Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H2344 Compare Versions

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

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1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3242 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2344
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Russell E. Holmes
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 providing for greater police transparency.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Russell E. Holmes6th Suffolk1/20/2023 1 of 14
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3242 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2344
18	18	By Representative Holmes of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2344) of
19	19	Russell E. Holmes relative to police transparency. Public Safety and Homeland Security.
20	20	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
21	21	SEE HOUSE, NO. 4448 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 providing for greater police transparency.
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. Chapter 3 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following
31	31	2section:-
32	32	3 Section 76. (a) There shall be a permanent DJC task force that shall investigate, analyze
33	33	4and study the demographic statistics of all state, county, municipal and public departments,
34	34	5boards, commissions and agencies that receive funding by the commonwealth. The task force
35	35	6shall be authorized to perform audits on any state or county agency to ensure compliance with
36	36	7section 221 of chapter 6.
37	37	8 (b) The task force may receive requests to perform audits on departments, boards,
38	38	9commissions or agencies by employees of the department, board, commission or agency. 2 of 14
39	39	10 (c) The task force shall annually file a report with the governor and the clerks of the
40	40	11house of representatives and the senate detailing the results of any audits performed by the task
41	41	12force and any other information that the task force deems relevant.
42	42	13 SECTION 2. Section 116 of chapter 6 of the General Laws, as appearing in section 4 of
43	43	14chapter 253 of the acts of 2020, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-
44	44	15 The committee shall ensure that committee-certified academies employ a staff that
45	45	16includes people of color and women, at least in such proportion as these groups exist in the
46	46	17commonwealth’s population as periodically determined by the state secretary as the
47	47	18commonwealth’s chief census officer.
48	48	19 SECTION 3. Chapter 6 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section
49	49	20116 the following section:-
50	50	21 Section 116½. The committee shall ensure that training requirements are developed based
51	51	22on the most relevant scenarios that law enforcement officers in the commonwealth may
52	52	23encounter based on the most recently available criminal statistics and data from law enforcement
53	53	24agencies, as defined in section 1 of chapter 6E.
54	54	25 SECTION 4. Subsection (b) of section 116G of said chapter 6 of the General Laws, as
55	55	26amended by sections 18 to 22, inclusive, of said chapter 253 of the acts of 2020, is hereby
56	56	27amended by adding the following clause:-
57	57	28 (vi) implicit bias and inclusion training to better understand and work with members of
58	58	29the community that may have different demographic characteristics or backgrounds. 3 of 14
59	59	30 SECTION 5. Section 116J of said chapter 6 of the General Laws, as appearing in section
60	60	3123 of said chapter 253 of the acts of 2020, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:-
61	61	32The committee shall ensure that, pursuant to said section 14, programs train officers to use non-
62	62	33lethal force before employing physical force that may result in injury or death.
63	63	34 SECTION 6. Section 167 of chapter 6 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018
64	64	35Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the words “not include information
65	65	36concerning any offenses which are not punishable by incarceration”, in lines 45 and 46, and
66	66	37inserting in place thereof the following words:- only include information concerning offenses
67	67	38relative to murder, as defined in section 1 of chapter 265.
68	68	39 SECTION 7. Chapter 6 of the General Laws is hereby further amended by adding the
69	69	40following section:-
70	70	41 Section 221. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, all state,
71	71	42county, municipal and public departments, boards, commissions and agencies shall ensure that
72	72	43its staff includes people of color and women, at least in such proportion as these groups exist in
73	73	44the commonwealth’s population as periodically determined by the state secretary as the
74	74	45commonwealth’s chief census officer.
75	75	46 (b) If a state, county, municipal or public department, board, commission or agency fails
76	76	47to meet the proportionality requirement in subsection (a), 50 per cent of the appropriation
77	77	48designated for the department, board, commission or agency shall be transferred to the General
78	78	49Fund.
79	79	50 SECTION 8. Chapter 6E of the General Laws, as appearing in section 30 of chapter 253
80	80	51of the acts of 2020, is hereby amended by adding the following 4 sections:- 4 of 14
81	81	52 Section 17. Each law enforcement agency shall provide on a publically accessible
82	82	53website:
83	83	54 (a) data relative to the hiring and retention of law enforcement officers, including, but not
84	84	55limited to: (i) demographic information for law enforcement officers employed and hired by the
85	85	56agency; (ii) the number of law enforcement officers hired by the agency; (iii) the number of
86	86	57cadets hired by the agency; (iv) demographic information for cadets hired by the agency; (v)
87	87	58recruitment efforts by the agency to attract and hire officers of color; and (vi) the number of law
88	88	59enforcement officers that have terminated their employment with the agency and for what
89	89	60reason.
90	90	61 (b) data relative to traffic stops performed by law enforcement officers, including, but not
91	91	62limited to: (i) demographic information for the person subject to the traffic stop; (ii) demographic
92	92	63information for the law enforcement officer that performed the traffic stop; (iii) the result of the
93	93	64traffic stop, including whether the stop resulted in a warning, citation, arrest or search; (iv) the
94	94	65duration and time of day of the traffic stop; (v) vehicle information; and (vi) law enforcement
95	95	66officer patrol patterns, including, but not limited to where law enforcement officers park to
96	96	67perform traffic stops, which neighborhoods law enforcement officers patrol and where speed-
97	97	68monitoring radar are set up.
98	98	69 (c) data relative to law enforcement officer response to residential homes broken down by
99	99	70neighborhood, including, but not limited to: (i) demographic information relative to the
100	100	71homeowner or homeowners; (ii) demographic information for the person that called for
101	101	72assistance; (iii) the number of arrests made after a response to a residential home and for what
102	102	73cause; and (iv) demographic information relative to those arrested. 5 of 14
103	103	74 (d) data relative to law enforcement officer discipline, including, but not limited to: (i)
104	104	75demographic information for the law enforcement officer subject to discipline, including race,
105	105	76sex, age, rank and the number of years in that position; (ii) the reason for punishment; and (iii)
106	106	77what punishment was received.
107	107	78 (e) data relative to individuals enrolled in an academy or training program certified by the
108	108	79municipal police training committee, including, but not limited to: (i) demographic information
109	109	80for individuals enrolled in the academy or training program, including race, sex and age; (ii)
110	110	81demographic information for individuals enrolled in the academy or training program that have
111	111	82been subject to discipline, including race, sex, age and for what the discipline was received; (iii)
112	112	83performance of individuals that have completed an academy or training program including test
113	113	84and physical fitness scores; (iv) demographic information relative to which individuals received
114	114	85awards for their performance in the academy or training program; and (v) the rank of every
115	115	86individual enrolled in the academy or training program, including, if applicable, any leadership
116	116	87role such as class president.
117	117	88 Section 18. No person issued a firearm, as defined in section 121 of chapter 140, by a law
118	118	89enforcement agency shall tamper with the firearm, including, but not limited to accessorizing or
119	119	90attaching stickers to the firearm.
120	120	91 Section 19. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context
121	121	92clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-
122	122	93 “Law enforcement activity”, actions performed by a law enforcement officer including:
123	123	94(i) noncustodial questioning of individuals suspected of criminal activity; (ii) pedestrian stops
124	124	95where an officer has an individualized, reasonable suspicion that the person stopped has 6 of 14
125	125	96committed, is committing or is about to commit a crime and where a reasonable person would
126	126	97not feel free to end the encounter at will; (iii) frisks; (iv) searches of persons or property,
127	127	98including vehicles; (v) roadblock or checkpoint stops; (vi) home searches; and (vii) investigatory
128	128	99questioning of victims of or witnesses to a crime.
129	129	100 “Noncustodial questioning”, the questioning of an individual during an investigation
130	130	101where such individual has not been detained and is free to end the encounter at will.
131	131	102 (b) During a law enforcement activity, an officer shall:
132	132	103 (i) identify themselves to the person who is the subject of the law enforcement activity by
133	133	104providing their name and rank;
134	134	105 (ii) provide the person an explanation of the reason for the law enforcement activity,
135	135	106unless providing such information would impair a criminal investigation; and
136	136	107 (iii) offer a business card to the person at the conclusion of the law enforcement activity
137	137	108if the law enforcement activity does not result in an arrest. If the person who is subject to the law
138	138	109enforcement activity is under the age of 18, the officer shall offer the business card to the person
139	139	110or, if present at the scene, to a parent or legal guardian.
140	140	111 (c) A law enforcement officer shall offer a business card to any person requesting
141	141	112identifying information; provided, however, that if an officer does not have a business card with
142	142	113their identifying information on their person, the officer may verbally provide the person with
143	143	114the officer’s name and rank and allow the person sufficient time to record the information. 7 of 14
144	144	115 (d) Each law enforcement agency shall provide all law enforcement officers employed by
145	145	116the agency with business cards that include the officer’s name, rank, contact information and
146	146	117blank space to write any necessary information as determined by the officer.
147	147	118 (e) A law enforcement officer shall not be required to comply with this section if:
148	148	119 (i) the officer is engaged in agency-approved undercover activity and law enforcement
149	149	120activity is taken in furtherance of the undercover activity;
150	150	121 (ii) exigent circumstances require immediate action by the officer;
151	151	122 (iii) the officer reasonably expects that the officer or any other person is in danger of
152	152	123physical injury or that there is an imminent risk of damage to property or to forestall the
153	153	124imminent escape of a suspect of imminent potential destruction of evidence;
154	154	125 (iv) the officer is conducting a security search of a person or property, including a
155	155	126consent search pursuant to guidance by the commission pursuant to section 20, where the search
156	156	127is predicated upon entrance to a public building or facility, location, event or gathering; or
157	157	128 (v) the officer is verifying the identity of a person seeking entry to an area where public
158	158	129access is restricted by a law enforcement agency due to a public health, safety or security
159	159	130concern.
160	160	131 Section 20. The commission shall develop guidance for law enforcement officers with
161	161	132respect to voluntary, knowing and intelligent consent prior to the search of a person, vehicle,
162	162	133home or property where the search is not performed pursuant to a warrant or probable cause.
163	163	134 SECTION 9. Chapter 12 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
164	164	135section 11I the following section:- 8 of 14
165	165	136 Section 11I½ . Any person who intentionally summons a law enforcement officer without
166	166	137reason to suspect a criminal act, imminent threat to a person or property or any other violation of
167	167	138the General Laws, in whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding the
168	168	139race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability, sexual
169	169	140orientation or sexual identity of a person, regardless of whether the belief or perception is
170	170	141correct, shall be liable to the aggrieved person or persons, in a civil action for appropriate
171	171	142equitable relief as provided for in section 11H, including the award of compensatory money
172	172	143damages. Any aggrieved person or persons who prevail in an action authorized by this section
173	173	144shall be entitled to an award of the costs of litigation and reasonable attorneys’ fees in an amount
174	174	145to be fixed by the court.
175	175	146 SECTION 10. Section 26 of chapter 31 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018
176	176	147Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “standings”, in line 5, the
177	177	148following words:- ; provided, however, that for each veteran placed on eligible lists, a
178	178	149proportional number of non-veteran community members who pass examinations for original
179	179	150appointment shall be placed on the eligible lists.
180	180	151 SECTION 11. Chapter 41 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the
181	181	152following section:-
182	182	153 Section 134. A police officer or firefighter In a city or town shall complete 10 hours of
183	183	154community service per month within the community as determined by the chief.
184	184	155 SECTION 12. Chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the
185	185	156following section:- 9 of 14
186	186	157 Section 98. Each school district, charter school, as defined in section 89, and regional
187	187	158school district created pursuant to section 14B shall provide on a publically accessible website,
188	188	159data relative to student discipline, including, but not limited to: (i) demographic information for
189	189	160the students that received disciplinary action; (ii) for what purpose was the student disciplined;
190	190	161and (iii) what disciplinary action was imposed, including, but not limited to detentions,
191	191	162suspensions, and expulsions, and for what length of time.
192	192	163 SECTION 13. Chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition,
193	193	164is hereby amended by striking out section 16A and inserting in place thereof the following
194	194	165section:-
195	195	166 Section 16A. (a) No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit the unnecessary operation
196	196	167of the engine of a motor vehicle while said vehicle is stopped for a foreseeable period of time in
197	197	168excess of 5 minutes. This section shall not apply to: (i) vehicles being serviced, provided that
198	198	169operation of the engine is essential to the proper repair thereof; (ii) vehicles engaged in the
199	199	170delivery or acceptance of goods, wares or merchandise for which engine assisted power is
200	200	171necessary and substitute alternate means cannot be made available; or (iii) vehicles engaged in an
201	201	172operation for which the engine power is necessary for an associate power need other than
202	202	173movement and substitute alternate power means cannot be made available provided that such
203	203	174operation does not cause or contribute to a condition of air pollution. Whoever violates any
204	204	175provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than $100 for the first offense,
205	205	176nor more than $500 for each succeeding offense.
206	206	177 (b) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, between the hours of 8:00
207	207	178p.m. and 7:00 a.m., no person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit: (i) the unnecessary operation 10 of 14
208	208	179of the engine of a commercial vehicle within 100 yards of a residential home or (ii) the audible
209	209	180warning system of a commercial vehicle to be activated within 100 yards of a residential home.
210	210	181Whoever violates any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than $100
211	211	182for the first offense, nor more than $500 for each succeeding offense.
212	212	183 SECTION 14. Section 63 of chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in section 10
213	213	184of chapter 122 of the acts of 2019, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (a) and inserting
214	214	185in place thereof the following subsection:-
215	215	186 (a) The registry of motor vehicles shall collect data from any issued Massachusetts
216	216	187Uniform Citation regarding the following information: (i) identifying characteristics of the
217	217	188individuals who receive a warning or citation or who are arrested, including the age, race and
218	218	189gender of the individual; (ii) identifying characteristics of the law enforcement officer, as defined
219	219	190in section 1 of chapter 6E, who issued the warning or citation, including the race and sex of the
220	220	191law enforcement officer; (iii) the traffic infraction; (iv) the date and time of the offense and the
221	221	192municipality in which the offense was committed; (v) whether a search was initiated as a result
222	222	193of the stop; (vi) whether the stop resulted in a warning, citation or arrest; and (vii) whether the
223	223	194individual that received the citation elected to transmit a copy of the citation to the DJC Task
224	224	195Force, established pursuant to section 76 of chapter 3. The registry of motor vehicles shall
225	225	196maintain statistical information on the data required by this section and shall report that
226	226	197information annually to the secretary of public safety and security.
227	227	198 SECTION 15. Chapter 124 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the
228	228	199following 2 sections:- 11 of 14
229	229	200 Section 11. The department shall provide on a publically accessible website demographic
230	230	201information relative to prisoner attendance for department programming and prisoner discipline.
231	231	202 Section 12. The department shall provide on a publically accessible website information
232	232	203relative to grievances filed by correction officers, including, but not limited to: (i) a summary of
233	233	204the grievance and (ii) the result of the grievance process.
234	234	205 SECTION 16. Chapter 127 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the
235	235	206following section:-
236	236	207 Section 170. (a) As used in this section the following words shall, unless the context
237	237	208clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-
238	238	209 “Body-worn camera”, a portable electronic recording device worn on a law enforcement
239	239	210officer’s person that creates, generates, sends, receives, stores, displays and processes
240	240	211audiovisual recordings or records audio and video data of law enforcement-related encounters
241	241	212and activities.
242	242	213 “Record”, the process of capturing data or information stored on a recording medium.
243	243	214 (b) Any officer that responds to an emergency, incident or altercation within a state or
244	244	215county correctional facility shall wear a body-worn camera to record the emergency, incident or
245	245	216altercation. All recordings shall be retained by the state or county correctional facility pursuant to
246	246	217regulations promulgated by the commissioner pursuant to this section.
247	247	218 (c) The commissioner shall promulgate regulations relative to the use of body-worn
248	248	219cameras by officers and the retention of recordings by officers. 12 of 14
249	249	220 SECTION 17. Section 9 of chapter 211B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018
250	250	221Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the word “and” in line 140.
251	251	222 SECTION 18. Said section 9 of said chapter 211B of the General Laws, as so appearing,
252	252	223is hereby further amended by striking out clause (xxiv) and inserting in place thereof the
253	253	224following 3 clauses:-
254	254	225 (xxiv) the authority to approve, upon the request of the court administrator, the court
255	255	226administrator's application for and acceptance on behalf of the commonwealth of any funds,
256	256	227including grants, bequests, gifts or contributions, from any person which shall be deposited in a
257	257	228separate account and may be expended by the court administrator, without further appropriation,
258	258	229in accordance with chapter 29 and any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder;
259	259	230 (xxv) the responsibility to collect and provide on a publically accessible website
260	260	231demographic data, including, but not limited to race, sex, and age, relative to: (i) arraignments;
261	261	232(ii) convictions, including for what criminal offense; (iii) sentence received if convicted,
262	262	233including for what criminal offense; (iv) dismissals; and (v) exonerations; and
263	263	234 (xxvi) after a review of the data collected pursuant to clause (xxv), the power to notify
264	264	235and discipline justices that exhibit a pattern of discrimination against criminal defendants.
265	265	236 SECTION 19. Chapter 269 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the
266	266	237following section:-
267	267	238 Section 20. (a) As used in this section, the term “hate speech” shall mean speech that
268	268	239carries no meaning other than the expression of hatred for some group, such as a particular race
269	269	240or gender, especially in circumstances in which the communication is likely to provoke violence. 13 of 14
270	270	241 (b) Whoever makes or circulates hate speech or causes hate speech to be made or
271	271	242circulated shall be punished by a fine of not less than $500 or by imprisonment in a jail or house
272	272	243of correction for not more than 1 year or by both such fine and imprisonment.
273	273	244 SECTION 20. Chapter 228 of the acts of 2000 is hereby amended by inserting after
274	274	245section 5 the following 2 sections:-
275	275	246 Section 5A. The registry of motor vehicles shall revise the Massachusetts Uniform
276	276	247Citation to include a field that allows individuals cited by a law enforcement officer, as defined
277	277	248in section 1 of chapter 6E of the General Laws, to opt-in to transmit a copy of the citation to the
278	278	249DJC Task Force, established pursuant to section 76 of chapter 3 of the General Laws. The police
279	279	250officer shall notify the individual of the option to transmit a copy of the citation to the DJC Task
280	280	251Force at the time the citation is issued; provided, that if the individual wishes to transmit a copy
281	281	252of the citation to the DJC Task Force, the individual shall opt-in at the time the citation is issued.
282	282	253 Section 5B. The executive office of public safety shall review on a monthly basis data
283	283	254collected pursuant to subsection (a) of section 63 of chapter 90. If, following its review, the
284	284	255executive office of public safety determines that any law enforcement officer, as defined in
285	285	256section 1 of chapter 6E, has exhibited a pattern of racial and gender profiling or has
286	286	257predominantly issued warnings or citation to individuals of a race or gender that differs from the
287	287	258race or gender of the law enforcement officer, those warnings or citations issued by the law
288	288	259enforcement officer, and any fines resulting from issued citations, shall be void.
289	289	260 SECTION 20. Said chapter 228 of the acts of 2000 is hereby further amended by
290	290	261inserting after section 6 the following section:- 14 of 14
291	291	262 Section 6A. The executive office of public safety shall develop a uniform protocol for
292	292	263law enforcement officers, as defined in section 1 of chapter 6E of the General Laws, on how to
293	293	264use the Massachusetts Uniform Citation to record the race and sex of each officer that has issued
294	294	265a citation to an individual for a motor vehicle violation. The protocol shall be put into effect not
295	295	266later than January 1, 2023.