Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H1792 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. 714 FILED ON: 1/17/2023
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1792
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Chynah Tyler
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 relative to the composition of the Victim and Witness Assistance Board.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Chynah Tyler7th Suffolk1/17/2023 1 of 2
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 714 FILED ON: 1/17/2023
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1792
18	18	By Representative Tyler of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1792) of Chynah
19	19	Tyler relative to the composition of the Victim and Witness Assistance Board. The Judiciary.
20	20	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
21	21	SEE HOUSE, NO. 1903 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 relative to the composition of the Victim and Witness Assistance Board.
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 4 of chapter 258B, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended
31	31	2by striking the first paragraph and inserting the following paragraph:-
32	32	3 There is hereby established a victim and witness assistance board, to consist of seven
33	33	4members who shall serve without compensation. Notwithstanding any provision of section six of
34	34	5chapter two hundred and sixty-eight A to the contrary, the board shall consist of the attorney
35	35	6general or their designee who shall be chair, two district attorneys who shall be appointed by the
36	36	7governor, and four members of the public, of whom three shall be victims including at least one
37	37	8representing an underserved community. Members of the public shall be appointed by the
38	38	9governor, and victim members shall be appointed from a list of eligible nominations provided by
39	39	10the executive director. Members of the board shall be selected from diverse ethnic, racial, 2 of 2
40	40	11religious, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic, and geographical
41	41	12backgrounds from throughout the commonwealth. All members shall serve for a term of three
42	42	13years and until their successor is duly appointed and qualified, except that any person appointed
43	43	14to fill a vacancy shall serve only for the unexpired term. Any member of the board shall be
44	44	15eligible for reappointment.
45	45	16 For the purposes of this section, “underserved community” shall include, but not limited
46	46	17to, a community disproportionately impacted by high rates of violence and crime and populations
47	47	18underserved due to racial and ethnic identity.
48	48	19 For the purposes of this section, “members of the public” shall not include any current
49	49	20local, state, or federal elected official.
50	50	21 Said Section 4 of chapter 258B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking
51	51	22the word “four” in the second paragraph and inserting the following word:- six