Massachusetts Statutes

Section 11. There shall be in the department, but in no manner subject to its control, a commission on hypertension, hereinafter called the commission. The commission shall consist of three persons to be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the council, who s…

Section 13. (a) There shall be in the department a drug formulary commission consisting of 16 members. The commission shall include: the commissioner of public health or a designee, who shall serve as the chair of the commission; the director of Medicaid or a designee; the commis…

Section 15. (a) There shall be an advisory council on organ and tissue transplants and donations which shall consist of the commissioner of public health; the registrar of motor vehicles; the director of organ transplants; the president of the Massachusetts Medical Society; and a…

Section 16. There shall be in the department an office of violence prevention whose purpose shall be to coordinate and expand violence prevention activities, to reduce the incidences of interpersonal violence and intentional injury. The duties of said office shall consist of the …

Section 17. There shall be an advisory council on quality of care in nursing homes to consist of the commissioner of public health, the commissioner of medical assistance, the secretary of aging and independence, the director of the Commonwealth Corporation and 11 persons to be a…

Section 18. (a) There shall be a bureau of substance addiction services within the department. (b) The bureau shall establish and advertise a free, anonymous and confidential toll-free telephone helpline that provides comprehensive, accurate and current information and referrals …

Section 18A. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise: ''Alcohol and drug free housing'', a residence, commonly known as a sober home, that provides or advertises as providing, an alcohol and …

Section 19. The department shall promulgate regulations relative to coordination of care and management that includes effective discharge planning for substance use disorder treatment programs subject to licensure or approval under sections 24 and 24D of chapter 90, sections 6 an…

Section 2. At the time of appointment, the commissioner shall be a graduate of an accredited four-year college or university and shall have had (a) not less than eight years of administrative experience of which at least three years shall have been in the organization, management…

Section 20. There shall be established and placed within the department of public health a fund to be known as the Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance Fund, in this section referred to as the fund, to support innovative practices to prevent domestic and …

Section 21. The department of public health shall promulgate regulations relative to patient access to hospital emergency rooms or departments that would require all hospitals in the commonwealth to meet minimum criteria and standards that ensure safe, timely and accessible patie…

Section 22. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings: ''Certified school'', a school certified by the department pursuant to subsection (c). ''Certified training program'', a training progra…

Section 2A. Upon declaration by the governor that an emergency exists which is detrimental to the public health, the commissioner may, with the approval of the governor and the public health council, during such period of emergency, take such action and incur such liabilities as …

Section 3. (a) There shall be a public health council to advise the commissioner of public health and to perform other duties as required by law. The council shall consist of the commissioner of public health as chairperson and 14 members appointed for terms of 6 years under this…

Section 4. There shall be in the department a division of sanatoria, a division of communicable and venereal diseases, a division of food and drugs, a division of alcoholism, a division of drug rehabilitation, a division of organ transplants and such other divisions as the commis…

Section 4A. There shall be in the department a poison information and control center to accept inquiries and provide comprehensive, full-time, centralized professional information to cities and towns of the commonwealth. The department may through agencies of the commonwealth or …

Section 5. The commissioner may, with the approval of the public health council, designate the director of one or more, but not more than three, divisions as deputy commissioners, who shall perform such duties as may be prescribed by the commissioner, and he may, with like approv…

Section 6. The commissioner may, with the approval of the public health council, appoint assistant directors of divisions and epidemiologists, inspectors and other necessary employees. Persons appointed hereunder shall be subject to chapter thirty-one. The commissioner may requir…

Section 6A. Under the supervision of the commissioner, superintendents of hospitals under the control and supervision of the department may establish programs for the training of residents in medicine, and in such other specialties and subspecialties of medicine as he may deem ne…

Section 6B. The commissioner shall appoint a hearings officer who shall be an attorney and who shall not be subject to chapter thirty-one. He shall hold hearings as provided in chapter one hundred and eleven.

Section 7. The commissioner, with the approval of the public health council, shall appoint a district health officer for each health district provided in section four of chapter one hundred and eleven. Such officers shall be graduates of incorporated medical schools, admitted to …

Section 7A. The commissioner, with the approval of the secretary of health and human services, may designate certain physicians and dentists employed by the department as public health officers; provided, however, that there shall be not more than ten public health officers in th…

Section 1. There shall be a department of transitional assistance, in this chapter called the department.

Section 10. The commissioner shall annually prepare and submit to the governor and the general court, on or before the first day of November, a report which shall contain the description of organization of the department and a concise review of the work of the department and of t…

Section 11. No department, bureau or agency of the commonwealth or of any political subdivision thereof, which under any provision of law is furnished with the names of recipients of public assistance, shall permit the publication of lists of such names or make use thereof for pu…

Section 14. The department is hereby authorized to enter into reciprocal agreements with other states regarding the interstate transportation of poor and indigent persons, and to arrange for the acceptance and support of persons receiving public aid in other states, in accordance…

Section 15. A treasurer of a savings bank, national bank, trust company, co-operative bank, benefit association, insurance company or safe deposit company authorized to do business in the commonwealth who, upon written request, signed by an officer of the department, unreasonably…

Section 16. There shall be within the office of the deputy commissioner a division of hearings for the purpose of holding the hearings referred to herein and rendering decisions. Said division shall be under the supervision of a director appointed by the commissioner and shall be…

Section 17. Notwithstanding the provisions of section twenty-two of chapter twenty-nine or any other provisions of law, funds made available by appropriation, or otherwise, for enabling the department to carry out the provisions of law for furnishing public assistance to individu…

Section 18. In any case where the department is obligated to pay any sums in excess of the approved budget because of an arrearage incurred by the recipient, under any of the programs administered by the department, the department shall be reimbursed in a manner not inconsistent …

Section 18A. The department shall impose the sanction required by federal law for any applicant or recipient of public assistance who fails, without good cause as defined by federal law, to cooperate and to continue to cooperate with the IV–D agency set forth in chapter one hundr…

Section 19. In the case of an emergency or where a recipient is evicted from a furnished or partially furnished apartment and does not have sufficient basic furniture to set up housekeeping such furniture may be authorized by the department after investigation by the social worke…

Section 2. (A) The department shall provide and administer throughout the commonwealth a comprehensive transitional assistance financial assistance program, including the following services: the provision and administration of the supplemental nutrition assistance program, with b…

Section 20. The department may, after approval by the commissioner, authorize the purchase of a home by a recipient where suitable public or private rental accommodations cannot be found. The department shall have a lien on the property so purchased to the extent of assistance gr…

Section 21. The department shall be subrogated to the rights to support and maintenance of any welfare recipient to the extent of any payments made by the department to such recipient. The department shall obtain from said recipients such information, in the recipient's knowledge…

Section 22. For the purpose of considering the need for service or assistance of an applicant or recipient of programs provided in accordance with chapters one hundred and seventeen, one hundred and eighteen, and one hundred and eighteen E, the department shall require the verifi…

Section 26. The department may, upon the written request of any person, trust, corporation, or housing authority, that operates or manages any federal, state or municipally subsidized housing or housing project, pay directly to said manager or operator the rent of recipients of p…

Section 27. The department may, upon the written request of the landlord in the case of a recipient who is in arrears in his rent payment for two consecutive months, pay directly to said landlord, after inspection by the department and written notification by the code enforcement…

Section 27A. A recipient of financial aid from the department shall be given the option of instructing said department to forward all checks of such person to a checking account, established in his name, at any banking institution within the commonwealth which he shall designate.

Section 28. For the purposes of this section the following words shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the following meanings: (1) ''Homemaker services'', care of individuals in their own homes, or helping individuals and families to achieve adequate household and fa…

Section 29. (a)(1) Whenever, by virtue of an investigation by the bureau of special investigations pursuant to section 17 of chapter 11, a person, hereinafter called an obligor, agrees to repay the commonwealth an amount of fraudulently or wrongfully received payments or services…

Section 2A. (a) The department of transitional assistance shall amend the food stamp employment and training plan to maximize the use of the 50–50 match provision, so-called, for the claiming of allowable federal matching funds from the United States Department of Agriculture pur…

Section 2B. (a) Subject to appropriation, the department of transitional assistance shall create an educational program to be implemented in each department of transitional assistance office. The educational program shall: (i) provide financial education information as described …

Section 3. The department shall be under the direction, supervision and control of a commissioner of transitional assistance, in this chapter called the commissioner. The secretary of health and human services shall appoint, with the approval of the governor, the commissioner who…

Section 30. (a) This section shall apply to the collection of overpayments of financial assistance paid by the department to persons receiving benefits under any program of such assistance administered by the department. An overpayment obligation is one established by a judgment …

Section 31. (a) The department, in collaboration with the commonwealth corporation, shall develop a job diversion program for applicants for cash assistance under transitional aid to families with dependent children to identify applicants who have the necessary job skills and exp…