Chapter 111

Section 27. Every such board shall organize annually by the choice of one of its number as chairman. It may make rules and regulations for its own government and for the government of its officers, agents and assistants. It may appoint a physician to the board, who shall hold his…

Section 27A. Two or more municipalities may, by vote of their respective boards of health and, in a city having a Plan E charter by the affirmative vote of a majority of all members of the city council, in other cities by a vote of the city council and approval of the mayor, and …

Section 27B. Two or more municipalities may, by vote of their respective boards of health and, in a city having a Plan E charter by the affirmative vote of a majority of all members of the city council, in other cities by vote of the city council and approval of the mayor, and by…

Section 27C. (1) Each regional health district established under section 27B shall be entitled to reimbursement from the commonwealth, subject to appropriation, for expenditures incurred by it for initial capital outlays, including the acquisition, construction, improvement or re…

Section 27D. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:— ''Board of health'', any body politic or political subdivision of the commonwealth that acts as a board of health, public health commiss…

Section 27E. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise: ''Department'', the department of public health. ''Registered sanitarian'', a sanitarian who has been duly registered by the department a…

Section 27F. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise: ''Certified health officer'', a health officer who has been duly certified by the department and who maintains such active certification.…

Section 28. In each city such board shall annually in January make a full and comprehensive report to the city council of its acts during the preceding year and of the sanitary condition of the city. It shall also, if the city council or the standing committee on finance thereof …

Section 29. Boards of health shall send to the department every week, upon forms to be prescribed by it, a report of deaths in their towns for the week ending Saturday noon, from all diseases declared by the department to be dangerous to the public health.

Section 2A. The commissioner and any executive officer or employee appointed by him shall co-operate with MassAbility under the provisions of section eighty-one of chapter six for the vocational rehabilitation of any person with a disability.

Section 2B. If the commissioner of environmental protection, in this section called the commissioner determines that the condition or impending condition of the atmosphere in the commonwealth or in any part thereof constitutes a present or reasonably imminent danger to health, he…

Section 2C. The commissioner of environmental protection or his designee may issue orders in the name of the department of environmental protection upon witnessing or being presented proof of the violation of any statute, rule, regulation or code which the said department is auth…

Section 2D. As used in sections 2D to 2F, inclusive, the following words shall, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:— ''AIDS'', acquired immune deficiency syndrome associated with HIV. ''AIDS advisory board'', the board established pursuant…

Section 2E. The commissioner may expend amounts contained in the fund, with the advice and under the guidance of the AIDS advisory board, solely for research treatment, experimental treatment and education related to viral hepatitis, HIV infection or its associated illnesses. Exp…

Section 2F. There shall be an AIDS advisory board constituted for the general purpose of making recommendations to the commissioner concerning the administration and allocation of the fund, and performing any other functions specifically granted to it by law. The commissioner sha…

Section 2G. (a) There shall be established and set upon the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund to be expended, without further appropriation, by the department of public health. The fund shall consist of revenues collec…

Section 2H. There shall be a Prevention and Wellness Advisory Board to make recommendations to the commissioner concerning the administration and allocation of the Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund established in section 2G, establish evaluation criteria and perform any other fu…

Section 2I. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a Substance Abuse Services Fund to be expended, without further appropriation, by the department of public health. The commissioner of public health shall, as trustee, administer the fund. The …

Section 2J. There shall be a Public Health Grant Trust Fund. The commissioner shall administer the fund to collaborate with nonprofit organizations to participate in competitive grant opportunities that further the mission of the department. There shall be credited to the fund mo…

Section 2K. (a) As used in this section, the term "gender-affirming health care services'' shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, mean all supplies, care and services of a medical, behavioral health, mental health, surgical, psychiatric, therapeutic, diagnostic, pr…

Section 3. The council shall make and promulgate rules and regulations, take evidence in appeals, consider plans and appointments required by law, hold hearings, and discharge other duties required by law; but it shall have no administrative or executive functions. Hearings of th…

Section 30. Boards of health may appoint agents or directors of public health to act for them in cases of emergency or if they cannot conveniently assemble, and any such agent or director shall have all the authority which the board appointing him had; but he shall in each case w…

Section 31. Boards of health may make reasonable health regulations. A summary which shall describe the substance of any regulation made by a board of health under this chapter shall be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the city or town, and such publication…

Section 31A. No person shall remove or transport garbage, offal or other offensive substances through the streets of any city or town without first obtaining a permit from the board of health of such city or town; provided, however, that no rules or regulations shall restrict the…

Section 31B. Boards of health shall, from time to time, make rules and regulations for the control of the removal, transportation or disposal of garbage, offal or other offensive substances. Whoever violates any provision of section thirty-one A, or of any rule or regulation made…

Section 31C. A board of health, or other legal authority constituted for such purpose by vote of the town or city council shall have jurisdiction to regulate and control atmospheric pollution, including, but not limited to, the emission of smoke, particulate matter, soot, cinders…

Section 31D. Cities, towns and sewerage districts may, subject to the approval of the department of environmental protection, provide facilities for the receipt and disposal of privy, cesspool and septic tank contents collected for hire by private persons and may establish such c…

Section 31E. Any health officer or board of health for any city, town or district, whose authority includes the issuance of permits for construction, maintenance or alteration of individual sewage disposal systems for residential buildings of not more than four dwelling units, sh…

Section 32. A board of health shall retain charge of any case arising under this chapter in which it has acted.

Section 33. In every city, and in every town having a population of over ten thousand, when, in the opinion of the board of health, public necessity requires it, there shall be established and maintained by the town in some convenient places, at or near the business centre, one o…

Section 3A. There shall be a board of trustees, to be known as the board of trustees of the Massachusetts hospital school, serving in the department and consisting of five persons. The governor, with the advice and consent of the council, shall annually appoint a member of the bo…

Section 4. The commissioner, with the approval of the council, shall from time to time divide the state into not more than eight health districts. He may from time to time order two or more district health officers to work in one district, in order to study, suppress or prevent d…

Section 4E. The department of public health is hereby authorized and directed to establish a program to combat intellectual disability in children suffering from a genetic effect causing phenylketonuria. The said program may be conducted in conjunction with any foundation or scie…

Section 4F. There shall be an advisory council on radiation protection consisting of the commissioners of public health, labor and industries, public safety, and administration, the personnel administrator, the director of civil defense, and six persons to be appointed by the gov…

Section 4G. The department shall establish, in one or more institutions under its control, a program for the care, treatment and medical rehabilitation of persons suffering from epilepsy and shall disseminate such information relative to the management of convulsive disorders as …

Section 4H. The department is hereby authorized, subject to appropriation, to establish and maintain services for the treatment and care of persons suffering from chronic renal diseases within the commonwealth. The department may enter into such agreements with community hospital…

Section 4I. The department is hereby authorized to establish, promote, and administer a statewide program for the prevention of erythroblastosis fetalis, and may produce and distribute as much anti–Rh gamma globulin as it deems necessary for such purpose. The department may contr…

Section 4J. No individual from birth to age twenty-two shall be admitted to a nursing home unless, prior to such admission, application has been made by or on behalf of such individual for certification by the Department's Multi–Disciplinary Medical Review Team of eligibility for…

Section 4K. The commissioner shall establish, promote, and maintain a public information program regarding diethylstilbestrol, hereinafter referred to as DES. Such program shall be conducted throughout the commonwealth and shall include, but not be limited to, an effort to reach …

Section 4L. An advisory board is hereby established under the supervision of the department for the purpose of implementing the provisions of section four K. Said board shall consist of five members. Three members shall be appointed by the commissioner, one of whom shall be a mem…

Section 4M. Subject to appropriation, the department shall: (1) conduct a needs assessment to determine the incidence and prevalence of hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus in the commonwealth; (2) develop and implement a program to prevent further transmission of viral hepati…

Section 4N. (a) The department shall, in cooperation with Commonwealth Medicine at the University of Massachusetts medical school, develop, implement and promote an evidence-based outreach and education program about the therapeutic and cost-effective utilization of prescription …

Section 4O. (a) Subject to appropriation, the commissioner shall appoint a dental director. The dental director shall serve at the pleasure of the commissioner and shall be a dentist licensed in the commonwealth with public health experience. The department may establish addition…

Section 5. The department shall take cognizance of the interests of life, health, comfort and convenience among the citizens of the commonwealth; shall conduct sanitary investigations and investigations as to the causes of disease, and especially of epidemics, and the sale of foo…

Section 50. Towns may establish and maintain dental, medical and health clinics, and in connection therewith may conduct campaigns of general education relative to matters of public health. Acting through their respective boards of health, they may unite and co-operate for the fo…

Section 51. The department shall issue for a term of two years, and shall renew for like terms, a license, subject to revocation by it for cause, to any person, city, town, or county it deems responsible and suitable to establish or maintain a hospital, an institution for the car…

Section 51A. The department shall establish rules and regulations for the licensing of out-of-hospital dialysis units not operated as a part of a hospital licensed under this chapter. The department shall issue for a term of two years and renew for a like term, a license to maint…

Section 51B. Local boards of health, hospitals, dispensaries or other agencies may establish and maintain clinics or other services for pregnant girls and women for the purpose of carrying pregnancies to full term and delivery. For the purpose of this section, such other services…

Section 51C. Each hospital, or other institution, licensed under section fifty-one shall not discriminate against an individual qualified within the scope of his or her license when considering or acting on an application for staff membership or clinical privileges to practice po…