in which electricity shall be furnished by, said company; and thereupon the said board shall set a date for a public hearing upon such application, giving said company reasonable notice thereof; and after the hearing said board shall, if it deems the furnishing of such electricity consistent with the interests of public travel upon the railway of such company, fix the price which said town shall pay for electricity to, and the manner in which electricity shall be furnished by, said company; and said company shall thereupon furnish to said town electricity at the price and in the manner fixed by said board. To be subject to certain provisions of law. 1902, 449, § 4. proceedings SECTION 63. A town which has contracted with a street railway company for the purchase of electricity shall be subject to the provisions of chapter thirty-four of the Revised Laws and of all acts in amendment thereof or in addition thereto, so far as the same may be applicable. SECTION 155. Every state board and commission shall keep a Records of record of its proceedings in any matter considered by it under before the provisions of this chapter or under any laws affecting street railways, in which it shall enter every request made by any party before it for a ruling of law and of its action upon such request, § 98. and the neglect either to grant or refuse such request shall be taken in any judicial review of such proceedings as a refusal. SECTION 160. This act shall not affect any act passed in the year nineteen hundred and six unless such act is specifically repealed herein. Acts of 1906, Chapter 218. An Act relative to the Purchase of Electricity by Towns from Section one of chapter four hundred and forty-nine of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and two is hereby amended by striking out the words " and which is not itself engaged in such business", in the third and fourth lines, and by inserting after the word "light", in the eighth and fourteenth lines, the words: or power, so as to read as follows: Section 1. A town in which no person or corporation is engaged in the business of generating or distributing electricity for sale for lighting purposes, and which has voted or shall vote, in accordance with the provisions of chapter thirty-four of the Revised Laws, to construct one or more plants for the manufacture or distribution of electricity for furnishing light or power for municipal use or for the use of its inhabitants, or for both purposes, may make a contract or contracts, for a term not exceeding ten years, with any street railway company or companies operating a street rail Not to affect unless, etc. certain acts Bonds, issue of. 1891, 370, § 4. Substitute. 1908, 341, § 4. Issue of bonds way in such town, for the purchase of electricity from such street railway company or companies, for the purpose of furnishing light or power for municipal use or for the use of its inhabitants, or for both purposes; and street railway companies may make contracts for furnishing electricity as aforesaid to a town, but the same shall not become operative unless the board of railroad commissioners shall, after a public hearing, approve the terms thereof as consistent with the public interests. [Approved March 31, 1906. [SECTION 7. A city or town which establishes, purchases, reconstructs, extends or enlarges such a plant may, by a vote taken as prescribed in section eight of chapter twenty-seven issue bonds in payment of the same. The whole amount of bonds so issued shall not, at the par value of such bonds, exceed five per cent of the valuation of the town or two and one-half per cent of the valuation of the city, according to the last preceding state valuation. Such bonds shall be payable within thirty years, shall bear interest at a rate not exceeding five per cent and shall not be disposed of for less than par and accrued interest. The indebtedness created by the issue of such bonds shall not be subject to the provisions of chapter twenty-seven, except section twelve thereof.] Section 7. A city or town may, by a vote taken as prescribed in section eight of chapter twenty-seven, issue bonds for the purpose of establishing, purchasing, reconstructing, extending or enlarging such a plant. The whole amount of bonds so issued and outstanding at any one time shall not, at the par value thereof, exceed five per cent of the valuation of the town or two and one half per cent of the valuation of the city, according to the last preceding valuation for the assessment of taxes, of the taxable property therein. In ascertaining the amount of such bonds so outstanding the amount of the sinking fund applicable solely to payment of the bonds shall be deducted. Such bonds shall be payable within thirty years, shall bear interest at a rate not exceeding five per cent per annum, and shall not be disposed of for less than par and accrued interest. The indebtedness created by the issue of such bonds shall not be subject to the provisions of chapter twenty-seven, except section twelve thereof. Revised Laws, Chapter 27, §§ 5, 8, 9, 12. debt for 1891, 370, 4. Substitute. 1908, 341, § 2. [SECTION 5. A city or town which establishes, purchases, re- Limit of constructs, extends or enlarges a gas or electric lighting plant municipal within its limits may incur debt outside the debt limit prescribed lighting in this chapter in payment therefor to an amount not exceeding, in a town, five per cent and, in a city, not exceeding two and one-half per cent of the last preceding state valuation.] Section 5. A city or town may, in the manner and to the extent May incur debt for provided in chapter thirty-four, incur debt outside the debt limit municipal prescribed in this chapter, for the purpose of establishing, pur- poses. chasing, reconstructing, extending or enlarging a gas or electric 1908, 341, light plant within its limits. SECTION 8. Debts other than those mentioned in the two preceding sections shall be incurred only by a vote of two-thirds of the voters present and voting at a town meeting, or of two-thirds of all the members of each branch of the city council, taken by yeas and nays, and subject to the approval or disapproval of the mayor. SECTION 9. A city or town which has incurred a debt within the limitations as to amount and time of payment prescribed by this chapter may issue bonds, notes or scrip therefor, properly denominated on the face thereof, signed by its treasurer and, if issued by a city, countersigned by its mayor, or if issued by a town, countersigned by a majority of its selectmen, with interest. payable semiannually at such rate as it deems proper, and may sell said bonds, notes or scrip, at not less than par, at public or private sale or may use the same in payment of such debts. SECTION 12. The interest on all debts shall annually be raised by taxation. If a debt is payable at a period exceeding ten years, the city or town shall, and in all other cases may, at the time of contracting the same, establish a sinking fund to be used for no other purpose than the payment of such debt, and shall annually raise by taxation and contribute thereto an amount sufficient with its accumulations to extinguish the debt at maturity; and if payable at a period not exceeding ten years, the city or town shall raise by taxation annually not less than eight per cent of the principal thereof, and shall set it apart for a sinking fund until an amount has been raised sufficient with its accumulations to extinguish the debt at maturity; and shall, in the year before the maturity of the debt, raise by taxation, any balance necessary for its extinguishment. lighting pur § 2. Other debts by two thirds vote. § 3. Issue of 1884, 129. Interest to annually by tax. Sinking funds to be be raised established. 1875, 209, § 4. S. 29, § 9. 10p. A. G. 263.1 Annual payments. 1893, 454, § 9. 1894, 182. Annual payments in lieu of sinking fund. 1882, 133, § 1. Amended. 1908, 341, § 1. Disposition to be made of premiums upon municipal bonds determined. To be added to sinking fund in certain cases, etc. To be applied to the payment of principal of first bond to mature in certain cases, etc. SECTION 8. Instead of issuing the bonds authorized by the preceding section, a city or town may provide for the payment of the debt incurred by it under the provisions of this chapter by such annual payments as will extinguish such debt within thirty years, and may issue bonds, notes or scrip therefor. The amount required for such annual payments shall, without further vote, be annually assessed by the assessors until said debt shall be extinguished, in the same manner as taxes are assessed under the provisions of section thirty-seven of chapter twelve. Revised Laws, Chapter 27, § 13. SECTION 13. A city or town, instead of establishing a sinking fund, may vote to provide for the payment of any debt by such [annual proportionate] payments as will extinguish the same at maturity, but so that the amount of such annual payment in any year and the whole interest of such debt payable in the same year shall not together be less than the aggregate amount of principal and interest payable in any subsequent year, and thereupon such annual [proportion] amount shall, without further vote, be assessed under the provisions of section thirty-seven of chapter twelve until such debt is extinguished. Acts of 1910, Chapter 379. An Act to Determine the Disposition to be made of Premiums upon Municipal Bonds. SECTION 1. Whenever a city, town, fire district, or water district shall issue and sell bonds to pay for the construction, purchase or extension of water works, sewerage or sewage disposal systems, electric lighting plants, street pavements or other public improvements, or for the refunding of any debt previously contracted for any such purpose, any premium received upon such bonds, less the cost of preparing, issuing and marketing them, shall be applied to the payment of the principal of the bonds in the manner prescribed in the following sections. SECTION 2. When a sinking fund has been or is to be established to pay said bonds at maturity, the premium shall be added forthwith to the sinking fund, and the amount of the annual contribution to be made to the sinking fund shall be reduced correspondingly. SECTION 3. In case no sinking fund is established for the retirement of the bonds, but in lieu thereof certain of the bonds mature and are to be paid at fixed periods, any premium received as set forth in section one shall be applied to the payment of the principal of the first bond or bonds so to mature; and the contributions from other sources for the payment of said bonds shall be reduced correspondingly. SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon its passage. [Approved April 8, 1910. Acts of 1910, Chapter 616. An Act Relative to the Form of Notes to be issued by Towns for the bureau of statistics to issue book of forms for town notes, etc. SECTION 1. The director of the bureau of statistics shall fur- Director of nish to the treasurer of every town within the commonwealth a book of forms for the issue of notes for money borrowed by the town. The note shall state the amount thereof, the date of issue, the interest which it bears, and the date when it will become due for payment, and a record of every note so issued shall be kept by the treasurer of the town in such form as the director of the bureau of statistics may designate. SECTION 2. Whenever a town votes to raise money otherwise Issue of notes than by the issue of bonds to be paid for from a sinking fund by towns, etc. or by the serial method, so-called, the treasurer shall make a note or notes for the amount of the proposed loan, and shall use one or more in serial order of the forms furnished as herein before provided, with the blank spaces properly filled in, and shall sign the same in the space or spaces provided, and a majority of the selectmen shall countersign and approve each note in the presence of the town clerk, who shall certify to the fact on the face of the note and affix thereon the town seal in a space to be provided therefor. The treasurer, after making a record of the transaction in accordance with the provisions of section one, shall forward every such note to the director of the bureau of statistics, together with a copy of said record, and a copy of the votę authorizing the loan, certified by the town clerk, and a certification by the town clerk that the person whose signature appears upon the note as that of the treasurer was the duly authorized treasurer of the town at the date when such signature was made, and that the persons whose signatures appear upon the note as those of a majority of the selectmen were duly qualified selectmen when such signatures were made, and he shall at the same time forward the fee provided for by section four of this act. If upon examination said director finds that the note appears to have been duly issued in accordance with the vote of the town, and to have been signed by the duly qualified officials thereof, as herein provided, he shall so certify, and the director shall |