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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1838 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1531
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Adam Gomez
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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 creating a database to track banned books in correctional facilities.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Adam GomezHampden 1 of 1
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1838 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1531
By Mr. Gomez, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1531) of Adam Gomez for
legislation to create a database to track banned books in correctional facilities. Public Safety and
Homeland Security.
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 creating a database to track banned books in correctional facilities.
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 2 of Chapter 127 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
2Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
3 A database shall be created to record and track all banned books, publications, and
4reading materials by the Department of Corrections. The superintendents of correctional
5institutions of the commonwealth and the superintendents and keepers of jails, houses of
6correction and of all other penal or reformatory institutions shall include, but not be limited to,
7full and accurate records of every individual book, publication, and reading materials banned
8from use by prisoners. These records shall include, but not be limited to, identifying information
9of banned books, including the title, author, subject matter, and ISBN number of each book; the
10name of the facility where the book is banned; an explanation as to why the book is banned; and
11any records of appeals made on a banned book, without disclosing the names or any identifying
12information of the person in custody who made the appeal.