| 1 | 1 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 3931 |
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| 2 | 2 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 3 | 3 | | ________________________________________ |
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| 4 | 4 | | HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, June 20, 2023. |
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| 5 | 5 | | The committee on Public Service to whom was referred the joint |
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| 6 | 6 | | petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3730) of Carole A. Fiola and |
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| 7 | 7 | | Michael J. Rodrigues (by vote of the town) relative to the appointment of |
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| 8 | 8 | | retired police officers as special police officers in the town of Freetown, |
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| 9 | 9 | | reports recommending that the accompanying bill (House, No. 3931) |
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| 10 | 10 | | ought to pass [Local Approval Received]. |
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| 11 | 11 | | For the committee, |
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| 12 | 12 | | KENNETH I. GORDON. 1 of 3 |
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| 13 | 13 | | FILED ON: 6/20/2023 |
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| 14 | 14 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3931 |
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| 15 | 15 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 16 | 16 | | _______________ |
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| 17 | 17 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 18 | 18 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 19 | 19 | | _______________ |
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| 20 | 20 | | An Act authorizing the appointment of retired police officers as special police officers in the |
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| 21 | 21 | | town of Freetown. |
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| 22 | 22 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 23 | 23 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 24 | 24 | | 1 SECTION 1. The board of selectmen in the town of Freetown may appoint, as the chief |
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| 25 | 25 | | 2of police considers necessary, retired police officers of the town of Freetown as special police |
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| 26 | 26 | | 3officers for the purpose of performing police details and any police duties arising therefrom or |
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| 27 | 27 | | 4during the course of police detail work, whether or not related to the detail work, The retired |
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| 28 | 28 | | 5police officers shall have previously served as regular full-time police officers for the town of |
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| 29 | 29 | | 6Freetown and voluntarily retired based upon superannuation in accordance with chapter 32 of the |
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| 30 | 30 | | 7General Laws. The special police officers shall not be subject to the maximum age restrictions |
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| 31 | 31 | | 8applied to regular police officers under chapter 32 of the General Laws but shall not be eligible |
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| 32 | 32 | | 9to serve as special police officers if they have reached the age of 70. No further deductions shall |
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| 33 | 33 | | 10be made from the regular compensation of any special police officer appointed under this act |
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| 34 | 34 | | 11pursuant to chapter 32 of the General Laws after reaching the age of 65, and upon retirement any |
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| 35 | 35 | | 12special police officers appointed under this act shall receive a superannuation retirement |
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| 36 | 36 | | 13allowance equal to that which he would have been entitled had they retired at age 65. A special 2 of 3 |
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| 37 | 37 | | 14police officer shall pass a medical examination by a physician or other certified professional |
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| 38 | 38 | | 15chosen by the town to determine that the officer is capable of performing the essential duties of a |
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| 39 | 39 | | 16special police officer pursuant to this act, the cost of which shall be borne by the special police |
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| 40 | 40 | | 17officer, prior to performing police details. The officer shall provide certification to the town that |
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| 41 | 41 | | 18the officer is covered by personal health insurance. |
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| 42 | 42 | | 19 SECTION 2. Special police officers appointed pursuant to this act shall not be subject to |
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| 43 | 43 | | 20chapter 31 of the General Laws, sections 85H and 85H½ of chapter 32 of the General Laws, |
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| 44 | 44 | | 21sections 99A, 100 or 111F of chapter 41 of the General Laws or chapter 150E of the General |
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| 45 | 45 | | 22Laws. Special police officers appointed pursuant to this act shall be subject to chapter 151A of |
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| 46 | 46 | | 23the General Laws. |
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| 47 | 47 | | 24 SECTION 3. Special police officers appointed pursuant to this act shall, when performing |
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| 48 | 48 | | 25the duties set forth in section 1, have the same power to make arrests and to perform other police |
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| 49 | 49 | | 26functions as do regular police officers of the town of Freetown. |
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| 50 | 50 | | 27 SECTION 4. Special police officers appointed under this act shall be appointed for a term |
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| 51 | 51 | | 28of 1 year subject to renewal at the board of selectmen's sole discretion. During the term of |
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| 52 | 52 | | 29appointment, the officer shall serve at the board of selectmen's pleasure, subject to removal by |
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| 53 | 53 | | 30the board at any time with or without cause. Any such removal shall be preceded by a 14-day |
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| 54 | 54 | | 31written notice unless considerations of public safety and welfare, as determined in the board of |
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| 55 | 55 | | 32selectmen's sole discretion, require immediate removal. |
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| 56 | 56 | | 33 SECTION 5. Special police officers appointed pursuant to this act shall be subject to the |
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| 57 | 57 | | 34rules and regulations, policies and procedures and requirements of the police department and the |
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| 58 | 58 | | 35chief of police of the town of Freetown, including but not limited to, restrictions on the type of 3 of 3 |
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| 59 | 59 | | 36detail assignments, requirements regarding medical examinations to determine continuing |
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| 60 | 60 | | 37capability to perform the duties of a special police officer, requirements for training, |
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| 61 | 61 | | 38requirements for firearms licensing and qualifications, requirements for maintaining a medical or |
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| 62 | 62 | | 39liability policy and requirements regarding uniforms and equipment. Compliance with all |
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| 63 | 63 | | 40requirements shall be at no cost to the town of Freetown. A special police officer appointed |
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| 64 | 64 | | 41under this act shall be subject to certification standards pursuant to section 4 of chapter 6E of the |
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| 65 | 65 | | 42General Laws. |
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| 66 | 66 | | 43 SECTION 6. Special police officers appointed pursuant to this act shall be sworn before |
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| 67 | 67 | | 44the town clerk of the town of Freetown, who shall keep a record of all such appointments. |
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| 68 | 68 | | 45 SECTION 7. Appointment as a special police officer pursuant to this act shall not entitle |
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| 69 | 69 | | 46any officer to assignment to any specific detail or type of detail. All assignments shall be made in |
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| 70 | 70 | | 47the sole discretion of the chief of police. Special police officers appointed pursuant to this act |
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| 71 | 71 | | 48shall be paid the hourly detail rate applicable to regular full-time officers, including any changes |
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| 72 | 72 | | 49to such rate, but shall not be entitled to any other town benefits. |
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| 73 | 73 | | 50 SECTION 8. Special police officers appointed under this act shall be subject to the |
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| 74 | 74 | | 51limitations on hours worked and on earnings by retired municipal employees described in |
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| 75 | 75 | | 52paragraph (b) of section 91 of chapter 32 of the General Laws. |
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| 76 | 76 | | 53 SECTION 9. This act shall take effect upon its passage. |
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