®fte Commonhjealtf) of iBa£fs;acl)usetts{ 



REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER. 



Recommendatioxs for Legislation. 

 I Ainendments to th.p Latv on Plant Pest Control 



At the time of the compilation of the General Laws there was no previous codi- 

 fication of laws concerning nursery inspection and the control of insect pests and 

 diseases which attack agricultural crops, nurserv' stock, fruit trees and the like, 

 because practically all these laws were adopted after the revision of the laws in 

 1902. When the laws on these subjects were codified as part of Chapter 128 of 

 the General Laws, the language of some sections proved inconsistent and am- 

 big-uous, so that difneulties arose in the administration of these laws. It also 

 appears that the codification omitted certain qualifying words in one section, 

 apparently because it was supposed that these words were unnecessary, whereas 

 in practice it proves impossible to comply with the section exactly as it is writ- 

 ten. It is therefore recommended that Sections 22, 25 and 28 of Chapter 128 of 

 the General Laws be amended so as to correct the present inconsistencies and 

 ambiguities and to restore the language of the original statute. 



II. Amendwents to the Reclamation Law 



Further experience with the administration of the law provided for the drain- 

 age and reclamation of wet lands has brought out certain deficiencies in the 

 present language of the law which require improvement in order to make the 

 law more workable. The proposed changes are largely in matters of detail affect- 

 ing in most cases only a few words here and there. It seems unnecessary for this 

 reason to go into each of these proposed changes in detail. Some important addi- 

 tions to the law to cover situations which interfere with the organization and 

 operation of some districts are also recommended. 



Diu'ing the past year action by the State Reclamation Board has sometimes 

 been delayed because it proved impossible to secure the attendance of both mem- 

 bers for a meeting. Since there are only two members of the Board, no action 

 can be taken unless both are present. It is therefore recommended that an addi- 

 tional member be designated by the Commissioners of Public Health and 

 Agriculture, acting jointly. The term of this third member should be three years 

 fi'om the time of designation unless his designation is revoked by the two com- 

 missioners before the end of that period. It is believed that for the most etfeetive 

 conduct of the work of the Board this third member should not necessarily be a 

 member of either of the two departments concerned, but should be selected by 

 the two commissioners without restriction as • to his qualifications. Since the 

 work of the Board requires considerable time outside regular hours, because 

 meetings of petitioners for reclamation of wet areas must usually be held in the 

 evening, it is recommended that the members of the Board receive additional 

 compensation for their services as such. As the law now stands the members of 

 the Board receive no additional compensation. 



Another situation that has given rise to numerous legal questions is the owner- 

 ship of areas in certain marshes by the commonwealth, cities, towns and other 

 districts. In its present form the law says nothing about membershii^ by public 

 authorities and makes no provision for the payment by these authorities of any 

 share of the cost of district improvements. To meet such contingencies it is 

 recommended that definite provision be made for membership in districts by the 

 commonwealth, counties, cities, towns and other districts and for the payment 

 by these public authorities of their proper share of the expense of district work. 



