Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, § 66 (2026)

Vagrants

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 66. Persons wandering abroad and begging, or who go about from door to door or in public or private ways, areas to which the general public is invited, or in other public places for the purpose of begging or to receive alms, and who are not licensed or who do not come within the description of tramps as contained in section sixty-three, shall be deemed vagrants and may be punished by imprisonment for not more than six months in the house of correction.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 5 cases, 1924–2019 · leading case: Craig Benefit v. City of Cambridge, 679 N.E.2d 184 (Mass. 1997).

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Craig Benefit v. City of Cambridge, 679 N.E.2d 184 (Mass. 1997). · cites it 13× “231 A, that G. L. c. 272, § 66, is unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and arts.”

Scione v. Commonwealth Commonwealth v. Barnes, 114 N.E.3d 74 (Mass. 2019). “2d 201 (1967) (striking down G. L. c. 272, § 66, in part, G. L. c. 272, § 63, in part, and G.”

Alegata v. Commonwealth, 231 N.E.2d 201 (Mass. 1967). “272, § 66, which defines the crime of vagrancy as follows: “Idle persons who, not having visible means of support, live without lawful employment; persons wandering abroad and visiting tippling shops or houses of ill fame, or lodging in groceries, outhouses, market places,…”

Rohrer, 230 N.E.2d 915 (Mass. 1967). “He was arrested in Stoughton for vagrancy (G. L. c. 272, § 66) on July 4, 1963. At the police station he became belligerent in violent protest at his arrest.”

Sensk's Case, 141 N.E. 877 (Mass. 1924). “Neither income received by begging or asking for alms in violation *235 of G. L. c. 272, § 66, nor income received from charity, but not in violation of the statute, has any bearing on the question of his earning capacity.”

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