| 1 | 1 | | 1 of 1 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3789 FILED ON: 1/20/2023 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3861 |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | Manny Cruz |
|---|
| 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 junior operators. |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Manny Cruz7th Essex1/20/2023 1 of 4 |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3789 FILED ON: 1/20/2023 |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3861 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Cruz of Salem, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3861) of Manny |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | Cruz for legislation to establish a junior operator’s license fund to be administered by the |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | Registrar of Motor Vehicles. Transportation. |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | (2023-2024) |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | An Act relative to junior operators. |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | of the same, as follows: |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 29 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | 2section 2AAAAAA the following section:- |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | 3 Section 2BBBBBB. (a) There shall be established and set upon the books of the |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | 4commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Junior Operator’s License Fund. The fund |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 5shall be administered by the registrar of motor vehicles. |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | 6 (b) The fund shall be credited with: (i) revenue from appropriations and other money |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | 7authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) funds |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | 8from public and private sources such as gifts, grants and donations; and (iii) interest earned on |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 9money in the fund. The fund shall not be subject to section 5C of chapter 29 and shall be subject |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | 10to appropriation. |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 11 (c)(1) The fund shall be used to provide financial assistance to persons from |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | 12disadvantaged backgrounds seeking a junior operator’s license by providing grants to reduce or 2 of 4 |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | 13eliminate the cost of a driver education and training course required pursuant to section 8 of |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 14chapter 90. |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | 15 (2) Students shall be eligible to receive financial assistance from the fund if the student or |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | 16the student’s household is eligible for any 1 of the following 5 programs: (i) free or reduced |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | 17lunch pursuant to the federal school lunch program; (ii) MassHealth; (iii) the supplemental |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | 18nutrition assistance program; (iv) the federal program of temporary assistance for needy families; |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 19and (v) the residential assistance for families in transition program. |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | 20 (3) The registrar shall create an application form to be used for determining eligibility for |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | 21all persons seeking financial assistance from the fund. |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | 22 (d) The registrar shall establish rules and regulations that are necessary to implement this |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | 23section. |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | 24 SECTION 2. Section 8 of chapter 90 of the General Law is hereby amended by striking |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | 25out, in line 90, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, the words “6 months” and inserting in |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | 26place thereof the following words:- 90 days. |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | 27 SECTION 3. Said chapter 90 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 8M the |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | 28following section:- |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | 29 Section 8N. (a) Before enrolling a student in a driver education and training course, as |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | 30described in section 8, the provider of the course shall provide written notice to the student |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | 31identifying the requirements of the course and the amount of time needed to complete all |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | 32requirements of the course. 3 of 4 |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | 33 (b) The provider of a driver education and training course shall refund all payments made |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | 34by the student for the course if: |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | 35 (1) either (i) the provider of the course fails to provide the notice required pursuant to |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | 36subsection (a), or (ii) the provider of the course fails to complete the course within the amount of |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | 37time specified in the notice made pursuant to subsection (a), unless failure to complete the course |
|---|
| 66 | 66 | | 38was due to delays caused by the student; and |
|---|
| 67 | 67 | | 39 (2) the student’s learner’s permit issued under section 8B expires prior to the student’s |
|---|
| 68 | 68 | | 40completion of the course. |
|---|
| 69 | 69 | | 41 (c) The notice required by subsection (a) shall identify a student’s right to a refund |
|---|
| 70 | 70 | | 42pursuant to subsection (b). |
|---|
| 71 | 71 | | 43 (d) The registrar shall collect data on: (i) the number of annual enrollments in driver |
|---|
| 72 | 72 | | 44education and training courses in the commonwealth; (ii) the number of people whose learner’s |
|---|
| 73 | 73 | | 45permit expired before obtaining a junior operator’s license; (iii) if known, the reasons for a |
|---|
| 74 | 74 | | 46learner’s permit expiring before a person obtained their junior operator’s license; and (iv) the |
|---|
| 75 | 75 | | 47name and location of any person or entity providing a driver education and training course in the |
|---|
| 76 | 76 | | 48commonwealth and the number of learner’s permits that expired while applicants were enrolled |
|---|
| 77 | 77 | | 49in their program. |
|---|
| 78 | 78 | | 50 (e) The registrar shall file an annual report on the data collected pursuant to subsection |
|---|
| 79 | 79 | | 51(d) with the attorney general’s office. The attorney general’s office shall create an advisory board |
|---|
| 80 | 80 | | 52to review the annual report and make recommendations to the registrar relative to the data. 4 of 4 |
|---|
| 81 | 81 | | 53 (f) The attorney general’s office, in consultation with the registrar, shall establish a form |
|---|
| 82 | 82 | | 54to be used for making a request for a refund pursuant to subsection (b). Students making a |
|---|
| 83 | 83 | | 55request for a refund pursuant to said subsection (b) shall complete and submit the form |
|---|
| 84 | 84 | | 56established pursuant to this subsection to: (i) the attorney general’s office; and (ii) the provider of |
|---|
| 85 | 85 | | 57the education and training course. |
|---|
| 86 | 86 | | 58 (g) The attorney general’s office shall assess fines and civil penalties not more than |
|---|
| 87 | 87 | | 59$1,000 for any violation of subsection (a), (b) or (c). |
|---|
| 88 | 88 | | 60 (h) The attorney general’s office, in consultation with the registrar, shall make rules and |
|---|
| 89 | 89 | | 61regulations to enforce this section. |
|---|