Scope and Content: Middlesex County was incorporated on May 10, 1643 (Mass Recs 2:38), continuing under successive governments of Massachusetts, most recently the Commonwealth (1780), as outlined in MGLA c 34.  Administrative powers and duties previously exercised at various times under the laws of the Commonwealth by the county courts of general sessions of the peace, county courts of common pleas, and circuit courts of common pleas, were assigned to commissioners in Middlesex and other counties, per St 1827, c 77 (1828).  The government of Middlesex County in this and other respects was abolished as of the effective date of St 1997, c 48 (approved July 11, 1997)
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Scope and Content: The Metropolitan District Water Supply Commission was created for the purpose of extending and increasing the water supply to the Massachusetts metropolitan water system (St 1926, c 375).  The commission was authorized to purchase or take land in the watersheds of the Swift and Ware rivers to develop the Quabbin Reservoir.  Series was created as a survey of a study of five methods of constructing the main dam of the Quabbin Reservoir and was not meant to be used by contractors.
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Scope and Content: Subject files contain background information and studies relating to the function of the Board of Harbor and Land Commissioners and its predecessor, 1866-1879, the Board of Harbor Commissioners, to care for, supervise, and develop the waterways of Massachusetts.
Notes: Series consists of miscellaneous documents brought together during processing; some predate holding agencies
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Scope and Content: The Division of Academic Affairs under the Board of Regents of Higher Education is responsible for granting approval to public colleges and universities seeking to establish new degree programs or to modify existing ones; for evaluating academic programs; and for participating in systemwide planning for state institutions of higher education and in other board functions.  Subject files contain minutes, agendas, reports, memoranda, and correspondence of special task forces, committees, and planning groups relating to these and other activities in which the division is involved.
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically by subject
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Scope and Content: The Subdivision of Research and Statistics was established in the Division of Aid and Relief (Dept. of Public Welfare) in 1937.  By 1939 it was renamed Bureau of Research and Statistics and by 1940 was an independent unit within the department.  It was renamed successively: Division of Research and Planning (1970), Division of Statistics and Analysis (1971), Office of Research and Planning (mid-1970s), Office of Research and Evaluation (1979), and Office of Research, Evaluation, and Planning (1983)
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically by subject, within broad categories
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Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically by subject
Notes: Cartons numbered 11-28
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Scope and Content: The Division of Mental Retardation of the Dept. of Mental Health had administrative oversight of public institutions for mentally retarded clients and care of such individuals living outside institutions, as does its successor the Dept. of Mental Retardation.  Much of this material was created by the division in response to consent decrees imposed by federal courts resulting from suits brought by client advocates and guardians.  A court-appointed monitor directed detailed corrections of individual treatment facilities and client programs during this period.  These subject files contain correspondence with advocacy groups, statistical information, internal memoranda, certification reports, assessments of institutional needs, surveys of conditions and services, and correction reports.
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Scope and Content: Savings Bank Life Insurance (SBLI) was a state-regulated program for Massachusetts savings bank insurance departments conceived of and promoted by then Boston attorney and later Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis.  St 1907, c 561, drafted by Brandeis, authorized savings banks incorporated in Massachusetts, under the auspices of the bank commissioner and the insurance commissioner, to establish insurance departments for the purpose of issuing life insurance policies.  The statute also established the General Insurance Guaranty Fund (GIGF) to provide protection for policy-holders. From 1919-1991 the program was run as the Division of Savings Bank Life Insurance, Dept. of Banking and Insurance.  It was supported successively by the Massachusetts Savings Insurance League (1906) and the Savings Bank Life Insurance Council (1938, incorporated 1947)
Notes: Transferred to Archives from Savings Bank Life Insurance Company of Massachusetts, September 18, 2001
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Scope and Content: Since 1971 the Executive Office of Human Services (Executive Office of Health and Human Services since 1992) has been responsible through its constituent agencies for the delivery of a wide range of services to persons with financial, health, social, protective, rehabilitation, and correctional needs. Its role is one of management and fiscal oversight, coordination of interagency planning and program development, and policy analysis.  Series was created to provide information for carrying out these responsibilities.
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Scope and Content: The Joint Committee on Banks and Banking, a standing committee of the General Court, considers all matters concerning banks, banking institutions, credit unions, small loans, consumer credit, and other matters referred.  It drafts, reviews, and holds hearings on proposed legislation.  Subject files are created to provide background for these activities.
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