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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1709 FILED ON: 1/15/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1813 |
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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 | | Mary S. Keefe |
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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 promoting fairness in parole. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Mary S. Keefe15th Worcester1/15/2025Patricia A. Duffy5th Hampden2/18/2025 1 of 3 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1709 FILED ON: 1/15/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1813 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Keefe of Worcester, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1813) of |
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| 19 | 19 | | Mary S. Keefe and Patricia A. Duffy relative to the temporary custody of parolees. The |
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| 20 | 20 | | Judiciary. |
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| 21 | 21 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 22 | 22 | | _______________ |
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| 23 | 23 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 24 | 24 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | An Act promoting fairness in parole. |
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| 27 | 27 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 28 | 28 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 29 | 29 | | 1 Chapter 127 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby |
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| 30 | 30 | | 2amended by striking out section 149A and inserting in place the following section:- |
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| 31 | 31 | | 3 (a) (1) If a parole officer believes that there exists probable cause that a parolee has |
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| 32 | 32 | | 4allegedly violated a condition of release, they may with the consent of a parole supervisor or |
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| 33 | 33 | | 5other superior officer, issue a warrant for the temporary custody of the parolee if the alleged |
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| 34 | 34 | | 6violation includes one or more of the following acts: (i) the intentional unauthorized removal of a |
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| 35 | 35 | | 7GPS monitoring device; (ii) making contact with a victim of crime in connection with the |
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| 36 | 36 | | 8parolee’s criminal offense or their household member as defined in section 1 of chapter 209A; or |
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| 37 | 37 | | 9(iii) violation of an abuse prevention order issued pursuant to chapter 209A or a harassment |
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| 38 | 38 | | 10prevention order issued pursuant to chapter 258E; or (iv) making plans to imminently flee the |
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| 39 | 39 | | 11commonwealth. 2 of 3 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 12 (2) If a parole officer reasonably believes that there exists probable cause that a parolee |
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| 41 | 41 | | 13has allegedly violated the conditions of their parole based on an allegation not specified in the |
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| 42 | 42 | | 14first paragraph, the parole officer may, with the consent of a parole supervisor or other superior |
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| 43 | 43 | | 15officer, make a written request to a single member of the parole board to issue a warrant for the |
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| 44 | 44 | | 16temporary custody of the parolee if the single member of the parole board finds that there is |
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| 45 | 45 | | 17probable cause that the parolee has violated the conditions of their parole. The single member of |
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| 46 | 46 | | 18the parole board may issue a warrant for the temporary custody of the parolee if the single |
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| 47 | 47 | | 19member of the parole board finds that there is probable cause that the parolee has violated the |
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| 48 | 48 | | 20conditions of their parole. |
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| 49 | 49 | | 21 (3) The parole board may withdraw the warrant for temporary custody and such |
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| 50 | 50 | | 22withdrawal shall not affect the validity of any subsequent warrants issued. Upon the withdrawal |
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| 51 | 51 | | 23of said warrant, the time from the issuance of the warrant until the withdrawal shall be |
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| 52 | 52 | | 24considered as part of the original sentence. |
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| 53 | 53 | | 25 (4) The warrant shall constitute sufficient authority to a parole officer and to the |
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| 54 | 54 | | 26superintendent, jailer or any other person in charge of any jail, house of correction, lockup, or |
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| 55 | 55 | | 27place of detention to whom it is exhibited to hold in temporary custody the parolee retaken |
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| 56 | 56 | | 28pursuant thereto. |
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| 57 | 57 | | 29 (b) (1) Not later than 15 days after a parolee is placed in temporary custody a hearing |
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| 58 | 58 | | 30officer shall hold a preliminary evidentiary hearing to determine whether a parolee has violated a |
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| 59 | 59 | | 31condition of parole. If the hearing officer finds by a preponderance of the evidence that a |
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| 60 | 60 | | 32violation has occurred, the hearing officer shall order that the parolee remain in custody pending |
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| 61 | 61 | | 33a final revocation hearing of the parole board after considering the following factors: (i) the 3 of 3 |
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| 62 | 62 | | 34nature and seriousness of the violation; (ii) if there is a connection between the violation of |
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| 63 | 63 | | 35parole and the underlying offense that the parolee committed; (iii) the parolee’s prior criminal |
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| 64 | 64 | | 36record; and (iv) the protection of the public, a victim of crime in connection with the parolee’s |
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| 65 | 65 | | 37criminal offense or their household member as defined in section 1 of chapter 209A. |
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| 66 | 66 | | 38 (2) The hearing officer shall issue a decision within 48 hours of the preliminary hearing. |
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| 67 | 67 | | 39 (c) The detention of a parolee may be further regulated by the rules of the parole board. |
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