HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4596
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, May 6, 2024.
The committee on The Judiciary, to whom was referred the petition
(accompanied by bill, House, No. 1430) of Mark J. Cusack relative to the
examination of evidence rooms and evidentiary procedures, reports
recommending that the accompanying bill (House, No. 4596) ought to
pass.
For the committee,
MICHAEL S. DAY. 1 of 3
FILED ON: 4/30/2024
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4596
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act relative to the examination of evidence rooms and evidentiary procedures.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, there shall be
2established, pursuant to section 2A of chapter 4 of the General Laws, a special legislative
3commission known as the Commission on the Preservation and Storage of Evidence. The
4commission shall be comprised of the following 15 members: 6 members appointed by the
5governor, 1 of whom shall be an elected clerk of the superior court; 1 of whom shall be a clerk-
6magistrate of the district court; 1 of whom shall be a police officer with experience in evidence
7collection and preservation; 1 of whom shall be a criminal defense attorney;1 of whom shall be
8professor of evidence at a law school accredited by the American Bar Association and 1 of
9whom shall be a retired district court or boston municipal court justice; 3 members of the house
10of representatives, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the house, 1 of whom shall be
11the house chair of the joint committee on the judiciary or designee and 1 of whom shall be
12appointed by the minority leader; 3 members of the senate, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the
13senate president, 1 of whom shall be the senate chair of the joint committee on the judiciary or
14designee and 1 of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader; the attorney general or a 2 of 3
15designee and 2 elected district attorneys appointed by the president of the Massachusetts District
16Attorneys Association. The house and senate chairs of the joint committee on the judiciary or
17their designees shall serve as co-chairs of the commission.
18 The commission shall conduct an examination of: (i) the existing legal and regulatory
19framework governing the preservation and storage of evidence and property collected by law
20enforcement; (ii) the current processes utilized by law enforcement for the preservation and
21storage of evidence and property including its submission, receipt, storage, disposition and use as
22part of court proceedings; and (iii) the current processes utilized by law enforcement for the
23storage of hazardous material; the protection and preservation of biological or DNA-related
24material; the adoption of security and chain of custody protocols; and the training of evidence or
25property personnel.
26 The commission shall investigate the feasibility and anticipated cost of constructing and
27maintaining a statewide evidence storage facility for the preservation and storage of evidence
28and property.
29 In undertaking its examinations and investigations the commission shall confer with
30representatives of the various state offices responsible for overseeing evidence collection and
31storage, as well as with academics, practitioners and others with expertise in these areas.
32 The commission shall file a report on all aspects of its examination and investigation with
33the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives and the
34clerks of the house of representatives and senate regarding the results of its investigation and
35study on or before March 31, 2025. 3 of 3
36 The report shall include, but not be limited to: (i) an assessment of the effectiveness and
37sufficiency of current law and processes for evidence and property collection and storage
38including those used for hazardous material storage, the protection and preservation of
39biological/DNA-related material, security and chain of custody, and the training of
40evidence/property personnel; (ii) recommendations for improvement of these processes for use in
41their development of standardized guidelines for evidence and property management by law
42enforcement; (ii) recommendations on the feasibility and anticipated cost of constructing and
43maintaining a statewide evidence storage facility and evidence management program; and (iv)
44recommendations for improvements or amendments to any law, regulation or rule involving
45evidence or property collection and preservation including recommended legislation, if any.