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| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1962 FILED ON: 1/20/2023 |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1497 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | John J. Cronin |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act to connect veterans with earned benefits. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :John J. CroninWorcester and Middlesex 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1962 FILED ON: 1/20/2023 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1497 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Mr. Cronin, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1497) of John J. Cronin for |
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| 19 | 19 | | legislation to connect veterans with earned benefits. Public Safety and Homeland Security. |
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| 20 | 20 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 21 | 21 | | _______________ |
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| 22 | 22 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | An Act to connect veterans with earned benefits. |
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| 26 | 26 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 27 | 27 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 28 | 28 | | 1 SECTION 1. Section 3 of said chapter 276A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by |
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| 29 | 29 | | 2striking out the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:- |
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| 30 | 30 | | 3 The probation officers of a district or municipal court, or an official designee of such a |
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| 31 | 31 | | 4probation officer, when gathering information in accordance with section 85 of chapter 276, shall |
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| 32 | 32 | | 5also screen each defendant for the purpose of enabling the judge at arraignment to consider the |
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| 33 | 33 | | 6eligibility of the defendant for diversion to a program. The probation officers or an official |
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| 34 | 34 | | 7designee shall also confirm the defendant's status as a veteran or as a person on active service in |
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| 35 | 35 | | 8the armed forces of the United States and shall determine if the defendant has previously been |
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| 36 | 36 | | 9diverted pursuant to clause (ii) of subsection (c) of section 4. Any person identified as a veteran, |
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| 37 | 37 | | 10as defined in said clause, shall be provided with a list of contact information for the Veteran’s |
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| 38 | 38 | | 11Administration, the local Veteran Justice Officer, their local Veteran Service Officer and the |
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| 39 | 39 | | 12Veterans Administration Department of Veteran Services Suicide Hotline. 2 of 2 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 13 SECTION 2. The first paragraph of section 3 of chapter 276A, as so appearing, is hereby |
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| 41 | 41 | | 14amended by adding after the first paragraph the following paragraph: |
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| 42 | 42 | | 15 Once a veteran is identified by the indigency verification process, the office of probation |
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| 43 | 43 | | 16shall refer said veteran to the Veteran Justice Officer for determination of Federal Benefits. |
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