| 1 | 1 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4326 |
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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, February 8, 2024. |
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| 5 | 5 | | The committee on the Judiciary, to whom were referred the petition |
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| 6 | 6 | | (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 995) of Adam Gomez for legislation to |
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| 7 | 7 | | modernize the roles and responsibilities of the victim and witness |
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| 8 | 8 | | assistance board, and the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1447) |
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| 9 | 9 | | of Michael S. Day relative to the roles and responsibilities of the Victim |
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| 10 | 10 | | and Witness Assistance Board, reports recommending that the |
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| 11 | 11 | | accompanying bill (House, No. 4326) ought to pass. |
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| 12 | 12 | | For the committee, |
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| 13 | 13 | | MICHAEL S. DAY. 1 of 3 |
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| 14 | 14 | | FILED ON: 2/5/2024 |
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| 15 | 15 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4326 |
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| 16 | 16 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 17 | 17 | | _______________ |
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| 18 | 18 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 19 | 19 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 20 | 20 | | _______________ |
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| 21 | 21 | | An Act to modernize the roles and responsibilities of the victim and witness assistance board. |
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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. Section 3 of chapter 258B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 |
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| 25 | 25 | | 2Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking the last paragraph and inserting the following |
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| 26 | 26 | | 3paragraph:- |
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| 27 | 27 | | 4 There shall be conspicuously posted in all courthouses and police stations a summary of |
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| 28 | 28 | | 5the rights afforded under this section devised and provided in digital or printed format by the |
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| 29 | 29 | | 6victim and witness assistance board, pursuant to section 4. The board shall further provide this |
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| 30 | 30 | | 7information in the top five languages spoken at home in the Commonwealth, other than English, |
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| 31 | 31 | | 8as provided by the most recent federal census data, and upon request, the board will respond, to |
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| 32 | 32 | | 9the extent possible, to any requests for additional language translations. |
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| 33 | 33 | | 10 SECTION 2. Section 4 of said chapter 258B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is |
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| 34 | 34 | | 11hereby amended by striking, line 30, the word “him” and inserting in place thereof the following |
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| 35 | 35 | | 12word:- them. 2 of 3 |
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| 36 | 36 | | 13 SECTION 3. Said Section 4 of said chapter 258B of the General Laws, as so appearing, |
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| 37 | 37 | | 14is hereby further amended by striking lines 33 to 67 and inserting in place thereof the following |
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| 38 | 38 | | 15paragraphs:- |
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| 39 | 39 | | 16 The board shall establish, adopt, and maintain bylaws relative to the operation of internal |
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| 40 | 40 | | 17governance. |
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| 41 | 41 | | 18 In addition to the foregoing, the board shall: |
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| 42 | 42 | | 19 (a)fund and support services that are available to victims across the commonwealth; |
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| 43 | 43 | | 20 (b)provide informational material, professional development and community |
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| 44 | 44 | | 21education opportunities for Massachusetts victim services providers, victims, allied |
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| 45 | 45 | | 22professionals, medical facilities and law enforcement agencies including sharing information |
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| 46 | 46 | | 23relative to the victim and witness rights and services established under this chapter; |
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| 47 | 47 | | 24 (c)advocate for policy initiatives related to access and support for victims’ rights and |
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| 48 | 48 | | 25services including but not limited to funding; |
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| 49 | 49 | | 26 (d)assume the management and administration of the Garden of Peace, a public |
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| 50 | 50 | | 27memorial garden located on the plaza of 100 Cambridge street in the city of Boston to honor |
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| 51 | 51 | | 28victims of homicide, to receive gifts or grants of money or property to assist the board in the |
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| 52 | 52 | | 29maintenance and operation of the memorial and to establish an advisory committee which shall |
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| 53 | 53 | | 30consist of interested residents appointed by the victim witness assistance board to provide advice |
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| 54 | 54 | | 31to the board; and |
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| 55 | 55 | | 32 (e)administer the SAFEPLAN advocacy program as established in Chapter 151 of |
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| 56 | 56 | | 33the Acts of 1996. 3 of 3 |
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| 57 | 57 | | 34 SECTION 4. Section 6 of said chapter 258B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is |
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| 58 | 58 | | 35hereby amended by striking, in line 2, the words:- the board. |
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