Massachusetts Statutes

Section 31. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no joint committee of the general court shall, unless authorized by order or rule of both branches, incur any expense to be paid by the commonwealth; and no committee of either branch shall, unless authorized by order or r…

Section 32. No committee of the general court shall, after the close of the regular session, incur any expense to be paid by the commonwealth unless there is an authorized appropriation therefor.

Section 32A. No special commission, no special or standing committee of the general court or of either branch of the general court and no sub-committee of any such commission or committee shall travel either within or without the commonwealth except by a vote of a majority of the…

Section 33. The committees on rules of the 2 branches, acting concurrently, shall publish electronically during each regular session of the general court bulletins of committee hearings.

Section 35. Advertisements of hearings of legislative committees shall be published on the official website of the general court and may be published in additional publications if the chairs of the committee determine that additional publication is necessary to reach those with a…

Section 38A. Joint committees of the general court, the house and senate committees on ways and means and the house and senate committees on bonding, capital expenditures and state assets when reporting favorably on bills referred to them shall include with that report a fiscal n…

Section 38B. The committee on ways and means of each branch of the general court shall conduct public hearings on all requests and recommendations for appropriations for the executive, judicial and legislative branches of the state government submitted under section 2 of Article …

Section 38C. (a) For the purposes of this section, a mandated health benefit proposal is one that mandates health insurance coverage for specific health services, specific diseases or certain providers of health care services as part of a policy or policies of group life and acci…

Section 39. As used in sections thirty-nine to fifty, inclusive, the following words shall, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, have the following meanings:— ''Act to communicate directly with a covered executive official to influence a decision concerning policy or p…

Section 4. A person having a certificate or other documentary evidence of his election as a representative who is not named on said lists may, after the house has been called to order, present such certificate or evidence to the presiding officer, or to the speaker if one has bee…

Section 41. The state secretary shall keep a docket which may be in the form of an electronic database. All information required to be filed under this section shall be organized into the docket and shall be open and accessible for public inspection during normal business hours. …

Section 42. No person shall make any agreement whereby any compensation or thing of value is to be paid to any person contingent upon a decision as described in the definition of ''executive lobbying'', or the passage or defeat of any legislation or the approval or veto of any le…

Section 43. On or before the fifteenth day of July, complete from January first through June thirtieth; and the fifteenth day of January, complete from July first to December thirty-first of the preceding year, every executive and legislative agent shall render to the state secre…

Section 44. On or before the fifteenth day of July, complete from January first through June thirtieth; and the fifteenth day of January, complete from July first to December thirty-first of the preceding year, any group or organization, however constituted, not employing an exec…

Section 45. (a) Upon receipt of a sworn complaint signed under pains and penalties of perjury, or upon receipt of evidence which is deemed sufficient by the state secretary, the state secretary shall initiate a preliminary inquiry into any alleged violation of sections 39 to 50, …

Section 46. The docket of executive and legislative agents shall be maintained for each legislative year, beginning on the first Wednesday of January and ending at the conclusion of business on the final day before the succeeding legislative session.

Section 47. On or before the fifteenth day of July, complete from January first through June thirtieth; and the fifteenth day of January, complete from July first to December thirty-first of the preceding year, every employer of an executive or legislative agent shall render to t…

Section 48. Violation of any provision of sections forty, forty-one, forty-two, forty-three and forty-four, or forty-seven shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred, nor more than $10,000, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or in a ja…

Section 49. The supreme judicial court or superior court may compel any person, group, or organization failing to file a statement required by sections forty-three, forty-four or forty-seven, or filing a statement not conforming to the requirements of said sections in respect to …

Section 5. Any petition to the general court for the incorporation of a city or town, for the annexation of one municipality to another, for the consolidation of two or more municipalities or for the division of an existing municipality, or for the incorporation or revival of a r…

Section 50. Sections thirty-nine to forty-nine, inclusive, shall not apply to employees or agents of the commonwealth or of a city, town, district or regional school district who are acting in their capacity as such employees or agents or to any person requested to appear before …

Section 51. The committees on rules of the senate and house of representatives shall each appoint a skilled person to act as counsel to the senate and house of representatives, respectively, at such compensation as the said committees may approve. The persons so appointed shall s…

Section 52. The said counsel shall, under like direction, assist members and committees of the senate and house of representatives in drafting bills, and shall advise and assist the committees on bills in the third reading. They shall, so far as possible, draft all bills proposed…

Section 53. Said counsel may, from time to time, submit to the general court such proposed changes and corrections in the general statutes as they deem necessary or advisable, including recommendations for the repeal of such statutory provisions as have become obsolete or the rea…

Section 54. The said counsel may employ such legal and other assistance as may be necessary in the discharge of their duties, subject to the approval of the said committees on rules, and may expend with like approval such sums as may be necessary for office, printing and other ex…

Section 55. The said counsel shall not be deemed to be executive or administrative officers within the meaning of the constitution, but shall serve directly under the general court. They and their assistants shall not be subject to chapter thirty-one.

Section 55A. The committees on rules of the two branches, acting concurrently, shall appoint a skilled person as recodification counsel and a skilled person as assistant recodification counsel. The assistant recodification counsel shall assist the recodification counsel in the pe…

Section 5A. (a) In order to use for another purpose or otherwise dispose of land, an easement or other real property interest subject to Article XCVII of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth, a public entity, which for the purposes of this section shall include …

Section 62. There shall be an advisory commission on local government, hereinafter referred to as the commission. The commission shall consist of forty members of whom twenty-nine shall be appointed by the governor with the advice of the secretary of housing and livable communiti…

Section 63. The following words and phrases, as used in this section and in section sixty-four, shall have the following meanings unless a different meaning is required by the context: ''Agency'', a separate agency or unit of state government created or established by law, includ…

Section 64. There are hereby established in the legislative branch of the state government two bureaus of post audit and oversight, one each to serve under and at the discretion of the senate committee on post audit and oversight and the house of representatives committee on post…

Section 65. There is hereby established in the senate a senate art committee, hereinafter called the committee, to consist of the president and the minority leader thereof, and seven persons to be appointed by the president, of whom at least 1 may be a member of The Doric Docents…

Section 66. (1) There is established a permanent commission on the status of women consisting of 19 persons as follows: five persons appointed by the governor; four persons appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; four persons appointed by the president of the se…

Section 67. (a) There shall be a permanent commission on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth, which shall consist of 27 persons as follows: 3 persons appointed by the Massachusetts chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, 3 persons appoi…

Section 68. (a) There shall be a permanent commission on the status of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders which shall consist of 21 persons as follows: 3 persons to be appointed by the governor; 3 persons to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; 3 person…

Section 69. (a) There shall be a permanent commission on the status of grandparents raising grandchildren which shall consist of 15 persons as follows: 3 persons appointed by the secretary of aging and independence, 1 of whom shall be from the secretary's office; 1 person appoint…

Section 7. Any petition to the general court, except a petition subject to the provisions of section five for the establishment or revival, or for the amendment, alteration or extension of the charter or corporate powers or privileges, or for the change of name of any corporation…

Section 70. (a) There shall be a permanent commission on the future of the metropolitan beaches to consist of: 5 members of the senate, 1 of whom shall serve as co-chair and 1 of whom shall be the minority leader or a designee; 7 members of the house of representatives, 1 of whom…

Section 71. (a) There shall be a permanent commission on older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, adults and their caregivers to consist of the following members or their designees: the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on elder affairs who shall serve …

Section 72. (a) There shall be a permanent commission on the status of African Americans. The commission shall consist of: 3 persons appointed by the governor from a list of not less than 5 nominees provided by the Massachusetts branches of the National Association for the Advanc…

Section 73. (a) There shall be a permanent commission on the status of Latinos and Latinas. The commission shall consist of: 3 persons appointed by the governor from a list of not less than 5 nominees provided by gateway municipalities as defined in section 3A of chapter 23A wher…

Section 74. (a) There shall be a permanent commission on the status of persons with disabilities. The commission shall consist of: 3 persons appointed by the president of the senate; 3 persons appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; 1 person appointed by the min…

Section 75. (a) There shall be a permanent commission on the social status of Black men and boys to study and examine issues which disproportionately have a negative impact on Black men and boys in the commonwealth. The commission shall: (i) signal that the issues facing the Blac…

Section 8. When evaluating a petition by a city or town to borrow money in excess of the statutory limit of indebtedness under section 10 of chapter 44, the legislative committee to which that petition may be referred shall solicit a report on the financial condition of the city …

Section 8A. A petition filed or approved by the voters of a city or town, or the mayor and city council or other legislative body of a city, or the town meeting or other legislative body of a town, for submission to the general court pursuant to the provisions of Section 8 of Art…

Section 9B. (a) The president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives shall each receive for each regular annual session, in addition to the base compensation calculated pursuant to Article CXVIII, additional regular compensation in the amount of $80,000. (b…