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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1623 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1046
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Liz Miranda
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act to prevent human trafficking and improve the health and safety of sex workers.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Liz MirandaSecond SuffolkJoanne M. ComerfordHampshire, Franklin and Worcester2/8/2023Jack Patrick Lewis7th Middlesex3/7/2023 1 of 5
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1623 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1046
By Ms. Miranda, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1046) of Liz Miranda, Joanne M.
Comerford and Jack Patrick Lewis for legislation to prevent human trafficking and improve the
health and safety of sex workers. The Judiciary.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act to prevent human trafficking and improve the health and safety of sex workers.
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. Section 7 of chapter 4, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby
2amended by inserting after the sixty-first definition the following definitions:-
3 Sixty-second, "Commercial sex" shall mean a sexual act or contact with another person in
4return for giving or receiving anything of value.
5 Sixty-third, "Sex worker" shall mean a person who provides a sexual act or contact with
6another person in return for receiving anything of value.
7 SECTION 2. Chapter 272 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding after section
853A the following section, which shall be titled “Human Trafficking Prevention and Sex Worker
9Project”:-
10 Section 53B. The Department of Public Health shall create a Human Trafficking
11Prevention and Sex Worker Project. The Project shall develop and implement a strategic plan to 2 of 5
12prevent, reduce, prevent, and eliminate human trafficking; provided further, said strategic plan
13shall include ways to support the health, safety, and autonomy of sex workers. The goal shall be
14to reduce the economic, legal, and social vulnerability of people who experience human
15trafficking and/or engage in criminalized sex work. The strategic plan shall identify and
16collaborate with groups of people that are vulnerable to human trafficking, or likely to engage in
17sex work, including, but not limited to, sex workers, people who use drugs, undocumented
18people, people who identify as LGBTQ+, formerly incarcerated people, and people who are
19unhoused.
20 The Department shall identify resources, and initiate referrals, for free or low-cost (i)
21housing, (ii) healthcare including reproductive healthcare, (iii) childcare, (iv) legal aid, (v) harm
22reduction for substance use, (vi) safer sex resources, and (vii) educational and training
23opportunities. The Department shall identify, provide contact information for, and make referrals
24to community organizations that provide support to the above listed populations, among others.
25 Provided further, said strategic plan shall include the development of a system, directly or
26indirectly, to distribute cash aid to populations vulnerable to human trafficking, particularly
27people who engage in sex work. Provided further, the strategic plan shall create a publicly
28available system for individuals to submit an incident report related to human trafficking or
29abuse experienced during the course of sex work. The strategic plan, resources, incident
30reporting system, and application for cash aid shall be listed on the Department’s publicly
31available website. The strategic plan should be created in collaboration with individuals who
32have engaged in commercial sex, individuals who have experiences with trafficking in the sex
33trade, and organizations that advocate for those individuals, among others. An initial iteration of
34the strategic plan should be made publicly available no later than November 30, 2023. 3 of 5
35 SECTION 3. Section 53 of chapter 272 of the General Laws is hereby amended by
36striking out subsection (a) as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, and inserting in place
37thereof the following subsection:-
38 (a) Whoever commits offensive and disorderly acts or language, accosts or annoys
39another person, lewd, wanton and lascivious persons in speech or behavior, keepers of noisy and
40disorderly houses, and persons guilty of indecent exposure shall be punished by imprisonment in
41a jail or house of correction for not more than 6 months, or by a fine of not more than $200, or by
42both such fine and imprisonment.
43 SECTION 19. Chapter 272 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding after
44section 53B the following section, which shall be titled “Interagency committee to study
45decriminalizing sex work”:-
46 Section 53C. (a) There shall be an interagency committee to be convened by the
47Executive Office of Health and Human Services within 90 days from the date of the enactment
48of this provision to study decriminalizing sex work. The committee shall consist of: (i) the
49secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services or the secretary’s designee; (ii)
50a representative of the Department of Public Health; (iii) a representative of the Executive Office
51of Labor and Workforce Development; (iv) a representative of the Department of Housing and
52Community Development; (v) a representative of the Department of Children and Families; (vii)
53a representative from an organization focused on advocacy for sex workers; (viii) a
54representative from an organization focused incarcerated and formerly incarcerated LGBTQ+
55people; (xiv) a representative from an organization focused on advocating for transgender
56people; (xv) a representative from an organization focused on advocating for racial justice; (ix) a 4 of 5
57representative from an organization representing survivors of human trafficking in the
58commercial sex sector; (x) representative from the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center; (xi) a
59representative from the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts; (xii) a representative
60from an organization focused on harm reduction related to substance use;(xiii) a representative
61from an organization focused on advocating for legal defense and bonds for undocumented
62people; (xiv) a representative from the Committee for Public Counsel Services; and (xv) at least
63three current or former sex workers. The members of the committee shall be appointed by the
64secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services or the secretary’s designee
65unless otherwise stated. Two co-chairs shall be appointed by majority vote of commission
66members. Adequate compensation for services shall be determined by a schedule of fees adopted
67by the committee.
68 The committee shall be responsible for studying and making recommendations towards
69the following: (i) what criminal penalties and collateral consequences exist related to the
70criminalization of sex work, (ii) what labor protections need to be in place under
71decriminalization, (iii) what services need to be made available to people engaged in commercial
72sex to improve health and safety outcomes, (iv) identify the methods of human trafficking and
73exploitation in order to develop strategies to reduce these activities in collaboration with sex
74workers, with a focus on prevention, and (v) implementation models for alternatives to policing
75to promote safety in the commercial sex sector, rooted in public health.
76 SECTION 20. Section 100K of chapter 276 of the General Laws is hereby amended by
77striking out subsection (c), as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following
78subsections:- 5 of 5
79 (c) The court must order an expungement pursuant to this section of a record created as a
80result of a criminal court appearance, juvenile court appearance or dispositions for charges of
81common street walking, under Section 53(a) of chapter 272 as appearing in the 2018 Official
82Edition, and a third conviction of being a common nightwalker, under Section 62 of chapter 272
83as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition.
84 (d) The court shall forward an order for expungement pursuant to this section forthwith to
85the clerk of the court where the record was created, to the commissioner and to the commissioner
86of criminal justice information services appointed pursuant to section 167A of chapter 6.
87 SECTION 21. Section 62 of Chapter 272 of the General Laws is hereby repealed.
88 SECTION 22 . Chapter 94C is hereby amended by inserting after section 34A the
89following section:- Section 34B: Any person who, in good faith, reports a crime shall not be
90charged or prosecuted for (i) possession of a controlled substance under section 34, (ii) sex for
91fee under chapter 272 section 53A subsections (a) or (b), (iii) loitering under chapter 161 section
9295, (iv) trespassing under chapter 266 section 120, (v) soliciting under chapter 272 section 8, or
93(vi) conspiracy to commit any of the aforementioned offenses under chapter 94C section 40, or
94found in violation of a condition of probation or pretrial release as determined by a court or a
95condition of parole, as determined by the parole board if the evidence for the above enumerated
96offenses was gained as a result of reporting a crime.