Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XXII Chapter 166
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 166, § 22B (2026)

Program for prohibition or removal of overhead wires

✓ text as last checked Sept. 2026 (this copy records no edition or section history)
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 22B. The planning board of any town, if any, or in a town having no such board, the board of selectmen and the city council of any city or a committee designated and appointed for the purpose by it, may (after completing such preliminary consideration and study, including consultation with any utility as it may deem appropriate) at any time by resolution designating the time and place therefor call a public hearing to ascertain whether the public safety, health, convenience or welfare would be advanced by a program (a) prohibiting new installation or construction of or (b) requiring progressive removal of poles and overhead wires and associated overhead structures within all or any part or parts of the municipality. After such hearing the planning board, board of selectmen, city council or committee, as the case may be, shall make a report of its findings, conclusions, and recommendations which shall be filed with the records of the city council or the town meeting of the municipality.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 1983–2005 · leading case: New England Power Co. v. Bd. of Selectmen, 449 N.E.2d 648 (Mass. 1983).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
New England Power Co. v. Bd. of Selectmen, 449 N.E.2d 648 (Mass. 1983). · cites it 2× “Further, the company argues that the board neither had authority pursuant to G. L. c. 166, § 22B, nor inherent authority to rescind.”
Boston Edison Co. v. Town of Bedford, 444 Mass. 775 (Mass. 2005). “164, § 75 (authorizing municipalities to “regulate, restrict and control all acts and doings of a corporation subject to this chapter which may in any manner affect the health, safety, convenience or property” of inhabitants); G. L. c. 166, § 22B (authorizing municipalities to…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.