General Laws of Massachusetts - Chapter 3 The General Court

• Massachusetts General Laws - Records of votes cast for representatives; certificates of examination; duties of state secretary - Chapter 3, Section 1
  The state secretary shall receive the copies of records of votes cast for representatives to the general court and shall lay such copies of records...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Admission of persons listed to take seats as representatives - Chapter 3, Section 2
  The persons named on the lists delivered to the sergeant-at-arms shall be admitted to take seats as members in the representatives’ chamber on said first...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Calling house to order; presiding officer - Chapter 3, Section 3
  On said first Wednesday of January, between the hours of ten in the forenoon and twelve at noon, the persons so returned and admitted as...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Unlisted person may present certificate or evidence of election - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Presentation of certain petitions; notice by publication; deposit and filing of petition and bill; fee - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 1943, 549, Sec. 2 - Chapter 3, Section 6 6A
  Repealed, 1943, 549, Sec.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Petitions for legislation respecting corporations - Chapter 3, 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,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Report on financial condition of town petitioning to borrow outside statutory debt limit - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Petition by city or town pursuant to home rule amendment; number of votes - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 2005, 3, Sec. 1 - Chapter 3, Section 9
  Repealed, 2005, 3, Sec.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 1952, Ex.Sess., 635, Sec. 1 - Chapter 3, Section 9A
  Repealed, 1952, Ex.Sess., 635, Sec.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Member’s allowances for expenses, travel, meals and lodging - Chapter 3, Section 9B
  Each member of the general court shall receive $7,200 annually for expenses to be paid as follows: each member shall be entitled to receive $600...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Allowance for legislative work after prorogation - Chapter 3, Section 9C
  Each member of the general court shall be paid an allowance for each day after prorogation of the general court when on legislative business affairs...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Compensation of members chosen to fill vacancies or who resign - Chapter 3, Section 10
  Each member of the general court chosen to fill a vacancy, or who resigns his seat during a regular annual session, shall be entitled to...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Reimbursement for special elections to fill general court vacancies - Chapter 3, Section 10A
  In special elections, called for the purposes of filling a vacancy in the general court, state funds for compensation of members pursuant to section nine...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 1937, 236, Sec. 2 - Chapter 3, Section 11
  Repealed, 1937, 236, Sec.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Clerks, salary and tenure - Chapter 3, Section 12
  The clerk of the senate and the clerk of the house of representatives shall each receive such salary as may be established by the committee...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Facsimile signatures of clerks - Chapter 3, Section 12A
  Facsimiles of the signatures of the clerk of the senate and the clerk of the house of representatives on endorsements of bills, reports of committees...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Manual - Chapter 3, Section 12B
  The clerks of the 2 branches shall in every odd-numbered year prepare a manual for the general court. Such number of copies of the manual...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Assistant clerks and clerical assistance; appointment, salary and tenure - Chapter 3, Section 13
  The clerks of the senate and house of representatives, subject to the approval of the senate and house, respectively, may each appoint an assistant clerk...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Chaplain of house of representatives; salary - Chapter 3, Section 14
  The chaplain of the house of representatives shall receive such salary as may be established by the committee on rules of the house of representatives,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Sergeant-at-arms; appointment, tenure and salary - Chapter 3, Section 15
  The general court shall choose a sergeant-at-arms who shall hold office until removed or until another is chosen. The sergeant-at-arms may be removed by the...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Assistant sergeant-at-arms; appointment, duties, compensation and removal - Chapter 3, Section 16
  In case of the disability or necessary absence of the sergeant-at-arms of the general court and of the sergeant-at-arms of the house of representatives, the...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Sergeant-at-arms and other legislative officers and employees; duties and police powers - Chapter 3, Section 17
  The sergeant-at-arms shall serve such processes and execute such orders as may be enjoined upon him by the general court or by either branch thereof,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Other legislative employees; compensation - Chapter 3, Section 18
  There shall be 2 chief general court officers for each branch, each with the title of assistant sergeant-at-arms, and such assistant chief general court officers,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 2010, 131, Sec. 4 - Chapter 3, Section 18A
  Repealed, 2010, 131, Sec.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Authorized number of certain legislative employees - Chapter 3, Section 19
  The number of chief general court officers, assistant chief general court officers, general court officers and pages of the senate and of the house shall...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 1952, Ex.Sess., 635, Sec. 2 - Chapter 3, Section 20
  Repealed, 1952, Ex.Sess., 635, Sec.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Uniforms for sergeant-at-arms and other employees - Chapter 3, Section 20A
  Subject to appropriation, the sergeant-at-arms may purchase uniforms for the sergeant-at-arms, general court officers and pages as the sergeant-at-arms may determine.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Appointment of employees by sergeant-at-arms; removal - Chapter 3, Section 21
  The sergeant-at-arms shall, immediately after his election, with the approval of the presiding officers of the two branches of the general court, appoint such employees...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Journals and papers; custody; copies as evidence - Chapter 3, Section 22
  The journals, files and papers of the senate and of the house of representatives shall be in the custody of their respective clerks during the...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Journals of senate and house of representatives; copies - Chapter 3, Section 22A
  Such number of copies of the journals of the senate and of the house of representatives as the committees on rules shall determine shall be...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Bills and resolves; form of engrossment; printing and publication; copies; distribution - Chapter 3, Section 23
  Bills and resolves passed to be engrossed by the general court, and bills for which initiative petitions are completed under the constitution of the commonwealth,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Proposed constitutional amendments; engrossment, deposit - Chapter 3, Section 24
  All proposed amendments to the constitution which have been agreed to in joint session of the two houses of the general court in the manner...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 1929, 41 - Chapter 3, Section 25
  Repealed, 1929,
• Massachusetts General Laws - Ordering of books or publications for members - Chapter 3, Section 26
  No periodicals, publications or books, other than those printed for the use of the general court, shall be ordered for members thereof at the expense...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Oaths administered by committee members - Chapter 3, Section 27
  Senators and representatives, acting as members of a committee of the general court, may administer oaths to persons examined before such committee.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Self-incriminating testimony or evidence before general court or committee; prosecution - Chapter 3, Section 28
  A person shall not be excused from attending and testifying before either branch of the general court or before a committee thereof upon a subject...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Refusal of summoned witness to appear or testify; penalty - Chapter 3, Section 28A
  Any person who, having been summoned as a witness to give testimony or produce papers, by the authority of either branch of the general court,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Stenographic reports of hearings - Chapter 3, Section 29
  Stenographic reports of hearings before legislative committees or special commissions made at the expense of the commonwealth shall, at the conclusion of the work of...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Expenses incurred under general court order; approval - Chapter 3, Section 30
  Accounts for expenditures made or services rendered under an order of the general court or of either branch thereof, other than by legislative committees, may...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Committee expenses; authorization by general court - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Expenses of committees acting during recess - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Committees, sub-committees and special commissions; travel - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Publication of bulletins of committee hearings - Chapter 3, 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.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 2012, 165, Sec. 6 - Chapter 3, Section 34
  Repealed, 2012, 165, Sec.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Advertisement of legislative committee hearings; publication - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 2012, 165, Sec. 6 - Chapter 3, Section 36 to 38
  Repealed, 2012, 165, Sec.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Bills reported favorably by joint or ways and means committees; fiscal notes; cost limitation - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Requests and recommendations for appropriations and capital outlay programs or projects; public hearings; notice - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Health insurance coverage; mandated health benefit bills; review and evaluation; report - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Definitions applicable to Secs. 39 to 50 - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 2004, 149, Sec. 6 - Chapter 3, Section 40
  Repealed, 2004, 149, Sec.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Docket of executive and legislative agents and lobbyists; educational seminars for legislative and executive agents;annual registration statements; annual filing fee; identification cards; advisory opinions - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Agreements to pay compensation contingent upon a decision of an executive officer or upon passage or defeat of legislation prohibited - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Executive and legislative agents; itemized statement of expenditures; notification of legislators; public inspection; family gifts restricted - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Registration of organizations attempting to influence legislation; statement of expenditures; public inspection; penalty - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Inquiry and adjudicatory proceedings relating to alleged violations of Secs. 39 to 50 - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Docket of executive and legislative agents; maintenance; legislative year - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Employers of executive or legislative agents; statement of expenditures; filing; penalty; public inspection - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Violation of Secs. 40 to 44 or 47 respecting executive or legislative agents; penalties; prosecutions; enforcement procedures - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Proceedings to compel filing of proper statement required by Secs. 43, 44 or 47;equitable or mandamus relief to enforce Secs. 41 to 43; speedy trial - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Sections inapplicable to public employees or agents or other persons requested to appear before committee or commission - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Counsel to senate and house; appointment; duties as to statute revision, etc. - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Counsel’s assistance in drafting bills, etc. - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Counsel; proposal of changes and corrections; preparation of revisions - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Counsel; assistance and expenses - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Counsel; exempt from civil service - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - General Laws; correction, revision, etc. - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 2012, 165, Sec. 7 - Chapter 3, Section 56 to 61
  Repealed, 2012, 165, Sec.
• Massachusetts General Laws - Advisory commission on local government - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Definitions; post audit and oversight committees; powers and duties; meetings; reports; expenses - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Bureaus of post audit and oversight; legislative auditors; quarters; powers and duties - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Senate art committee - Chapter 3, 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,...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Commission on the status of women; membership; powers; funding - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Commission on gay and lesbian youth; membership; terms; powers and duties - Chapter 3, Section 67
  [ Subsection (a) effective until July 1, 2014. For text effective July 1, 2014, see below.] (a) There shall be a permanent commission on gay...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Commission on status of citizens of Asian descent; members; terms; powers and duties - Chapter 3, Section 68
  (a) There shall be a permanent commission on the status of citizens of Asian descent to consist of 21 persons as follows: 3 persons to...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Commission on status of grandparents raising grandchildren; membership; powers and duties; report - Chapter 3, 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...
• Massachusetts General Laws - Commission on the future of the metropolitan beaches; membership; terms; powers and duties; report - Chapter 3, Section 70
  [Text of section added by 2014, 165, Sec. 6 effective July 1, 2014. See 2014, 165, Sec. 291.] (a) There shall be a permanent commission...

Last modified: September 11, 2015