Editing Berkshire County, Massachusetts (section)

==Law and government==
Of the fourteen [[List of counties in Massachusetts|Massachusetts counties]], Berkshire County is one of eight that exists today only as a historical geographic region; it has limited county government. Berkshire County government was abolished effective July 1, 2000. Most former county functions were assumed by state agencies, and there is no county council or commission.<ref name="Transition Audit">[http://www.mass.gov/auditor/docs/audits/2011/2011143711s.pdf Official Audit Report – Issued December 16, 2011] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304075001/http://www.mass.gov/auditor/docs/audits/2011/2011143711s.pdf |date=March 4, 2016 }} – Berkshire Sheriff's Office As of January 5, 2011.</ref> The [[Sheriffs in the United States|sheriff]] became a Commonwealth employee, but remains locally elected to perform duties within the county region and retains administrative and operational control over the Berkshire Sheriff's Office, an independent state agency created after the county government was abolished. The Berkshire Sheriff's Office runs the [[county jail]] and [[house of correction]].<ref name="Transition Audit"/>

Local communities were granted the right to form their own regional compacts for sharing services, and the towns of Berkshire County have formed such a regional compact known as the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.

Berkshire County has three Registry of Deeds Districts, one for each district.

* Berkshire Northern District in [[Adams, Massachusetts|Adams]] contains records for the city of [[North Adams, MA|North Adams]] and the towns of [[Adams, Massachusetts|Adams]], [[Cheshire, Massachusetts|Cheshire]], [[Clarksburg, Massachusetts|Clarksburg]], [[Florida, Massachusetts|Florida]], [[Hancock, Massachusetts|Hancock]], [[Lanesborough, MA|Lanesborough]], [[New Ashford, MA|New Ashford]], [[Savoy, Massachusetts|Savoy]], [[Williamstown, Massachusetts|Williamstown]], and [[Windsor, Massachusetts|Windsor]].
* Berkshire Middle District in [[Pittsfield, Massachusetts|Pittsfield]] contains records for the city of [[Pittsfield, Massachusetts|Pittsfield]] and the towns of [[Becket, Massachusetts|Becket]], [[Dalton, Massachusetts|Dalton]], [[Hinsdale, Massachusetts|Hinsdale]], [[Lee, Massachusetts|Lee]], [[Lenox, Massachusetts|Lenox]], [[Otis, Massachusetts|Otis]], [[Peru, Massachusetts|Peru]], [[Richmond, Massachusetts|Richmond]], [[Stockbridge, Massachusetts|Stockbridge]], [[Tyringham, Massachusetts|Tyringham]] and [[Washington, Massachusetts|Washington]].
* Berkshire Southern District in [[Great Barrington, MA|Great Barrington]] contains records for the towns of [[Alford, MA|Alford]], [[Egremont, MA|Egremont]], [[Great Barrington, MA|Great Barrington]], [[Monterey, MA|Monterey]], [[Mount Washington, MA|Mount Washington]], [[New Marlborough, MA|New Marlborough]], [[Sandisfield, MA|Sandisfield]], [[Sheffield, MA|Sheffield]] and [[West Stockbridge, MA|West Stockbridge]].

{| class="toccolours"
|-
|+ '''County government: Berkshire County'''
|- valign=top
! align=right | [[Court clerk|Clerk of Courts]]:
| Deborah S. Capeless
|- valign=top
! align=right | [[District attorney|District Attorney]]:
| Timothy Shugrue
|- valign=top
! align=right | [[Recorder of deeds|Register of Deeds]]:
| Maria T. Ziemba<ref>[http://www.sec.state.ma.us/rod/rodbrknth/brknthidx.htm Northern Berkshire District Registry of Deeds] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128154624/http://www.sec.state.ma.us/rod/rodbrknth/brknthidx.htm |date=January 28, 2011 }}. Sec.state.ma.us. Retrieved on July 15, 2013.</ref> (Northern District at Adams)<br /> Patsy Harris (Middle District at Pittsfield)<br /> Michelle Laramee-Jenny (Southern District at Great Barrington)
|- valign=top
! align=right | [[Probate|Register of Probate]]:
| Anthony Patella
|- valign=top
! align=right | [[Sheriff|County Sheriff]]:
| Thomas Bowler
|-
! colspan=2 | State government
|- valign=top
! align=right | [[Massachusetts House of Representatives|State Representative(s)]]:
| 3 Representatives: [http://www.mass.gov/legis/repdis03.htm]<br /> John Barrett III (D), First Berkshire<br /> Tricia Farley-Bouvier (D), Second Berkshire<br /> William Smitty Pignatelli (D), Third Berkshire
|- valign=top
! align=right | [[Massachusetts Senate|State Senator(s)]]:
| 1 Senator: [http://www.mass.gov/legis/sendis03.htm]<br /> Paul Mark (D)
|- valign=top
! align=right | [[Massachusetts Governor's Council|Governor's Councilor(s)]]:
| Tara Jacobs (D) - District 8
|-
! colspan=2 | Federal government
|- valign=top
! align=right | [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative(s)]]:
| [[Richard Neal]] (D-[[United States House of Representatives, Massachusetts District 1|1st District]])
|- valign=top
! align=right | [[United States Senate|U.S. Senators]]:
| [[Elizabeth Warren]] (D), [[Ed Markey]] (D)
|}

Berkshire County is in the {{ushr|Massachusetts|1}}, a primarily rural district that makes up most of [[Western Massachusetts]].

Berkshire County has three districts and elected Representatives in the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]].

* First Berkshire. – Consisting of the towns of Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Florida, Hancock, Hinsdale, Lanesborough, New Ashford, North Adams, Peru, Savoy, Williamstown, and Windsor, all in the county of Berkshire. John Barrett III(D) is the current Representative.
* Second Berkshire. – Consisting of the city of Pittsfield in the county of Berkshire. Tricia Farley-Bouvier (D) is the current Representative.
* Third Berkshire. – Consisting of the towns of Alford, Becket, Dalton, Egremont, Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox, Monterey, Mount Washington, New Marlborough, Otis, Richmond, Sandisfield, Sheffield, Stockbridge, Tyringham, Washington, and West Stockbridge, all in the county of Berkshire. William Smitty Pignatelli (D) is the current Representative.

Berkshire County comprises only part of one district for the Massachusetts Senate due to its low population. The district consists of all 32 cities and towns in Berkshire County as well as the following 25 communities: Ashfield, Buckland, Charlemont, Colrain, Conway, Hawley, Heath, Monroe, Shelburne, Rowe and Whately, in the county of Franklin; Blandford, Chester, Granville, Southwick, and Tolland in the county of Hampden; Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Huntington, Middlefield, Plainfield, Westhampton, Williamsburg and Worthington, in the county of Hampshire. Paul Mark (D) is the current Senator.

The Massachusetts Governor's Council, also known as the Executive Council, is composed of eight individuals elected from districts, and the Lt. Governor who serves ex officio. The eight councillors are elected from their respective districts every two years. Berkshire County is part of the 8th District.

The Council generally meets at noon on Wednesdays in its State House Chamber, next to the Governor's Office, to act on issues such as payments from the state treasury, criminal pardons and commutations, and approval of gubernatorial appointments such as judges, notaries and justices of the peace.

See also the [https://web.archive.org/web/20040421135513/http://lwvma.org/govcounty.shtml League of Women Voters of Massachusetts former page on counties] (more detailed and with map) and [https://lwvma.org/your-government/counties/ its current page on counties] (also useful).