| 1 | 1 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4836 |
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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, July 10, 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. 1060) of Mark C. Montigny, Adam |
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| 7 | 7 | | Scanlon, Michael O. Moore, James B. Eldridge and others for legislation |
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| 8 | 8 | | to provide a DNA exception for statute of limitations on sex offenses and |
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| 9 | 9 | | the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1760) of Adam Scanlon, |
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| 10 | 10 | | Hannah Kane and others relative to the statute of limitations for the crime |
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| 11 | 11 | | of rape and establishing a DNA exception rule, reports recommending that |
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| 12 | 12 | | the accompanying bill (House, No. 4836) ought to pass. |
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| 13 | 13 | | For the committee, |
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| 14 | 14 | | MICHAEL S. DAY. 1 of 2 |
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| 15 | 15 | | FILED ON: 6/28/2024 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4836 |
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| 17 | 17 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 18 | 18 | | _______________ |
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| 19 | 19 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 21 | 21 | | _______________ |
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| 22 | 22 | | An Act to establish a DNA exception rule for victims of rape. |
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| 23 | 23 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 24 | 24 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 25 | 25 | | 1 SECTION 1. Section 97B ½ of chapter 41 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 |
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| 26 | 26 | | 2Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, in line 20, after the word “cases” the following |
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| 27 | 27 | | 3words:- ; provided, however, that all kits shall be retained for no less than 15 years. |
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| 28 | 28 | | 4 SECTION 2. Said section 97B ½ of said chapter 41 of the General Laws, as so appearing, |
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| 29 | 29 | | 5is hereby further amended by inserting, in line 26, after the word “enforcement” the following |
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| 30 | 30 | | 6words:- , notwithstanding the statute of limitations of the underlying offense. |
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| 31 | 31 | | 7 SECTION 3. Section 63 of chapter 277 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby |
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| 32 | 32 | | 8amended by inserting after the sixth sentence the following sentence:- |
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| 33 | 33 | | 9 Notwithstanding the above, an indictment or complaint for an offense set forth in sections |
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| 34 | 34 | | 1022, 22A, 22B, 22C, 23, 23A or 23B of chapter 265 may be found and filed at any time after the |
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| 35 | 35 | | 11date of the commission of such offense if the identity of the person who allegedly committed the |
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| 36 | 36 | | 12offense: (1) was identified after the limitation period set forth in this section; and (2) the identity 2 of 2 |
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| 37 | 37 | | 13has been established through a DNA record, as defined in section 1 of chapter 22E, using |
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| 38 | 38 | | 14evidence collected at the time of the commission of the offense. |
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