1 of 1
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 567 FILED ON: 1/13/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1534
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Kenneth I. Gordon
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act to protect residents and law enforcement officers in the Commonwealth.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Kenneth I. Gordon21st Middlesex1/10/2023 1 of 2
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 567 FILED ON: 1/13/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1534
By Representative Gordon of Bedford, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1534) of
Kenneth I. Gordon relative to the classification of arrest warrants. The Judiciary.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 1621 OF 2021-2022.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act to protect residents and law enforcement officers in the Commonwealth.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 276 of the General Laws, as appearing in 2020 Official Edition, is
2hereby amended by adding the following sections:-
3 Section 22A. Arrest warrants issued by a justice, pursuant to section 21 of chapter 276, or
4a clerk, pursuant to section 33 of chapter 218, shall be classified as discretionary or non-
5discretionary.
6 The classification of discretionary shall be limited to subjects who do not pose a credible
7risk of danger to an individual or the public.
8 Section 22B. Law enforcement officers may arrest or may delay or dispense with the
9arrest of a person who is subject to arrest under a discretionary warrant, provided, in the event of
10a non-arrest decision, the officer: 2 of 2
11 (i)gives the subject of the warrant written notice with the date, time, and location of
12the court where he or she must appear to remove the warrant;
13 (ii)documents the circumstances in an incident report in accordance with the
14standards of the officer’s law enforcement agency; and
15 (iii)ensures that a copy of the incident report is furnished to the court of jurisdiction
16for the underlying arrest warrant.
17 Law enforcement officers must arrest the subject of any warrant classified as non-
18discretionary.