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| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 482 FILED ON: 1/16/2023 |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 323 |
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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 | | Patrick M. O'Connor |
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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 creating a school resource officer grant program and fund. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Patrick M. O'ConnorFirst Plymouth and Norfolk 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 482 FILED ON: 1/16/2023 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 323 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Mr. O'Connor, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 323) of Patrick M. O'Connor for |
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| 19 | 19 | | legislation to create a school resource officer grant program and fund. Education. |
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| 20 | 20 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 21 | 21 | | SEE SENATE, NO. 373 OF 2021-2022.] |
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| 22 | 22 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 23 | 23 | | _______________ |
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| 24 | 24 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 25 | 25 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 26 | 26 | | _______________ |
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| 27 | 27 | | An Act creating a school resource officer grant program and fund. |
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| 28 | 28 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 29 | 29 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 30 | 30 | | 1 Chapter 69 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby |
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| 31 | 31 | | 2amended by inserting the following section: - |
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| 32 | 32 | | 3 Section 37. School Resource Officer Grant Program |
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| 33 | 33 | | 4 (a) From the funds appropriated for such purpose and from the gifts, donations, grants, |
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| 34 | 34 | | 5bequests, and other funds received on its behalf, there is established (1) the School Resource |
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| 35 | 35 | | 6Officer Grant Program, to be administered by the board, in consultation with the Board of |
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| 36 | 36 | | 7Education, and (2) a special nonreverting fund within the state treasury known as the School |
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| 37 | 37 | | 8Resource Officer Incentive Grant Program, hereinafter known as the fund. Any monies |
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| 38 | 38 | | 9remaining in the fund at the end of the legislative session shall not revert to the General Fund, 2 of 2 |
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| 39 | 39 | | 10but shall remain in the fund. Interest earned on such funds shall remain in the fund and be |
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| 40 | 40 | | 11credited to it. |
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| 41 | 41 | | 12 Subject to the authority of the board to provide for its disbursement, the fund shall be |
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| 42 | 42 | | 13disbursed to award matching grants to local law enforcement agencies and local school boards |
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| 43 | 43 | | 14that have established a collaborative agreement to employ uniformed school resource officers, as |
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| 44 | 44 | | 15defined in subsection (b) of this section 37, in middle and high schools within the relevant school |
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| 45 | 45 | | 16division. The board may disburse annually up to five percent of the fund for training of the |
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| 46 | 46 | | 17school resource officers. School resource officers shall be certified law enforcement officers and |
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| 47 | 47 | | 18shall be employed to help ensure safety, to prevent truancy and violence in schools, and to |
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| 48 | 48 | | 19enforce school board rules and codes of student conduct. |
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| 49 | 49 | | 20 (b) The board, in consultation with the commissioner and the Department on Public |
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| 50 | 50 | | 21Safety, shall establish criteria for making grants from the fund, including procedures for |
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| 51 | 51 | | 22determining the amount of a grant and the required local match. Any grant or general funds shall |
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| 52 | 52 | | 23be matched by the locality on the basis of the locality’s ability to pay. The board may adopt |
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| 53 | 53 | | 24guidelines governing the program and the employment and duties of the school resource officers |
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| 54 | 54 | | 25as it deems necessary and appropriate. |
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