Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H1561 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1877 FILED ON: 1/18/2023
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1561
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Daniel J. Hunt
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act related to indigency.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Daniel J. Hunt13th Suffolk1/18/2023 1 of 3
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1877 FILED ON: 1/18/2023
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1561
18	18	By Representative Hunt of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1561) of Daniel
19	19	J. Hunt for legislation relative to indigency. The Judiciary.
20	20	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
21	21	SEE SENATE, NO. 934 OF 2021-2022.]
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
25	25	(2023-2024)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act related to indigency.
28	28	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
29	29	of the same, as follows:
30	30	1 SECTION 1. Section 27A of chapter 261 is hereby amended by striking out the
31	31	2definition of “indigent” and inserting in place thereof the following:
32	32	3 ''Indigent'', (a) a person who receives one of the following types of public assistance:
33	33	4transitional aid to families with dependent children, emergency aid to elderly, disabled and
34	34	5children, supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits, refugee cash assistance, need-
35	35	6based veterans' benefits or SSI state supplemental program benefits; (b) a person whose income,
36	36	7after taxes, is 125 per cent or less of the current poverty guidelines established annually by the
37	37	8Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to Section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget
38	38	9Reconciliation Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)), as amended; or (c) a person who is unable to
39	39	10pay the fees and costs of the proceeding in which he is involved or is unable to do so without 2 of 3
40	40	11depriving himself or his dependents of the necessities of life, including food, shelter and
41	41	12clothing, but a prisoner shall not be adjudged indigent pursuant to section 27C unless the
42	42	13prisoner has complied with the procedures set forth in section 29 and the court finds that the
43	43	14prisoner is incapable of making payments under the plans set forth in said section 29.
44	44	15 Section 27A of chapter 261 is hereby further amended by striking out the word “Inmate”
45	45	16and inserting in place thereof the word “Prisoner”:
46	46	17 '' Prisoner”, a person committed to, held by or in the custody of the department of
47	47	18correction or a state, county or federal correctional facility or the treatment center under chapter
48	48	19123A.
49	49	20 Section 29 of chapter 261 is hereby amended by striking the word “inmate” wherever it
50	50	21appears and replacing it with the word “prisoner.”
51	51	22 Section 2A of Chapter 211D is hereby amended by striking out the second paragraph of
52	52	23section 2A (c) and inserting in place thereof the following:
53	53	24 At any time the court receives information causing its determination of a person’s
54	54	25indigency status to be in doubt, the court shall order the chief probation officer or the officer's
55	55	26designee to reassess the financial circumstances of the person to ensure that the person meets the
56	56	27definition of indigency. The chief probation officer or the officer's designee shall prepare, sign
57	57	28and file a written report certifying that the person meets, or does not meet, the definition of
58	58	29indigency.
59	59	30 Said chapter 211D is further amended by amending section 2A (d) as follows: 3 of 3
60	60	31 (d) If a criminal defendant is charged with a second or further offense while continuing to
61	61	32be represented by court-appointed counsel for a previously charged offense, the court in its
62	62	33discretion shall determine whether any further determination of indigency need be undertaken.
63	63	34Upon completion of a reassessment, the chief probation officer shall prepare a written report of
64	64	35the officer's findings. The chief probation officer or the officer's designee shall sign the report,
65	65	36certifying that the defendant either continues to meet or no longer meets the definition of
66	66	37indigency. The report shall be filed with the case papers and shall be presented to the judge
67	67	38presiding at the defendant's next court appearance. If, upon receipt of the report, a judge finds
68	68	39that the defendant no longer meets the definition of indigency, the judge shall revoke the
69	69	40appointment of counsel and allow the defendant a reasonable continuance to obtain new counsel.
70	70	41 Said chapter 211D is further amended by striking out section 2A (f), (g), (h) and (i).