General Laws of Massachusetts - Chapter 159 Common Carriers

• Massachusetts General Laws - Duties; jurisdiction to enforce - Chapter 159, Section 1
  Every common carrier of merchandise or other property shall receive, transport and forward all property offered for such purposes by other such carriers as promptly,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Penalty - Chapter 159, Section 2
  Every such carrier who wilfully neglects or refuses to comply with the preceding section shall forfeit not less than fifty nor more than five hundred...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Limitations upon liability imposed by carrier - Chapter 159, Section 3
  No common carrier of passengers shall, by rule, regulation, sign or otherwise, require passengers whom it suffers to enter, or leave by, a door of...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Security required of employee to indemnify against neglect; penalty - Chapter 159, Section 4
  A corporation engaged in carrying passengers or in transporting freight for hire shall not require or receive from a person who is employed or about...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Foreign express businesses; appointment of general agent - Chapter 159, Section 5
  Every association of persons who are not inhabitants of this commonwealth which does an express business therein shall in writing appoint a person, who is...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Foreign express businesses; general agent’s bond - Chapter 159, Section 6
  Such general agent shall give bond to the state treasurer, with one or more sureties to be approved by him, in the sum of two...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Foreign express businesses; failure of agent to comply with Secs. 5 and 6; penalty - Chapter 159, Section 7
  No person shall act for more than thirty days as such general agent unless the two proceeding sections have been complied with; and whoever so...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Protection of carriers; misuse of orders; penalty - Chapter 159, Section 8
  Whoever, with intent to defraud or injure in his business a person licensed by any town as a carrier of goods for hire, takes from...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Express business upon steamboat lines; application of provisions relating to railroads - Chapter 159, Section 9
  Sections one hundred and ninety-three, two hundred and six and two hundred and thirty-three of chapter one hundred and sixty shall apply to steamboat lines...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Enforcement of chapter by department of telecommunications and cable and department of public utilities - Chapter 159, Section 10
  The department of telecommunications and cable shall enforce this chapter to the extent that it relates to telecommunications. The department of public utilities shall enforce...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Record of action by department - Chapter 159, Section 11
  Every vote, recommendation and order of the department relative to common carriers shall be entered of record.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Services supervised and regulated by department - Chapter 159, Section 12
  The department shall, so far as may be necessary for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of law relative thereto, have general supervision and...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Definitions applicable to Secs. 12B to 12D - Chapter 159, Section 12A
  The following words, when used in sections twelve B to twelve D, inclusive, shall have the following meanings unless the context otherwise requires: “Authorized service...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Mobile radio telephone service; certification; exemptions - Chapter 159, Section 12B
  No person offering or proposing to offer mobile radio telephone service to the public within the commonwealth shall begin or continue the construction or operation...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Jurisdiction of department over certified radio utilities; rate below maximum; notice - Chapter 159, Section 12C
  Any radio utility operating under a certificate issued by the department shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the department in the same manner and...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Secs. 12A to 12C not applicable to telephone or telegraph utilities - Chapter 159, Section 12D
  The provisions of sections twelve A to twelve C, inclusive, are not applicable to any telephone or telegraph utility regulated by the department or to...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Third party verification service providers; registration - Chapter 159, Section 12E
  (a) (1) A company that provides third party verification services pursuant to section 109 of chapter 93 shall apply for registration with the department. (2)...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Inquiry into rates, etc. - Chapter 159, Section 13
  The department may inquire into the rates, charges, regulations, practices, equipment and services of common carriers in this commonwealth, and elsewhere, rendering any service of...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Unjust rates, fares or charges; orders to fix; orders for reparation - Chapter 159, Section 14
  Whenever the department shall be of opinion, after a hearing had upon its own motion or upon complaint, that any of the rates, fares or...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Aircraft, rates and charges - Chapter 159, Section 14A
  Every common carrier by aircraft maintaining an established service over regular scheduled routes for general public service shall public and file with the department and...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Free service, tickets, passes or transportation prohibited; exceptions - Chapter 159, Section 15
  Except as provided by section two hundred of chapter one hundred and sixty, no common carrier shall, directly or indirectly, issue or give any free...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Regulations, practices, equipment, appliances or service of carrier; department control, hearing and order; proof of compliance - Chapter 159, Section 16
  If the department is of opinion, after a hearing had upon its own motion or upon complaint, that the regulations, practices, equipment, appliances or service...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Factors in ordering discontinuance or abandonment of railway service - Chapter 159, Section 16A
  The department before authorizing any railroad to discontinue or abandon any of its lines, stations or other service, may consider, in addition to other facts,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Charges for service; regulation - Chapter 159, Section 17
  All charges made, demanded or received by any common carrier for any service rendered or performed, or to be rendered or performed by it or...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Classes of rates established by carrier; special rates - Chapter 159, Section 18
  Subject to the powers of the department to regulate and prescribe rates and charges, a common carrier may make commodity, transit or other classes of...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Filing of rate schedules - Chapter 159, Section 19
  Every common carrier shall file with the department and shall plainly print and keep open to public inspection schedules showing all rates, joint rates, fares,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Directory assistance rate schedules - Chapter 159, Section 19A
  The department may approve a rate, fare, toll or charge for directory assistance service pursuant to schedules filed with the department; provided, however, that for...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Automatic telephone dialing systems; definition - Chapter 159, Section 19B
  As used in sections nineteen C and nineteen D, the following words shall, unless the context requires otherwise, have the following meanings:— “Automatic telephone dialing...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Notification of wish not to receive calls from automatic telephone dialing system - Chapter 159, Section 19C
  Any person who is a customer of a common carrier and who wishes not to receive telephone calls from an automatic telephone dialing system may...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Design and operation of automatic telephone dialing systems - Chapter 159, Section 19D
  Any automatic telephone dialing system sold in the commonwealth shall be designed to prevent the selection or dialing of any telephone numbers listed pursuant to...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Solicitations by telephone; required disclosures; misrepresentation - Chapter 159, Section 19E
  No person shall solicit a sale or order for sale of goods or services at the residence of a prospective buyer by means of a...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Notice and hearing upon proposed rate schedule changes; order - Chapter 159, Section 20
  Whenever the department receives notice of any changes proposed to be made in any schedule filed by any common carrier not furnishing the service of...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Establishment of through routes for passengers and freight - Chapter 159, Section 21
  Wherever there is no satisfactory through route for the transportation of passengers or freight at a reasonable rate, the department may order, after notice and...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Railway signals required by department - Chapter 159, Section 22
  The department may from time to time require railroad and railway corporations to install and maintain at such places upon the railroad or railway premises...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Notice to railway of recommended improvements and changes - Chapter 159, Section 23
  If the department is of opinion that repairs are necessary upon any railroad or railway, or that an addition to its rolling stock, or an...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Hearing upon complaint concerning service or rates of carrier transmitting intelligence by electricity - Chapter 159, Section 24
  Upon written complaint, relative to the service or charges for service in, to or from any city or town as rendered or made by any...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Hearings; notice to interested members of general court - Chapter 159, Section 25
  The department shall give seasonable notice by mail to any member of the general court of any hearing before the department concerning common carriers upon...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Valuation and revaluation of carrier’s property - Chapter 159, Section 26
  The department may investigate and determine the fair value for any purpose of all the property of any common carrier rendering a public service subject...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Inspections - Chapter 159, Section 27
  The department may, either through its members or responsible agents, engineers, inspectors or examiners duly authorized by it, enter upon any premises occupied by any...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Notice of accidents - Chapter 159, Section 28
  Every railroad corporation, railway company and carrier of passengers for hire by motor vehicle under the jurisdiction of the department shall give immediate notice of...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Investigation of accidents - Chapter 159, Section 29
  An inspector shall, under the direction of the department, investigate as promptly as may be any accident upon a railroad, railway or motor vehicle of...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Defects; information by employee; protection of source - Chapter 159, Section 30
  An employee may make written complaint to the department of a defect in the ways, works, machinery or appliances, or any car or vehicle, of...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Forms of accounts, records and memoranda - Chapter 159, Section 31
  The department may, from time to time, prescribe forms of accounts, records and memoranda for the common carriers under its supervision, or for such classes...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Annual return; form; time of filing; amendment - Chapter 159, Section 32
  The department shall prescribe the forms for the annual returns to be made to it by the several kinds of common carriers and may from...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Express business; annual return - Chapter 159, Section 33
  Every person doing an express business upon either a railroad or railway in the commonwealth shall annually transmit to the department a return on oath...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Examination of books, etc.; subpoena duces tecum - Chapter 159, Section 34
  The department, through its commissioners or by employees duly authorized, may examine all books, contracts, records, documents, papers and memoranda of any common carrier, and...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Supervision of companies affiliated with carrier - Chapter 159, Section 34A
  (a) The department shall have general supervision of every affiliated company, as hereinafter defined, with respect to all relations, transactions and dealings, direct or indirect,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Examination of condition of company on request of interested party - Chapter 159, Section 35
  Upon the written application of a director, or of any person owning one fiftieth part of the paid-in capital stock of a corporation or company...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Annual audit - Chapter 159, Section 36
  The department may provide for an annual audit by employees duly authorized by it of all accounts of any common carrier or class of common
• Massachusetts General Laws - Service of orders of department; notification of receipt and acceptance - Chapter 159, Section 37
  Every order of the department shall be served upon every person or corporation to be affected thereby, either by personal delivery of a certified copy...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Effect of request or advice of department - Chapter 159, Section 38
  No request or advice of the department shall in any manner impair the legal duties and obligations of a railroad corporation or railway company or...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Violations; action by attorney general - Chapter 159, Section 39
  If in the judgment of the department any common carrier violates or neglects in any respect to comply with the provisions of any law, and...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Violations or threatened violations; mandamus or injunction - Chapter 159, Section 40
  Whenever the department is of opinion that a common carrier subject to its supervision is failing or omitting or about to fail or omit to...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Representation at hearings concerning proposed legislation affecting department - Chapter 159, Section 41
  The department may be represented at any public hearing before any legislative committee or public board in the commonwealth, or of any other state or...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 1922, 259, Sec. 2 - Chapter 159, Section 42
  Repealed, 1922, 259, Sec.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Annual report of department - Chapter 159, Section 43
  The department shall make an annual report including such statements, facts and explanations as will describe the actual working of the system of carriers under...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Examinations or audits by department; divulging information; penalty - Chapter 159, Section 44
  Any employee or agent of the department who divulges any fact or information coming to his knowledge during the course of any examination or audit...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 1931, 408, Sec. 2 - Chapter 159, Section 45 to 49A
  Repealed, 1931, 408, Sec.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Offer of new capital stock to stockholders; notice; price; time of acceptance - Chapter 159, Section 50
  Any corporation which owns or operates a railroad, railway, electric railroad or elevated railway shall, upon any increase of its capital stock, except as provided...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Auction of new capital stock - Chapter 159, Section 51
  If such increase does not exceed four per cent of the existing capital stock of the company, the directors, without first offering the same to...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Basis of determination by department as to amount of new capital stock - Chapter 159, Section 52
  The determination by the department, under the provisions of section forty-eight of chapter one hundred and sixty and section twenty-eight of chapter one hundred and...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Computation of amount of capital stock as basis for bond issue - Chapter 159, Section 53
  In computing the amount of capital stock of a railroad corporation, electric railroad, railway or elevated railway company in order to determine the maximum amount...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Approval by department; public hearing - Chapter 159, Section 54
  A lease or purchase and sale of the franchise and property of a railroad corporation, or railway company, and a consolidation of two or more...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 1957, 765, Sec. 2 - Chapter 159, Section 55 56
  Repealed, 1957, 765, Sec.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Consent of department - Chapter 159, Section 57
  A railway shall not be constructed across the tracks of a railroad nor shall a railroad be constructed across the tracks of a railway at...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Supervision of crossing following consent of department - Chapter 159, Section 58
  In any case in which the consent or approval of the department required by law for any crossing at grade is given, it may, after...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Proceedings to alter crossing - Chapter 159, Section 59
  If a public way and a railroad cross each other, and the board of aldermen of the city or the selectmen of the town where...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Eminent domain - Chapter 159, Section 60
  If it is decided that the location of the railroad or of the way shall be changed, land or other property may be taken therefor...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Party to carry award into effect and to pay charges - Chapter 159, Section 61
  A commission of three disinterested persons, appointed as provided in the following section, shall determine which party shall carry such decision into effect and which...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Appointment of commission; hearing; notice - Chapter 159, Section 62
  Unless the parties in interest agree as provided in section sixty-one, upon application of the county commissioners, the department, the department of highways, the board...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Revision of award; jury - Chapter 159, Section 63
  A party aggrieved by said award may, within fourteen days after the return thereof, apply to the court for a jury to revise and determine...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Recovery after alteration of proportion of expense - Chapter 159, Section 64
  The party designated for that duty, having carried into effect the decision made under section fifty-nine, may recover in contract from any other party the...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Proceedings to abolish grade crossings - Chapter 159, Section 65
  The department of highways shall proceed to make an investigation of crossings where a public or private way and a railroad cross each other at...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 1930, 417, Sec. 2 - Chapter 159, Section 66 to 69
  Repealed, 1930, 417, Sec.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Manner and limits of grade crossing abolitions; costs; apportionment - Chapter 159, Section 70
  The department of highways shall proceed to consider the abolition of grade crossings in the order established by the program orders as adopted and amended...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 1930, 417, Sec. 2 - Chapter 159, Section 71
  Repealed, 1930, 417, Sec.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Crossing abolished upon state highway; clear view - Chapter 159, Section 72
  Whenever a grade crossing is abolished upon a state highway, county way, or way which has been petitioned for as a state highway, the said...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Financing cost of abolishing crossing by street railway company - Chapter 159, Section 73
  The amount of any expenditure under section eighty by a street railway company toward the cost of abolishing a grade crossing shall be deemed and...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Change of location - Chapter 159, Section 74
  If in an order of abolition under section seventy it is determined that the location of the railroad or of the public or private way...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Damages - Chapter 159, Section 75
  All damages sustained by any person in his property by the taking of land for or by the alterations of the grade of a public...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Settlement of claims; failure to file petition - Chapter 159, Section 76
  In any case arising under the preceding section, where any person sustaining damage to his property in the manner therein specified fails to bring a...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Expenses of maintenance and repair - Chapter 159, Section 77
  After the completion of the work, the expense of maintenance and repair shall be paid as follows: if the public way crosses the railroad by...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Audit of expenses; investigations; orders of payment of apportioned share - Chapter 159, Section 78
  All accounts of expense incurred by the railroad corporations or the city or town shall from time to time be submitted to the department of...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Enforcement; review - Chapter 159, Section 79
  The superior court shall have jurisdiction in equity to enforce compliance with sections sixty-five to eighty-two, inclusive, and with the orders and agreements made thereunder....
• Massachusetts General Laws - Proceedings upon agreement as to alterations - Chapter 159, Section 80
  If the board of aldermen of a city or the selectmen of a town where a public way and a railroad cross each other and...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 1930, 417, Sec. 2 - Chapter 159, Section 81
  Repealed, 1930, 417, Sec.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Application - Chapter 159, Section 82
  Sections fifty-nine to sixty-four, inclusive, of this chapter and sections one hundred and eight, one hundred and eleven, one hundred and twelve, one hundred and...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Examination by railways; report; submission of plans for bridge - Chapter 159, Section 83
  Every railroad corporation and railway company shall, upon request of the department, and at least once in two years, cause an examination of its tracks...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Maintenance and repair; hearing; order - Chapter 159, Section 84
  If the county commissioners of a county, the board of aldermen of a city or the selectmen of a town where a bridge at the...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Enforcement - Chapter 159, Section 85
  If railroad corporations, railway companies, counties, cities, towns, or any of them, jointly or severally, are charged with the duty of maintaining or repairing any...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Formation of relief corporation - Chapter 159, Section 86
  Seven or more persons, a majority of whom are residents of the commonwealth, being employees of any railroad, railway or steamboat corporation, organized under the...
• Massachusetts General Laws - By-laws; statements of membership and financial condition - Chapter 159, Section 87
  The by-laws of such corporation shall be approved by the department, and shall prescribe the manner in which, and the officers and agents by whom,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Association of railroad corporation with relief corporations - Chapter 159, Section 88
  A railroad corporation operating a railroad or portion thereof in the commonwealth, or a railway company, may, by vote of its directors, associate itself with...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 1964, 400, Sec. 2 - Chapter 159, Section 89 to 91
  Repealed, 1964, 400, Sec.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Badges - Chapter 159, Section 92
  Special police officers appointed by the colonel of state police under the provisions of section fifty-one of chapter twenty-two C shall, when on duty except...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Powers - Chapter 159, Section 93
  Railroad, railway, railway express or steamboat police officers may preserve order on the premises, cars, vehicles, vessels and boats of the corporation or company upon...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Arrest of offenders - Chapter 159, Section 94
  The person so arrested by railroad, railway or railway express police officers shall be taken to the police station or other place of lawful detention...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Compensation of police; liability for misconduct of police - Chapter 159, Section 95
  Railroad, railway, railway express and steamboat police officers shall be paid by the corporation or company upon whose petition they are appointed. Such corporation or...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Action for debt due for constructing a railroad - Chapter 159, Section 96
  A person to whom a debt is due for labor performed or for materials furnished and actually used in constructing a railroad or railway under...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Exception; contractor - Chapter 159, Section 97
  A person who has contracted to construct the whole or a specified part of such railroad or railway shall not have such right of action.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Notice of intention by materialman; filing; fee - Chapter 159, Section 98
  A person shall not have such right of action for materials furnished, unless, before beginning to furnish them, he files in the office of the...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Statement of amount due for labor performed; filing; fee - Chapter 159, Section 99
  A person shall not have such right of action for labor performed, unless, within thirty days after ceasing to perform it, he files in the...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Limitation of actions - Chapter 159, Section 100
  Such action shall not be maintained unless begun within sixty days after the plaintiff ceased to perform such labor or to furnish such materials.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Evasion of payment of toll or fare - Chapter 159, Section 101
  (a) Whoever fraudulently evades or attempts to evade the payment of a fare lawfully established by a railroad corporation or railway company, either by giving...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Designation of torpedoes or other explosives - Chapter 159, Section 102
  No railroad corporation or railway company or any officer or employee thereof shall use or deposit a torpedo or other explosive upon or near the...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Injury to signals, tracks, cars, etc. - Chapter 159, Section 103
  Whoever unlawfully and intentionally injures, molests or destroys any signal of a railroad corporation or railway company, or any line, wire, post or other structure...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Throwing or shooting missiles - Chapter 159, Section 104
  Whoever wilfully throws or shoots a missile at a locomotive engine, or railroad or railway car or train, or at a motor bus or trackless...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Application - Chapter 159, Section 105
  The jurisdiction, powers, authority and discretion delegated to the department by sections ten to twenty-six, inclusive, of this chapter and section one hundred and eighty-five...

Last modified: September 11, 2015