Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H4989 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4989
2	2	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
3	3	________________________________________
4	4	HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, August 8, 2024.
5	5	The committee on the Judiciary, to whom were referred the petition
6	6	(accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 962) of Ryan C. Fattman for legislation
7	7	relative to dangerousness hearings, the petition (accompanied by bill,
8	8	Senate, No. 1011) of Patricia D. Jehlen, Liz Miranda, Rebecca L. Rausch,
9	9	Ruth B. Balser and other members of the General Court for legislation
10	10	relative to compensation for victims of wrongful conviction, the petition
11	11	(accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1098) of Patrick M. O'Connor and
12	12	Steven George Xiarhos for legislation relative to GPS tampering, the
13	13	petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1101) of Patrick M. O'Connor
14	14	and Kathleen R. LaNatra for legislation to protect victims of crimes and
15	15	the public, the petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1129) of Bruce
16	16	E. Tarr for legislation relative to protecting the residents of the
17	17	Commonwealth from dangerous persons, the petition (accompanied by
18	18	bill, Senate, No. 1140) of John C. Velis for legislation relative to
19	19	dangerousness hearings,the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
20	20	1492) of Carole A. Fiola, Alan Silvia and Paul A. Schmid, III relative to
21	21	dangerousness offenses, the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
22	22	1752) of Jeffrey N. Roy relative to compensation for victims of wrongful
23	23	conviction, the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1820) of
24	24	Christopher J. Worrell and others relative to compensation for victims of
25	25	wrongful conviction, the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3786)
26	26	of Kip A. Diggs and Paul R. Feeney for legislation to protect victims and
27	27	the public from sexual assault and other violent crimes, and the petition
28	28	(accompanied by bill, House, No. 3957) of Russell E. Holmes relative to
29	29	compensation for erroneous felony convictions, reports recommending
30	30	that the accompanying bill (House, No. 4989) ought to pass.
31	31	For the committee,
32	32	MICHAEL S. DAY. 1 of 7
33	33	FILED ON: 7/31/2024
34	34	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4989
35	35	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
36	36	_______________
37	37	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
38	38	(2023-2024)
39	39	_______________
40	40	An Act relative to safety and justice.
41	41	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
42	42	of the same, as follows:
43	43	1 SECTION 1. Section 4 of chapter 211D of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022
44	44	2Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the fifth sentence the following sentence:-
45	45	3The committee shall establish a system for the assignment of social service vendors to assist
46	46	4counsel to indigent clients who are eligible to obtain relief under Chapter 258D of the General
47	47	5Laws
48	48	6 SECTION 2. Section 9 of said chapter 211D, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
49	49	7striking out subsection (e) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:
50	50	8 (e) method for the provision of social services or social services referrals including, but
51	51	9not limited to, referrals for post release transitional services.
52	52	10 SECTION 3. Section 26 of chapter 218 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
53	53	11amended by inserting, in line 28, after the figure “274” the following words:- , section 13F of
54	54	12chapter 268. 2 of 7
55	55	13 SECTION 4. Section 1 of chapter 258D of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
56	56	14amended by striking out, in line 24, the words “clear and convincing” and inserting in place
57	57	15thereof the following words:- a preponderance of the.
58	58	16 SECTION 5. Section 5 of said chapter 258D, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
59	59	17striking out subsection (A) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
60	60	18 (A) Upon a finding or verdict that the claimant has met the requirements of section 1 by
61	61	19the requisite standard of proof and is not barred from compensation by section 2, the court or the
62	62	20jury shall determine the damages that shall be payable to the claimant. In making such
63	63	21determination, the court or jury shall consider, but not be limited to, the consideration of: the
64	64	22income the claimant would have earned, but for his conviction, incarceration, parole or other
65	65	23supervised release,; the particular circumstances of the claimant's trial and other proceedings; the
66	66	24length and conditions under which the claimant was incarcerated or on parole or other supervised
67	67	25release and; any other factors deemed appropriate under the circumstances in order to fairly and
68	68	26reasonably compensate the claimant. The court, in its discretion, may admit expert testimony on
69	69	27these or any factors. The court may include, as part of its judgment against the commonwealth,
70	70	28an order requiring the commonwealth to provide the claimant with services to address the
71	71	29individual’s physical, social, and emotional needs, including financial literacy training, and
72	72	30waive tuition and fees for the claimant for any educational services from a state or community
73	73	31college in the commonwealth including, but not limited to, the University of Massachusetts at
74	74	32Amherst and its satellite campuses. Once the damages have been determined, the court shall
75	75	33enter a judgment against the commonwealth for the claimant in an amount certain. A judgment
76	76	34against the commonwealth may not include punitive or exemplary damages. The total liability of
77	77	35the commonwealth for any judgment entered under this chapter shall not exceed $1,000,00 for up 3 of 7
78	78	36to 10 years of incarceration, shall not exceed $2,000,000 for up to 20 years of incarceration, shall
79	79	37not exceed $3,000,000 for up to 30 years of incarceration and shall not exceed $4,000,000 for up
80	80	38to 40 years of incarceration. The damages award shall not be reduced by any award of services,
81	81	39tuition or fees under Sections 5(A) or (E) or Section 10 or any award of reasonable attorney fees
82	82	40and costs of litigation as provided in section 6 below. Notwithstanding any general or special law
83	83	41to the contrary, the clerk of court shall not add to the judgment and the commonwealth shall not
84	84	42be liable for paying, any prejudgment or post judgment interest on damages. Subject to section 4,
85	85	43relative to award or settlements, the rights and remedies afforded to certain individuals by this
86	86	44chapter are not intended to limit in any way any rights or remedies that such individuals or other
87	87	45individuals may be entitled to exercise and pursue under common law or under any other state or
88	88	46federal statute including without limitation chapter 258 and 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983. Any monetary
89	89	47award received by the claimant as the result of a federal civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C.
90	90	48Section 1983 shall be deducted from the damages awarded under this subsection; provided that
91	91	49the claimant shall reimburse the state for damages awarded under this subsection if the monetary
92	92	50award under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 is received after judgment entry herein.
93	93	51 SECTION 6. Section 6 of said chapter 258D, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
94	94	52inserting, in lines 1 to 2, after the word “chapter” the following words:- , or who enters into a
95	95	53settlement agreement with the commonwealth in connection with a claim asserted under this
96	96	54chapter.
97	97	55 SECTION 7. Section 7 of said chapter 258D, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
98	98	56striking out subsection (A) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:- 4 of 7
99	99	57 (A) Upon the entry of a judgment in favor of a claimant under this chapter or upon
100	100	58settlement of a claim brought pursuant to this chapter and following a separate hearing on the
101	101	59matter, on motion of the claimant the court shall enter an order either directing the expungement
102	102	60or sealing of those records of the claimant maintained by the department of criminal justice
103	103	61information services, the probation department, and the sex offender registry that directly pertain
104	104	62to the claimant's erroneous felony conviction case, including documents and other materials and
105	105	63any samples obtained from the claimant. The commonwealth, as well as any other law
106	106	64enforcement agency that may be directly affected by such expungement or sealing of such
107	107	65records including, but not limited to, the district attorney that prosecuted the felony case against
108	108	66the claimant, shall be given reasonable notice and an opportunity to be heard on the issue of
109	109	67whether such records, documents and materials shall be so expunged or sealed. In making its
110	110	68determination as to whether such records, documents and materials shall be so expunged or
111	111	69sealed, the court shall consider the interests of privacy and justice pertaining to the claimant's
112	112	70erroneous felony conviction as well as the probable effect of such expungement or sealing on
113	113	71relevant law enforcement entities and their ability to appropriately investigate and prosecute
114	114	72other persons for the felony which forms the basis of the claim or other crimes that may relate to
115	115	73the information contained in such records, documents and materials.
116	116	74 SECTION 8. Chapter 268 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
117	117	75section 13E the following section: -
118	118	76 Section 13F. Whoever intentionally removes, destroys, damages, or interferes with the
119	119	77proper functioning of a global positioning system device used to facilitate recognizance or
120	120	78compliance with conditions of pretrial release, probation or parole shall be punished by 5 of 7
121	121	79imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years or imprisonment in a house of
122	122	80correction for not more than 2 ½ years.
123	123	81 SECTION 9. Section 58A of chapter 276 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
124	124	82amended by striking out subsection (1) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
125	125	83 (1) The commonwealth may move, based on dangerousness, for an order of pretrial
126	126	84detention or release on conditions when a person has been charged with any of the following
127	127	85offenses:
128	128	86 (A) a third or subsequent violation of section 24 of chapter 90 or section 8 of chapter 90B
129	129	87within 10 years of the previous conviction for such violation;
130	130	88 (B) a violation of section 24G of chapter 90;
131	131	89 (C) a violation of section 8B of chapter 90B;
132	132	90 (D) an offense for which a mandatory minimum term of 3 years or more is prescribed in
133	133	91chapter 94C ;
134	134	92 (E) a violation of section 131N of chapter 140;
135	135	93 (F) a violation of an order pursuant to section 18, 34B or 34C of chapter 208;
136	136	94 (G) a violation of an order pursuant to section 32 of chapter 209;
137	137	95 (H) a violation involving abuse as defined in section 1 of chapter 209A while an order of
138	138	96protection issued under said chapter was in effect against the defendant;
139	139	97 (I) a violation of an order pursuant to section 3, 3B, 3C, 4 or 5 of chapter 209A; 6 of 7
140	140	98 (J) a violation of an order pursuant to section 15 or 20 of chapter 209C;
141	141	99 (K) a violation of an order involving abuse as defined pursuant to section 1 of chapter
142	142	100258E;
143	143	101 (L) a violation of section 13, 13 ½, 13B, 13B ½, 13 B ¾, 13F,18B, 22, 22A, 22B, 22C,
144	144	10223, 23A, 23B, 24, 24B, 26, 26B, 26C, 26D, 43A, 50 or 51 of chapter 265;
145	145	103 (M) a violation of section 1, 2, 14, 17, 102, 102A, 102B, 102C or 112 of chapter 266;
146	146	104 (N) a violation of section 13B of chapter 268;
147	147	105 (O) a violation of subsection (a), (c), (d), (h), (j), (m) or (n) of section 10 of chapter 269;
148	148	106 (P) a violation of section 10A, 10E, 10F, 10G or 11C of chapter 269;
149	149	107 (Q) a violation of section 4A, 4B, 29A, 29B, 29C, 35A, 77 or 94 of chapter 272;
150	150	108 (R) a felony violation of section 105 of chapter 272;
151	151	109 (S) any other violation of any general or special law that constitutes a felony offense that
152	152	110has as an element of said offense the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force
153	153	111against the person of another; or
154	154	112 (T) any violation of any general or special law that constitutes conspiracy or solicitation
155	155	113to commit any crime identified in clauses (A) through (S), inclusive.
156	156	114 SECTION 10. Said chapter 276 is hereby amended by inserting after section 58B the
157	157	115following section:- 7 of 7
158	158	116 Section 58C. No person 18 years of age or older who has been charged with any act that
159	159	117would constitute abuse, as defined in section 1 of chapter 209A, or a violation of sections 13M or
160	160	11815D of chapter 265, or any offense enumerated in subsection 1 of section 58A that involves an
161	161	119identified victim, shall be admitted to bail before the alleged victim is notified of the person’s
162	162	120imminent release; provided, however, that the person charged shall not be held more than 6
163	163	121hours in order to permit prior notice to the alleged victim.
164	164	122 When a person so charged is to be released from the custody of a police department, such
165	165	123notice shall be provided by the police department. When a person so charged is to be released
166	166	124from a courthouse, such notice shall be provided by the commonwealth. When a person so
167	167	125charged is to be released from a jail or correctional facility, such notice shall be provided by the
168	168	126superintendent or superintendent’s designee. The person or agency responsible for providing
169	169	127notice shall undertake to provide notice promptly.