenty neat cattle or horses to be upon a bridge which is more than fifty feet from one abutment, pier or trestle part to another, or drives or transports over such bridge a vehicle with a load exceeding forty-five hundred pounds in weight exclusive of the team and vehicle, and thereby breaks or injures the bridge, such county, city, town or person shall not be liable for any damage caused thereby.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 17 - Injury or Damage Caused by Snow or Ice

Section 17. A county, city or town shall not be liable for an injury or damage sustained upon a public way by reason of snow or ice thereon, if the place at which the injury or damage was sustained was at the time of the accident otherwise reasonably safe and convenient for travelers.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 18 - Notice of Injury; Contents; Limitation of Action

Section 18. A person so injured shall, within thirty days thereafter, give to the county, city, town or person by law obliged to keep said way in repair, notice of the name and place of residence of the person injured, and the time, place and cause of said injury or damage; and if the said county, city, town or person does not pay the amount thereof, he may recover the same in an action of tort if brought within three years after the date of such injury or damage. Such notice shall not be invalid or insufficient solely by reason of any inaccuracy in stating the name or place of residence of the person injured, or the time, place or cause of the injury, if it is shown that there was no intention to mislead and that the party entitled to notice was not in fact misled thereby. The words ''place of residence of the person injured'', as used in this and the two following sections, shall include the street and number, if any, of his residence as well as the name of the city or town thereof. Failure to give such notice for such injury or damage sustained by reason of snow or ice shall not be a defense under this section unless the defendant proves that he was prejudiced thereby.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 19 - Service of Notice

Section 19. Such notice shall be in writing, signed by the person injured or by some one in his behalf, and may be given, in the case of a county, to one of the county commissioners or the county treasurer; in the case of a city, to the mayor, the city clerk or treasurer; in the case of a town, to one of the selectmen or to the town clerk or treasurer. If the person injured dies within the time required for giving the notice, his executor or administrator may give such notice within thirty days after his appointment. If by reason of physical or mental incapacity it is impossible for the person injured to give the notice within the time required, he may give it within thirty days after such incapacity has been removed, and if he dies within said thirty days his executor or administrator may give the notice within thirty days after his appointment. Any form of written communication signed by the person so injured, or by some person in his behalf, or by his executor or administrator, or by some person in behalf of such executor or administrator, which contains the information that the person was so injured, giving the name and place of residence of the person injured and the time, place and cause of the injury or damage, shall be considered a sufficient notice.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 20 - Omissions in Notice; Notice of Insufficiency

Section 20. A defendant shall not avail himself in defence of any omission to state in such notice the name or place of residence of the person injured, or the time, place or cause of the injury or damage, unless, within five days after receipt of a notice, given within the time required by law and by an authorized person referring to the injuries sustained and claiming damages therefor, the person receiving such notice, or some person in his behalf, notifies in writing the person injured, his executor or administrator, or the person giving or serving such notice in his behalf, that his notice is insufficient because it fails to state the name or place of residence of the person injured, or the time, place or cause of the injury or damage, as the case may be, and requests forthwith a written notice in compliance with law; provided, that if the notice does not contain either the place of residence of the person injured or the place of residence or business address of the person giving or serving the notice on behalf of the person so injured, such notice of insufficiency shall not be required, and the defendant may avail himself in defence of any omission or defect in the notice. If the person authorized to give such notice, within five days after the receipt of such request, gives a written notice complying with the law as to the name and place of residence of the person injured, and the time, place and cause of the injury or damage, such notice shall have the effect of the original notice, and shall be considered a part thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 21 - Notice to Owner of Private Property

Section 21. Sections eighteen, nineteen and twenty shall apply to actions against persons founded upon the defective condition of their premises, or of adjoining ways, when caused by or consisting in part of snow or ice resulting from rain or snow and weather conditions; provided, that any such notice may be given by posting it in a conspicuous place on said premises and by leaving it with any person occupying the whole or any part of said premises, if there be such a person, and no such notice shall be invalid by reason of any inaccuracy or misstatement in respect to the owner's name if it appears that such error was made in good faith and did not prevent or unreasonably delay the owner from receiving actual notice of the injury and of the contention that it occurred from the defective condition of his premises or of a way adjoining the same. Failure to give such notice shall not be a defense under this section unless the defendant proves that he was prejudiced thereby.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 22 - Neglect to Repair Way; Penalty

Section 22. If a town neglects to repair any way which it is obliged to keep in repair, or neglects to make the same reasonably safe and convenient when encumbered with snow, it shall pay such fine as the court may impose.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 23 - Dedicated Ways

Section 23. A way opened and dedicated to the public use, which has not become a public way, shall not, except as provided in the two following sections, be chargeable upon a town as a highway or town way unless laid out and established in the manner prescribed by statute.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 24 - Damage From Defects in Dedicated Ways

Section 24. The board or officer having authority over public ways in a town shall, if the public safety so requires, cause such ways to be closed where they enter upon and unite with an existing public way or may by other sufficient means caution the public against entering thereon; otherwise the town shall be liable for damages arising from defects therein as in the case of ways duly laid out and established.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 25 - Repairs Made on Way Within Six Years of Injury

Section 25. If, upon the trial of an indictment or action brought to recover damages for an injury received by reason of a defect or want of repair or want of sufficient railing in any way, it appears that the defendant has, within six years before such injury, made repairs on such way, it or he shall not deny the location thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIV - Public Ways and Works › Chapter 84 - Repair of Ways and Bridges › Section 26 - Liability of Abutting Lot Owner

Section 26. If the owner of a lot abutting upon a public way in a city dedicates to the public or permits it to use a portion of his land lying between said way and a building fronting on the same, he shall keep such portion in such condition as, in the opinion of the aldermen, the safety and convenience of the public requires; and if he, after reasonable notice given by the aldermen or the mayor, neglects or refuses to make the specific repairs or improvements so required, or to close the same to public use by a substantial railing or guard, the aldermen may put said land into such condition and assess the expense thereof upon the owner; and assessments so made may be collected in the same manner as betterment assessments.