Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 111, § 31 (2026)

Health regulations; summary publication; hearings; impact on farming or agriculture; filing sanitary codes and related rules, etc

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 31. Boards of health may make reasonable health regulations. A summary which shall describe the substance of any regulation made by a board of health under this chapter shall be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the city or town, and such publication shall be notice to all persons. No regulation or amendment thereto which relates to the minimum requirements for subsurface disposal of sanitary sewage as provided by the state environmental code shall be adopted until such time as the board of health shall hold a public hearing thereon, notice of the time, place and subject matter of which, sufficient for identification, shall be given by publishing in a newspaper of general circulation in the city or town once in each of two successive weeks, the first publication to be not less than fourteen days prior to the date set for such hearing, or if there is no such newspaper in such city or town, then by posting notice in a conspicuous place in the city or town hall for a period of not less than fourteen days prior to the date set for such hearing. Prior to the adoption of any such regulation or amendment which exceeds the minimum requirements for subsurface disposal of sanitary sewage as provided by the state environmental code, a board of health shall state at said public hearing the local conditions which exist or reasons for exceeding such minimum requirements. Whoever, himself or by his servant or agent, or as the servant or agent of any other person or any firm or corporation, violates any reasonable health regulation, made under authority of this section, for which no penalty by way of fine or imprisonment, or both, is provided by law, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars.

In a municipality with a municipal agricultural commission established pursuant to section 8L of chapter 40, the board of health shall, prior to enacting any regulation that impacts: (i) farmers markets as defined in department regulations; (ii) farms as defined in section 1A of chapter 128; (iii) the non-commercial keeping of poultry, livestock or bees; or (iv) the non-commercial production of fruit, vegetables or horticultural plants, provide the municipal agricultural commission with a copy of the proposed regulation. The municipal agricultural commission shall have a 45-day review period during which the commission may hold a public meeting and may provide written comments and recommendations to the board of health relative to the proposed regulation. Upon a majority vote of the members, the agricultural commission may waive the 45-day review period,

If the board of health determines that an emergency exists, the board or its authorized agent, acting in accordance with section 30 of chapter 111, may, without notice of hearing, issue an order reciting the existence of the emergency and requiring that such action be taken as the board of health deems necessary to address the emergency. The board of health shall comply with the local enforcement emergency procedures set forth in department regulations, as amended from time to time.

Boards of health shall file with the department of environmental protection, attested copies of sanitary codes, and all rules, regulations and standards which have been adopted, and any amendments and additions thereto, for the maintenance of a central register pursuant to section eight of chapter twenty-one A.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 17 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1929–2025 · leading case: Tri-Nel Mgmt., Inc. v. Bd. of Health, 433 Mass. 217 (Mass. 2001).

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Tri-Nel Mgmt., Inc. v. Bd. of Health, 433 Mass. 217 (Mass. 2001). · cites it 11× “They contend that the board’s regulation exceeds the authority granted by G. L. c. 111, § 31. We disagree. General Laws c.”

Arthur D. Little, Inc. v. Comm'r of Health & Hospitals, 481 N.E.2d 441 (Mass. 1985). · cites it 9× “On March 13, 1984, the commissioner, pursuant to his authority under G.L.c. 111, §§ 31 and 143 (1984 ed.), [1] adopted *538 the regulation at issue here, which prohibits the "testing, storage, transportation and disposal," within city limits, of five chemical warfare agents…”

Am. Lithuanian Naturalization Club, Athol, Mass., Inc. v. Bd. of Health, 844 N.E.2d 231 (Mass. 2006). · cites it 8× “The board acted pursuant to G. L. c. 111, § 31, 6 and G. L. c. 270, § 22 (j), as appearing in St.”

Town of Boxford v. Massachusetts High. Dep't, 940 N.E.2d 404 (Mass. 2010). · cites it 2× “Ill, § 130 (authorizing Superior Court to enjoin main *603 tenance of “common nuisance affecting the public health” while action to prosecute nuisance is pending); note 8, supra.”

TBI, Inc. v. Bd. of Health, 725 N.E.2d 188 (Mass. 2000). “The section refers to several other statutory provisions, but only one of those provisions, G. L. c. 111, § 31, applies to local boards, and that statute only authorizes local boards to adopt reasonable health regulations.”

Bldg. Inspector of Mansfield v. Curvin, 494 N.E.2d 42 (Mass. App. Ct. 1986). “") See also G.L.c. 111, § 31, as amended by St. 1985, c.”

Indep. Park, Inc. v. Bd. of Health, 403 Mass. 477 (Mass. 1988). “G. L. c. 41, § 81U. Boards of health also held, and continue to hold, plenary power to promulgate reasonable health regulations that are general in application and take effect prospectively.”

Padden v. West Boylston, 831 N.E.2d 927 (Mass. App. Ct. 2005). “…(1995). The board of health adopted the present regulation under the authority of G. L. c. 83, §§ 3 8 and 11, 9 and G. L. c. 111, §§ 31, 10 122, 11 and 127. 12 Chapter 111, § 31, alone “confers plenary power [upon local boards of health] to promulgate health regula *127…”

Hamel v. Bd. of Health, 664 N.E.2d 1199 (Mass. App. Ct. 1996). “Reciprocally, the regulations that a board of health adopts under G. L. c. 111, § 31, may deal with land use if there is a solid connection between the use and a health related issue.”

Inhabitants of Swansea v. Pivo, 265 Mass. 520 (Mass. 1929). “The town may maintain a suit in equity to enforce regulations adopted by its board of health, under the provisions of G. L. c. 111, §§ 31, 122, 143. Quincy v. Kennard, 151 Mass.”

Thomas J. Hutton & Another v. Bd. of Health of Nantucket. (Mass. App. Ct. 2024). · cites it 3× “They argue that decision violated their due process rights because the regulation under which the board acted was void for vagueness; that by interpreting the regulation to require tight tanks in all instances, the board impermissibly amended the regulation without following the…”

Cumberland Farms, Inc. v. Bd. of Health of the Town of Barnstable & Others (Mass. Super. Ct. 2019). · cites it 3× “In accordance with their authority to make reasonable health regulations pursuant to G.L. c. 111, § 31, the Defendants independently enacted regulations that limit the sale of flavored tobacco products to adult-only smoke shops and/or adult-only smoking bars.”

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