Government of Massachusetts

The form of Massachusetts government is provided by the Constitution of the Commonwealth. The legislative power is exercised by the bicameral General Court, composed of the Senate and House of Representatives. The executive power generally is exercised by the Governor, along with other independently elected officers, the Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, and Auditor. The judicial power is reposed in the Supreme Judicial Court, which superintends the entire system of courts. Cities and towns also act through local governmental bodies that possess only the authority granted to them by the Commonwealth over local issues, including limited home rule authority. Most county governments were abolished in the 1990s and 2000s, although a handful remain.

The capital of Massachusetts is Boston. The seat of power is Beacon Hill, which is home to the legislative and executive branches. The Supreme Judicial Court occupies nearby Pemberton Hill.

Executive

There are 151 departments or agencies in Massachusetts, and over 700 independent boards and commissions.^[1] The Governor exercises direct control over many of the largest agencies, but only indirect control over independent entities through appointments.

Elected officials

The statewide elected officials are:

Charlie Baker (R)
Governor

Karyn Polito (R)
Lieutenant Governor

Maura Healey (D)
Attorney General

William Galvin (D)
Secretary of the Commonwealth

Suzanne Bump (D)
State Auditor

Deb Goldberg (D)
Treasurer and Receiver-General

Other elected officials are:

Massachusetts Governor's Council Elected every two years
District attorneys - Independently elected by district
Sheriffs - Independently elected by district

Some executive agencies are delegated by the legislature with the responsibility of formulating regulations by following a prescribed procedure. Most of these are collected in the Code of Massachusetts Regulations.

Governor's cabinet

The governor has a cabinet of ten secretaries.^[2] In general, they supervise the state agencies which are under the direct control of the governor.^[3] Eight of the secretaries preside over the "Executive Office of" their respective areas.^[4]

Secretary of Housing and Economic Development
- Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation
- Department of Business Development
- Department of Housing and Community Development
- Department of Telecommunications and Cable
- Division of Banks
- Division of Insurance
- Division of Professional Licensure
- Division of Standards
- State Racing Commission
Secretary of Health and Human Services^[5]
- Office of Health Services
  - Department of Public Health
  - Department of Mental Health
  - Division of Medical Assistance
  - Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety and Medical Error Reduction
- Office of Children, Youth, and Family Services
  - Department of Children and Families
  - Department of Transitional Assistance
  - Department of Youth Services
  - Child Abuse Prevention Board
  - Office for Refugees and Immigrants
- Office of Disabilities and Community Services
  - Department of Developmental Services
  - Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission
  - Massachusetts Commission for the Blind
  - Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
  - Soldiers' Home in Massachusetts
  - Soldiers' Home in Holyoke
- Managed Care Oversight Board
- Health Facilities Appeals Board
- Department of Elder Affairs (independent Secretary)
- Department of Veterans' Services (independent Secretary)
Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs
- Department of Agricultural Resources
- Department of Conservation and Recreation
- Department of Environmental Protection
- Department of Energy Resources
- Department of Fish and Game
  - Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
- Department of Public Utilities
- State Reclamation Board
Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development
- Department of Industrial Accidents
- Department of Labor
- Department of Workforce Development

Secretary of Public Safety
- Criminal History Systems Board
- Department of Correction
- Department of Fire Services
- Department of Public Safety
- Department of State Police
- Department of the Military / Massachusetts National Guard
- Emergency Management Agency
- Merit Rating Board
- Municipal Police Training Committee
- Office of the Chief Medical Examiner
- Parole Board
- Sex Offender Registry Board
- State 911 Department
Secretary of Administration and Finance
- Office of the Comptroller - Comptroller is appointed by governor for co-terminous term^[6]
- Appellate Tax Board
- Bureau of State Office Buildings
- Civil Service Commission
- Department of Revenue
- Developmental Disabilities Council
- Division of Administrative Law Appeals
- Division of Capital Asset Management
- George Fingold Library
- Group Insurance Commission
- Human Resources Division
- Information Technology Division
- Office on Disability
- Operational Services Division
- Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission
- Teachers' Retirement Board
Secretary of Transportation (reorganized in 2009)
- Department of Transportation (independent Board of Directors, but Secretary is CEO)
- Massachusetts Port Authority (Secretary chairs the independent Board of Directors)
Secretary of Education
- Department of Early Education and Care
- Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
- Department of Higher Education
Secretary of Elder Affairs
- Department of Elder Affairs - part of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services^[7]
Secretary of Veterans Services
- Department of Veterans Services - part of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services^[7]

Legislature

The interior of the State House

The state legislature is formally known as the General Court, reflecting its former judicial duties in the colonial era. It is composed of two houses: the Massachusetts Senate, which has 40 members, and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, which has 160 members. All members in both houses face election every two years. The Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives presides over the House of Representatives, is its chief leader, and controls the flow of legislation. The President of the Massachusetts Senate is the presiding officer of the Senate.

The General Court is responsible for enacting laws in the state. A bill signed by the governor, or passed by two-thirds of both branches over his veto, becomes a law. Its session laws are published in the official Acts and Resolves of Massachusetts, which are codified as the General Laws of Massachusetts.

Judiciary

Main article: Judiciary of Massachusetts

The judiciary of Massachusetts is the branch of the government that interprets and applies the law of Massachusetts, ensures equal justice under law, and provides a mechanism for dispute resolution. The Massachusetts court system consists of the Supreme Judicial Court, the Appeals Court, and the seven Trial Court departments:

The John Adams Courthouse, home to the Supreme Judicial Court

The judicial power in Massachusetts is reposed in the Supreme Judicial Court, which superintends the entire system of courts. In addition to appellate functions, the Supreme Judicial Court is responsible for the general superintendence of the judiciary and of the bar, makes or approves rules for the operations of all the courts, and in certain instances, provides advisory opinions, upon request, to the Governor and Legislature on various legal issues. The Supreme Judicial Court also oversees several affiliated agencies of the judicial branch, including the Board of Bar Overseers, the Board of Bar Examiners, the Clients' Security Board, the Massachusetts Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee, and Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services.

Local government

Main article: Administrative divisions of Massachusetts

Boston City Hall

Massachusetts shares with the five other New England states a governmental structure known as the New England town. Only the southeastern third of the state has functioning county governments; in western, central, and northeastern Massachusetts, traditional county-level government was eliminated in the late 1990s. All of the land in Massachusetts is divided up among the cities and towns and there are no "unincorporated" areas or population centers, nor townships. Generally speaking, there are four kinds of public school districts in Massachusetts: local schools, regional schools, vocational/technical schools, and charter schools. District attorneys and sheriffs are elected by constituencies that mostly, but not entirely, follow county boundaries; they are funded by the state budget.^[8]^[9] Though most county governments have been abolished, each county still has a Sheriff's Department which operates jails and correctional facilities and service of process within the county.

Transparency

The state has an Open Meeting Law, enforced by the Attorney General, and a Public Records Law, enforced by the Secretary of the Commonwealth.^[10] A 2008 report by the Better Government Association and National Freedom of Information Coalition ranked Massachusetts 43rd out of 50 states for government transparency, and gave it a failing grade of "F" taking into account time, cost, and comprehensiveness of access to public records.^[11]^[12] Access to government records and the actions of the Secretary in enforcing the law became an issue in the 2014 campaign for the office. Incumbent William Galvin cited his previous requests that the legislature revise the Public Records Law to make access easier.^[13] The governor claims to be exempt from the Public Records Law.^[10]

A reform law was signed on June 3, 2016, which will take effect on January 1, 2017, putting stricter limits on time and reducing costs.^[14]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Government of Massachusetts.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Boston (capital)

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Regions	The Berkshires Blackstone Valley Cape Ann Cape Cod Central Massachusetts Greater Boston The Islands Merrimack Valley MetroWest Montachusett-North County North Shore Pioneer Valley Quabbin-Swift River Valley South Coast South County South Shore Southeastern Massachusetts Western Massachusetts

Counties	Barnstable Berkshire Bristol Dukes Essex Franklin Hampden Hampshire Middlesex Nantucket Norfolk Plymouth Suffolk Worcester

Cities	Agawam Amesbury Attleboro Barnstable Beverly Boston Braintree Bridgewater Brockton Cambridge Chelsea Chicopee East Longmeadow Easthampton Everett Fall River Fitchburg Franklin Gardner Gloucester Greenfield Haverhill Holyoke Lawrence Leominster Lowell Lynn Malden Marlborough Medford Melrose Methuen New Bedford Newburyport Newton North Adams Northampton Palmer Peabody Pittsfield Quincy Randolph Revere Salem Somerville Southbridge Springfield Taunton Waltham Watertown Westfield West Springfield Weymouth Winthrop Woburn Worcester Note: Municipalities not listed have a town meeting form of government (see all municipalities)

Government of Massachusetts

Legislative	General Court Senate (Members, President) House of Representatives (Members, Speaker)

Executive	Governor (List) Lt. Governor Attorney General Auditor Secretary of the Commonwealth Treasurer and Receiver-General Office for Administration and Finance Office of Education Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Office of Health and Human Services Office of Housing and Economic Development Office of Labor and Workforce Development Office of Public Safety and Security Department of Transportation

Judicial	Boston Municipal Court District Court Superior Court Land Court Juvenile Court Housing Court Massachusetts Probate and Family Court Appeals Court (Judges) Supreme Judicial Court Dedham District Court

Independent agencies	Board of Library Commissioners Commission Against Discrimination Commission on the Status of Women Disabled Persons Protection Commission Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board Massachusetts District Attorneys Massachusetts Inspector General Office of Campaign and Political Finance Office of the Comptroller Massachusetts Sheriffs State Ethics Commission

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Federal district	Washington, D.C.

Insular areas	American Samoa Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands

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