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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3206 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2228 |
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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 | | David Allen Robertson |
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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 providing appropriate care for certain populations. |
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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:David Allen Robertson19th Middlesex1/16/2025 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3206 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2228 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Robertson of Tewksbury, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2228) |
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| 19 | 19 | | of David Allen Robertson for legislation to create forensic units in certain hospitalization |
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| 20 | 20 | | settings. Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery. |
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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 providing appropriate care for certain populations. |
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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 SECTION 1: Chapter 123 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition |
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| 30 | 30 | | 2is hereby amended in section 1 by inserting the following definition:- |
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| 31 | 31 | | 3 |
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| 32 | 32 | | 4 “Forensic Unit” a physically separate unit from other units. These units shall have in |
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| 33 | 33 | | 5place restrictions consistent with those present when an individual is incarcerated. These units |
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| 34 | 34 | | 6shall include appropriate staffing levels to address the needs of the patient population and who |
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| 35 | 35 | | 7have undergone specialized training to work effectively with this patient population. The |
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| 36 | 36 | | 8physical environment of the unit shall be conducive to meeting the needs of the patient |
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| 37 | 37 | | 9population. |
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| 38 | 38 | | 10 2 of 2 |
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| 39 | 39 | | 11 SECTION 2: Chapter 123 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition |
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| 40 | 40 | | 12is hereby amended by adding at the end of Section 15 the following section:- |
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| 41 | 41 | | 13 |
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| 42 | 42 | | 14 (g) any individual admitted to a facility under the conditions described in paragraph (b) or |
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| 43 | 43 | | 15paragraph (e) shall be initially admitted to a forensic unit. |
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| 44 | 44 | | 16 |
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| 45 | 45 | | 17 SECTION 3: Chapter 123 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition |
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| 46 | 46 | | 18is hereby amended by adding at the end of Section 16 the following section:- |
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| 47 | 47 | | 19 |
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| 48 | 48 | | 20 (g) any individual admitted to a facility under the conditions described in paragraph (a), |
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| 49 | 49 | | 21(c) or paragraph (e) shall be initially admitted to a forensic unit. |
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| 50 | 50 | | 22 |
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| 51 | 51 | | 23 SECTION 4: Chapter 123 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition |
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| 52 | 52 | | 24is hereby amended by adding at the end of Section 18 the following section:- |
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| 53 | 53 | | 25 |
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| 54 | 54 | | 26 (e) any individual admitted to a facility under the conditions described in paragraph (a) or |
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| 55 | 55 | | 27paragraph (b) shall be initially admitted to a forensic unit. |
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