Chapter 30A

Section 1. For the purposes of this chapter— (1) ''Adjudicatory proceeding'' means a proceeding before an agency in which the legal rights, duties or privileges of specifically named persons are required by constitutional right or by any provision of the General Laws to be determ…

Section 10. In conducting adjudicatory proceedings, as defined in this chapter, agencies shall afford all parties an opportunity for full and fair hearing. Unless otherwise provided by any law, agencies may (1) place on any party the responsibility of requesting a hearing if the …

Section 10A. Notwithstanding the provisions of section ten, not less than ten persons may intervene in any adjudicatory proceeding as defined in section one, in which damage to the environment as defined in section seven A of chapter two hundred and fourteen, is or might be at is…

Section 11. In addition to other requirements imposed by law and subject to the provisions of section ten, agencies shall conduct adjudicatory proceedings in compliance with the following requirements:— (1) Reasonable notice of the hearing shall be accorded all parties and shall …

Section 11B. All state boards and commissions and the governing boards or bodies of all such authorities which conduct a study affecting or relating to the use of an area of a city or town shall notify the mayor or city manager, if any, of the city and the presiding officer of th…

Section 11C. Any agency which is required by law to conduct hearings, shall, if the subject matter of such hearing solely concerns a single municipality, hold such hearing or a substantial portion thereof in such municipality upon receipt of a written request from the mayor of a …

Section 12. In conducting adjudicatory proceedings, agencies shall issue, vacate, modify and enforce subpoenas in accordance with the following provisions:— (1) Agencies shall have the power to issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production…

Section 13. ''License'', as used in this section, includes any license, permit, certificate, registration, charter, authority or similar form of permission required by law. Except as otherwise provided in this section, no agency shall revoke or refuse to renew any license unless …

Section 13A. Agencies and political subdivisions of the commonwealth, that issue a license under section 13 shall require an applicant for issuance or renewal of such license to provide a social security number as a condition of issuing or renewing such license and shall record s…

Section 14. Except so far as any provision of law expressly precludes judicial review, any person or appointing authority aggrieved by a final decision of any agency in an adjudicatory proceeding, whether such decision is affirmative or negative in form, shall be entitled to a ju…

Section 15. The supreme judicial court and the appeals court shall have concurrent jurisdiction to review any proceedings had, determinations made, and orders or judgments entered in the superior court pursuant to section fourteen. The supreme judicial court or the appeals court,…

Section 16. The supreme judicial court shall have the power to make rules of pleading, practice and procedure supplementary to and not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter relating to judicial review of administrative action, and to amend such rules, for the purpose o…

Section 17. If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

Section 18. As used in this section and sections 19 to 25, inclusive, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings: ''Deliberation'', an oral or written communication through any medium, including electronic mail, between o…

Section 19. (a) There shall be in the department of the attorney general a division of open government under the direction of a director of open government. The attorney general shall designate an assistant attorney general as the director of the open government division. The dir…

Section 1A. The department of correction shall be subject to sections one through eight, inclusive, and shall not otherwise be subject to this chapter, notwithstanding the exclusion of said department from the definition of the word ''agency'' in section one.

Section 1B. The department of youth services shall be subject to sections one to eight, inclusive, and shall not otherwise be subject to this chapter, notwithstanding the exclusion of said department from the definition of the word ''agency'' in section one.

Section 1C. The parole board shall be subject to sections one to eight, inclusive, and shall not otherwise be subject to this chapter, notwithstanding the exclusion of said board from the definition of the word ''agency'' in section one.

Section 1D. The criminal record review board shall be subject to sections 1 to 8, inclusive, and shall not otherwise be subject to this chapter.

Section 2. A public hearing is required prior to the adoption, amendment, or repeal of any regulation if: (a) violation of the regulation is punishable by fine or imprisonment; or, (b) a public hearing is required by the enabling legislation of the agency or by any other law; or,…

Section 20. (a) Except as provided in section 21, all meetings of a public body shall be open to the public. (b) Except in an emergency, in addition to any notice otherwise required by law, a public body shall post notice of every meeting at least 48 hours prior to the meeting, e…

Section 21. (a) A public body may meet in executive session only for the following purposes: (1) To discuss the reputation, character, physical condition or mental health, rather than professional competence, of an individual, or to discuss the discipline or dismissal of, or comp…

Section 22. (a) A public body shall create and maintain accurate minutes of all meetings, including executive sessions, setting forth the date, time and place, the members present or absent, a summary of the discussions on each subject, a list of documents and other exhibits used…

Section 23. (a) Subject to appropriation, the attorney general shall interpret and enforce the open meeting law. (b) At least 30 days prior to the filing of a complaint with the attorney general, the complainant shall file a written complaint with the public body, setting forth t…

Section 24. (a) Whenever the attorney general has reasonable cause to believe that a person, including any public body and any other state, regional, county, municipal or other governmental official or entity, has violated the open meeting law, the attorney general may conduct an…

Section 25. (a) The attorney general shall have the authority to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out enforcement of the open meeting law. (b) The attorney general shall have the authority to interpret the open meeting law and to issue written letter rulings or advisory …

Section 3. Prior to the adoption, amendment, or repeal of any regulation for which a public hearing is not required under section two, the agency shall give notice and afford interested persons an opportunity to present data, views, or arguments as follows: The agency shall, with…

Section 3A. Notices filed in accordance with sections two and three shall be published by the state secretary as required by section six no later than one week prior to the date of any hearing or action to which such notices relate.

Section 4. Any interested person may petition an agency requesting the adoption, amendment or repeal of any regulation, and may accompany his petition with such data, views and arguments as he thinks pertinent. Each agency shall prescribe by regulation the procedure for the submi…

Section 5. Two attested copies of the regulations of each agency shall be filed with the state secretary together with a citation of the law by authority of which the same purport to have been issued, and together with the dates of approval by other boards or agencies if required…

Section 5A. Rules and regulations shall be reviewed at least once every 12 years after their publication as the final rules or regulations to ensure that those rules and regulations minimize economic impact on small businesses in a manner consistent with the stated objectives of …

Section 6. Documents required or authorized to be published by this section shall be printed and distributed by the state secretary in a serial publication entitled the ''Massachusetts Register''. The state secretary shall contract and arrange, subject to all pertinent statutes, …

Section 6A. Prior to publication of the first issue of the Massachusetts Register, the state secretary shall first cause to be published all currently effective agency regulations in a special publication of the Massachusetts Register to be designated as the ''Code of Massachuset…

Section 6B. Each agency shall purchase a copy or copies of the issues of the register which contain regulations or notices of that agency and make at least one copy readily available in a prominent place at each of the agency's offices for the purpose of public inspection and cop…

Section 6C. If the state secretary finds that any agency fails to comply with any provision of section six B, he shall report the matter to the governor and the attorney general.

Section 6D. The state secretary shall publish, annually, in the first issue of the Massachusetts Register a plan submitted by each executive office containing a list of regulations expected to be promulgated during the next twelve month period. The state secretary shall publish a…

Section 6E. If the state secretary finds that any agency fails to comply with any provision of section six D, he shall report such noncompliance to the governor and the attorney general.

Section 7. Unless an exclusive mode of review is provided by law, judicial review of any regulation or of the sufficiency of the reasons for its adoption as an emergency regulation may be had through an action for declaratory relief in the manner and to the extent provided under …

Section 8. On request of any interested person, an agency may make an advisory ruling with respect to the applicability to any person, property or state of facts of any statute or regulation enforced or administered by that agency. In issuing the advisory ruling, the agency need …

Section 9. The commissioner of administration shall file with the state secretary prior to July first, nineteen hundred and seventy-eight, rules and regulations for the conduct of adjudicatory proceedings which shall be promulgated pursuant to the rule making procedures of this c…