Massachusetts General Laws
Chapter 35 - County Treasurers, State Supervision of County Accounts and County Finances
Section 32 - Provisions of Appropriation Acts for Counties and County Hospitals; Approved Schedules; Certification; Transfers; Purposes; Expenditures in Excess of Appropriations; Reserve Fund

Section 32. Sums appropriated in appropriation acts for counties and in appropriation acts for the care, maintenance and repair of county hospitals shall be based upon detailed schedules approved by the county advisory boards, copies of which shall be deposited with the director of accounts.
Said director shall file with the county commissioners and the county treasurer of each county a certification of the amounts appropriated as set forth in the approved schedules. Except as provided by such acts or except as otherwise provided by law, no liability may be incurred and no expenditure shall be made in excess of the amount available in an existing appropriation for a function, a main group, a class or a subclass.
Transfers within an appropriation from one main group to another main group may be made upon written request of the authorized official of the organization unit with the written approval of the county commissioners, and copies of said request and approval shall be filed with the county treasurer; provided, however, that no transfer shall be made from the main groups ''personal services'', ''equipment'', ''structures and improvements'' or ''improvements to land'' to another main group nor shall any transfer be made from any other main group into any of the aforementioned main groups.
Transfers within an appropriation between classes and between subclasses within a main group may be made by the authorized official of the organization unit whenever in his opinion public necessity and convenience so requires; provided, however, that no transfer shall be made within the classes of the main groups ''personal services'' or ''equipment''.
Amounts included for permanent positions in such acts for personal services shall be based upon schedules of permanent positions and salary rates as approved by the county advisory boards, and, except as otherwise shown by the files on said boards, a copy of which shall be deposited with the county personnel board, no part of sums so appropriated shall be available for payment of salaries of any additional permanent positions, or for payments on account of upward reallocations of permanent positions, or for payments on account of any change of salary range or compensation of any permanent positions, except that an attendant who becomes a licensed practical nurse and a graduate nurse who becomes a registered nurse may be paid an increased salary rate on account of such promotion, subject to approval by the county personnel board, and a person may receive an increased cash salary in lieu of maintenance formerly received, with like approval.
Moneys appropriated under such acts for the purchase of equipment shall be expended for the purposes specified in the schedules as approved by the county advisory boards, and for no other purpose.
No expense incurred for mid-day meals by county officers and employees, other than those who receive as part of their compensation a noncash allowance in the form of full or complete boarding and housing, and those county officers and employees who are stationed beyond commuting distance from their homes for a period of more than twenty-four hours, shall be allowed; provided that officers or employees who have charge of juries or who have the care and custody of prisoners, insane persons or other persons placed in their charge by a court or under legal proceedings for transfer to or from court to an institution or from institution to institution and persons certified by a district attorney as engaged in investigation shall be reimbursed for the expense of mid-day meals when necessarily engaged on such duty; and provided, further, that county officers and employees in attendance at meetings and conferences called by or for any group or class on a statewide basis shall be so reimbursed.
Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, not more than two employees of a county may be reimbursed for meals and other expenses incurred in attendance at a meeting or conference called by or for any group or class on a statewide basis.
No moneys appropriated under such acts shall be expended by county officers or employees for monthly telephone service furnished to such officers or employees at places other than regular offices.
The allowance to county officers and employees for expenses incurred by them in the operation of motor vehicles owned by them or by any member of their immediate families and used in the performance of their official duties shall not exceed the rate established for state employees, except in cases where a higher allowance is specifically provided by statute; provided that in the case of commitments of the insane the justice of the court ordering the commitment may order a higher rate but not to exceed forty cents a mile one way. No expenditure shall be made for travel outside the commonwealth for attendance at conferences or conventions.
No county expenditures shall be made or liability incurred, nor shall a bill be paid for any purpose, in excess of the appropriation therefor, except as provided in sections fourteen and thirty-four.
No direct draft against the account known as the Reserve Fund as appearing in advisory board appropriations for counties shall be made, but transfers from such accounts to other accounts may be made to meet extraordinary or unforeseen expenditures upon the request of the county commissioners to and with the approval of the county advisory boards or their designated executive committee; provided, however, that if such county advisory board or its designated executive committee has not acted upon such request within forty-five days after such request has been received by it, then the county commissioner may submit such request to the bureau of accounts. The director of accounts shall be notified of the approval of such transfer by the county commissioner within fifteen days.