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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3081 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2261 |
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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 | | Carol A. Doherty |
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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 ending the criminalization of homelessness. |
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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:Carol A. Doherty3rd Bristol1/16/2025James K. Hawkins2nd Bristol2/11/2025 1 of 1 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3081 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2261 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Doherty of Taunton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2261) of |
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| 19 | 19 | | Carol A. Doherty and James K. Hawkins relative to the criminalization of homelessness. |
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| 20 | 20 | | Municipalities and Regional Government. |
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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 ending the criminalization of homelessness. |
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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. Section 21D of Chapter 40 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 |
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| 30 | 30 | | 2Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph at the end thereof: |
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| 31 | 31 | | 3 No city or town shall adopt or enforce any ordinance, by-law, rule, or regulation under |
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| 32 | 32 | | 4this section that imposes a monetary penalty or other sanction on homeless individuals solely for |
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| 33 | 33 | | 5the act of trespassing, sleeping, or camping on public property. For the purposes of this section, |
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| 34 | 34 | | 6'homeless individual' shall mean a person lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime |
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| 35 | 35 | | 7residence. Camping shall mean to sleep in a tent, under a tarp or canopy, in a motor vehicle, or in |
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| 36 | 36 | | 8any other temporary outdoor shelter. |
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