Overview
According to the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ (SOC’s) internal control plan, the divisions within SOC are as follows.
Executive Office
The Secretary, the Communications Division and Legislative Affairs Division are located in the Executive Office. In addition, staff coordinate the Secretary’s schedule and renders constituent services.
Address Confidentiality Program
The [Address Confidentiality Program] provides a means by which victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking use a confidential address when dealing with local and state agencies. The program ensures that their residential address does not become a public record thereby assisting in keeping them safe from threatened violence.
Administration
Comprised of the Budget Office, Human Resources, Legal Counsel and the Information Technology Division, these functions provide essential services to support the program and service delivery.
Massachusetts Archives
The Massachusetts Archives is responsible for securing, preserving and managing for the public good the noncurrent records of state government deemed to have permanent value. Those records relate to government goals, objectives and actions, or represent documentation of the state’s citizens and history.
The Archives is mandated to acquire, describe, preserve and provide access to those records, and the division’s Records Management Unit works with state and local agencies to ensure that records are properly maintained. In addition, this division trains records custodians in appropriate management techniques, including the appraisal and disposition of government records.
The Archives is also the repository of more than 370 years of Massachusetts history, housing such artifacts and documents as early probate and court records, genealogical and immigration information, and other historical data.
Citizen Information Service
Citizen Information Service (CIS) has made state government more accessible to residents of the Commonwealth. It has responded to nearly two million telephone inquiries, and has been able to provide immediate answers to approximately 99 percent of those calls.
Commonwealth Museum
The Commonwealth Museum brings Massachusetts history alive through exhibits, lectures and student programs and publications. In a major new initiative the museum is planning to display rare “foundation documents” from the collections of the Massachusetts Archives. Massachusetts students and general visitors will see original copies of the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights and other materials comparable in importance to those on display at the National Archives. An engaging interactive exhibit will explain their significance and the role of Massachusetts in the development of rights shared by all Americans.
Corporations Division
The Corporations Division administers the business entity laws in Massachusetts. Included are those statutes applicable to Massachusetts business corporations (M.G.L. c. 156D), foreign corporations (M.G.L. c. 156D), professional corporations (M.G.L. c. 156A), and non-profit corporations (M.G.L. c. 180A), limited liability companies (M.G.L. c. 156C), limited liability partnerships (Chapter 281 of the Acts of 1995), limited partnerships (M.G.L. c. 109). Filings made under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code and trademarks and servicemarks are also filed with the Division.
The Corporations Division is primarily the filing and public information office for more than 300,000 registered corporations and more than 85,000 limited liability companies in the Commonwealth. The public may gain access to this information at the office each weekday during business hours, by mail request or online at any time.
Elections Division
The Secretary of the Commonwealth is the state’s chief election official. The Elections Division administers federal and state elections, from the distribution and receipt of nomination papers to the printing of ballots for all federal, state and county elections in Massachusetts.
In addition, the division conducts public education, outreach and voter registration campaigns, and is constitutionally required to print the “Information for Voters” booklet, which describes all statewide ballot questions and is mailed to every household in the Commonwealth.
The Elections Division is also responsible for implementing federal legislation regarding elections including:
- The Americans with Disabilities Act, which assures polling places are accessible for the disabled and elderly;
- The Voting Rights Act, which requires voting materials be available in alternate languages for certain jurisdictions as determined by the director of the U.S. Census Bureau;
- The National Voter Registration Act (“Motor Voter”), which established a state central voter registry and allows persons to register to vote at numerous public agencies throughout the state including the Registry of Motor Vehicles; and
- The Help America Vote Act which provides certain new procedures for registering and voting and requiring accessible equipment in each polling place to allow voters with disabilities the opportunity to mark their ballot independently and privately. In Massachusetts, this was done through the implementation of the AutoMARK Voter Assist Terminal.
Massachusetts Historical Commission
The Massachusetts legislature established the Massachusetts Historical Commission in 1963 to identify, evaluate, and protect the significant historic and archaeological assets of the commonwealth. The [Massachusetts Historical Commission, or MHC] is the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and the Office of the State Archaeologist and has a staff of architectural historians, preservation planners, historians, architects, geographers, and archaeologists distributed among three divisions: preservation planning, technical services, and grants.
The Preservation Planning Division and the State Archaeologist maintain the Inventory of Historic and Archaeological Assets of the Commonwealth, which is the foundation for most preservation activities. Staff of the Preservation Planning Division act as liaison to local governments to help with local preservation initiatives such as local historic districts, preservation bylaws, local historical commissions, and the Certified Local Government program. The MHC administers the National Register program in Massachusetts and is a national leader in nominating properties. The Preservation Planning Division maintains the State Register of Historic Places, which is the master list of all designated properties in the Commonwealth.
When funds are available the MHC’s grants division administers the Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund, a matching grant program for historic and archaeological properties owned by municipalities or nonprofit organizations. Survey & Planning grants provide matching federal funds to Certified Local Governments and other qualifying organizations for preservation projects including preparing community architectural and archaeological surveys, preservation plans, historic district design guidelines, and National Register nominations.
The Technical Services Division manages both the Federal Investment Tax Credit program and State Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit. As the SHPO, the MHC consults with federal agencies in reviewing federal projects for their effects on significant historic and archaeological properties. The MHC has similar authorization under state law to comment on projects that are licensed, permitted, or funded by a state agency.
The State Archaeologist oversees archaeological excavations on public lands and issues permits for excavations to ensure that archaeological resources are properly excavated and conserved. The State Archaeologist sponsors Massachusetts Archaeology Month every October and oversees the curation and exhibit of archaeological collections through the Commonwealth’s Archaeological Curation Center at the MHC.
Lobbyist Division
The Lobbyist Division is responsible for the oversight and enforcement of lobbyist registration and disclosure reporting. The Division functions to ensure that lobbyists register with this office when required, and that the registered lobbyists and clients fully disclose all information required by the Massachusetts Lobbying Law.
Public Records Division
The Public Records Division is the principal arbiter of the state’s Freedom of Information Act. The legal section of the division annually processes nearly 1800 formal appeals from citizens, public officials and members of the media who have been denied information by public agencies. The division, in approximately 96 percent of the cases, has ruled on behalf of the public’s right to gain access to that information. The legal staff also issues advisory opinions and answers thousands of questions each year involving interpretation of the public records statute.
The division also contains the Commissions Section, which tracks the appointments of more than 200,000 notaries public in Massachusetts, and administers the oaths of office to those notaries, justices of the peace and other gubernatorial appointments. It also maintains the governor’s appointment system, prepares certifications of official signatures, and reviews and accepts information by clergy requesting authorization to solemnize marriages in the Commonwealth.
Registries of Deeds
The thirteen Registries of Deeds, under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Commonwealth pursuant to M.G.L. c. 34B, are responsible for maintaining a permanent public record of all properly drawn legal documents submitted by the public relative to real estate including deeds, mortgages, surveyor and architect plans, liens, Certificates of Title, and other records as mandated by statute.
Securities Division
The Securities Division regulates the offer and sale of securities and the people who sell or give advice about securities in the Commonwealth. The Massachusetts Uniform Securities Act requires that the securities be registered or exempt, and that most broker-dealers, agents, investment advisers and their representatives be registered with the Division. Citizens are encouraged to contact the Division for the registration status of the securities and the registration and disciplinary history of broker-dealers, agents, investment advisers and representatives.
Enforcement is a key component of the Division’s operation. The Enforcement Section vigorously pursues those individuals, who sell investments fraudulently, as well as brokers, investment advisers, and others who make misrepresentations relating to securities transactions.
The Securities Division works with smaller businesses in Massachusetts to assist them in the securities registration process. It also participates in a New England project to make securities registration easier for small companies.
The Securities Division conducts investor education and outreach programs to help protect investors before any fraud or misconduct occurs. The Division provides speakers on investor protection and distributes numerous pamphlets and other materials dealing with investor protection and financial literacy.
State Records Center
The State Record Center provides a climate controlled off-site storage facility for 200,000 cubic feet of inactive records generated and collected by state agencies and is responsible for delivering, retrieving and refiling records for executive offices.
State House Tours and Government Education Division
Established by an act of the legislature in 1969, the State House Tours Division is responsible for guiding approximately 100,000 visitors annually through the halls of the state’s capitol building. Offerings include an Architectural/Historical Tour and a Legislative Process Tour, as well as a number of brochures explaining the history of the State House and the passage of legislation.
The division, in addition to providing State House information in eight different languages, operates an Information desk, which assists with questions on state government, locating personnel and various tourist inquiries. It also has resource notebooks containing a wealth of information for school groups, journalists, historians and travel professionals. In addition, the Tours Division manages the operation of the State House Gift Cart, which has souvenirs, books and other materials relating to the State House.
State Publications and Regulations Division
This division, consisting of two components, Regulations and the State Bookstore, is responsible for publishing and distributing a wide variety of documents of pertinent interest to persons throughout Massachusetts.
Regulations
The Regulations section produces the Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR), which is 25,000 pages of the state’s administrative law. It also publishes, for subscribers only, such documents as the “Massachusetts Register,” a bi-weekly publication that includes amendments to the CMR; the “Central Register,” a weekly which contains listings of bids for design and construction-related public projects; the “Goods and Services Bulletin,” a weekly which lists bid opportunities for goods and professional services; and the “Cumulative Table,” a monthly that lists all the current changes to CMR. Regulations also annually publish the “Acts and Resolves of Massachusetts,” which is a compilation of all laws enacted by the state legislature for the year.
State Bookstore
The State Bookstore, a component of the State Publications and Regulations Division, is responsible for the sale of state regulations, as well as numerous other state publications, such as the “School Directory,” “State Register of Historic Places” and “Massachusetts Election Statistics.” It also has copies of recently passed state laws and a collection of souvenirs to accommodate the 100,000 tourists who visit the State House each year. Continually expanding its retail scope, the State Bookstore now averages more than $400,000 in annual sales.
| Date published: | January 13, 2023 |
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