| 1 | 1 | | 1 of 1 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1323 FILED ON: 1/18/2023 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 220 |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | Alyson M. Sullivan-Almeida |
|---|
| 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 studying best practices for ensuring the safety of blind persons. |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Alyson M. Sullivan-Almeida7th Plymouth1/18/2023Michael J. Soter8th Worcester1/26/2023Angelo L. D'Emilia8th Plymouth1/31/2023David F. DeCoste5th Plymouth2/9/2023Marcus S. Vaughn9th Norfolk2/14/2023 1 of 2 |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1323 FILED ON: 1/18/2023 |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 220 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Sullivan-Almeida of Abington, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | 220) of Alyson M. Sullivan-Almeida and others for legislation to establish a special commission |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | to study and determine best practices to ensure the safety of blind persons. Children, Families |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | and Persons with Disabilities. |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 271 OF 2021-2022.] |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | (2023-2024) |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | An Act relative to studying best practices for ensuring the safety of blind persons. |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | of the same, as follows: |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | 1 SECTION 1. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, there shall |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 2be a special commission established to study and determine best practices to ensure the safety of |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | 3blind persons in public walkways and intersections. The commission, in conjunction with the |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | 4Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, shall be tasked with, but not be limited to, reviewing |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | 5the following: existing roadway and traffic policies aimed at ensuring the safety of the blind and |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 6visually impaired; current use of accessible pedestrian signals; and new technology available to |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | 7improve upon the safety of blind and visually impaired persons, particularly in cities and highly |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 8congested areas. 2 of 2 |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | 9 (b) The commission shall consist of 9 members: the commissioner of the Massachusetts |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | 10commission for the blind, or a designee; the chief executive officer of the Massachusetts |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 11department of transportation, or a designee; the commissioner of the department of conservation |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | 12and recreation, or a designee; the executive director of the disability law center, or a designee; |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | 13the secretary of the executive office of public safety and security, or a designee, and four people |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | 14to be appointed by the governor, two of whom must be advocates for the blind and visually 3 of |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | 153 impaired community, and two of whom must be experts in roadway safety and accessibility |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 16technology. |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | 17 (c) The commission shall file its report and findings, along with any recommendations for |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | 18legislation or executive action, with the secretary of administration and finance, and the chairs of |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | 19committees as appropriate in light of the recommendations, which may include but shall not be |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | 20limited to the joint committee on children, families, and persons with disabilities, the joint |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | 21committee on transportation, the joint committee on public safety and homeland security, the |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | 22chair of the senate and house committees on bonding, capital expenditures and state assets, and |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | 23the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives within 1 year of the passage of this act. |
|---|