Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H2692 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 2
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4040 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2692
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Daniel J. Ryan
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act implementing the recommendations of the Walsh-Kennedy Commission Report.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Daniel J. Ryan2nd Suffolk1/17/2025Marcus S. Vaughn9th Norfolk1/23/2025John J. Marsi6th Worcester1/23/2025Christopher Richard Flanagan1st Barnstable1/23/2025Angelo J. Puppolo, Jr.12th Hampden1/23/2025Steven George Xiarhos5th Barnstable1/23/2025Paul McMurtry11th Norfolk1/23/2025Patrick Joseph Kearney4th Plymouth1/23/2025Dennis C. Gallagher8th Plymouth1/23/2025Rodney M. Elliott16th Middlesex1/23/2025Joseph W. McGonagle, Jr.28th Middlesex1/23/2025Michael J. Soter8th Worcester1/23/2025Steven Ultrino33rd Middlesex1/27/2025Danillo A. Sena37th Middlesex1/27/2025Erika Uyterhoeven27th Middlesex1/29/2025Michael D. BradySecond Plymouth and Norfolk2/4/2025Samantha Montaño15th Suffolk2/4/2025James K. Hawkins2nd Bristol2/10/2025 2 of 2
16	16	Jacob R. OliveiraHampden, Hampshire and Worcester2/10/2025Daniel Cahill10th Essex2/10/2025James C. Arena-DeRosa8th Middlesex2/12/2025William F. MacGregor10th Suffolk2/18/2025James Arciero2nd Middlesex2/24/2025Natalie M. Higgins4th Worcester2/24/2025Bruce E. TarrFirst Essex and Middlesex3/3/2025Antonio F. D. Cabral13th Bristol3/5/2025David F. DeCoste5th Plymouth3/12/2025 1 of 3
17	17	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4040 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
18	18	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2692
19	19	By Representative Ryan of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2692) of Daniel
20	20	J. Ryan and others for legislation to implement the recommendations of the Walsh-Kennedy
21	21	Commission Report. Public Safety and Homeland Security.
22	22	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
23	23	SEE SENATE, NO. 1484 OF 2023-2024.]
24	24	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
25	25	_______________
26	26	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
27	27	(2025-2026)
28	28	_______________
29	29	An Act implementing the recommendations of the Walsh-Kennedy Commission Report.
30	30	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
31	31	of the same, as follows:
32	32	1 SECTION 1. Notwithstanding and general or special law to the contrary, all certifications
33	33	2and training programs for cutting, welding, and hot works processes shall be performed using the
34	34	3existing National Fire Protection Association program or an equivalent program that includes a
35	35	4thorough and accessible electronic database that can be used to check a worker's status, multi-
36	36	5lingual in-class offerings, identity integrity safeguards, in-person original training, and
37	37	6subsequent annual continued education program either online or in person.
38	38	7 SECTION 2. Section 1 of Chapter 148 of the Massachusetts General Laws is hereby
39	39	8amended by inserting at the end thereof the following: ""Criminal Negligence", Repeated,
40	40	9reckless, and knowing failure to comply with the regulations contained in this chapter, and
41	41	10failure to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a result would occur from said failure. 2 of 3
42	42	11The risk must be of such nature and degree that failure to perceive it constitutes a gross deviation
43	43	12from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in this situation."
44	44	13 SECTION 3. Section 34B of chapter 148 of the Massachusetts General Laws is hereby
45	45	14amended by striking out the section in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following:
46	46	15"SECTION 34B. Any person who wantonly or recklessly violates the state building code or state
47	47	16fire code and thereby causes serious bodily injury to any person shall be punished by a fine of
48	48	17not more than $250,000 or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years or in a
49	49	18house of correction for not more than 21/2 years, or both. Any person who wantonly or
50	50	19recklessly violates the state building code or state fire code and thereby causes death to any
51	51	20person shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500,000 and/or by imprisonment in the state
52	52	21prison for not more than 7 years or in a house of correction for not more than 5 years, or both.
53	53	22Any person found to have acted in accordance with the definition of criminal negligence in
54	54	23section 1 of this chapter may be determined to be criminally liable for damage or death stemming
55	55	24from repeated and reckless non-compliance with requirements set forth in this chapter. For
56	56	25purposes of this section, ''serious bodily injury'' shall mean bodily injury that results in a
57	57	26permanent disfigurement, loss or impairment of a bodily function, limb or organ, or a substantial
58	58	27risk of death. SECTION 4. Section 34 of Chapter 148 is hereby amended by striking out the
59	59	28section in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following: "Section 34. Except as
60	60	29otherwise provided, any person violating any provision of this chapter shall be liable to a fine of
61	61	30one hundred dollars, or, in case of a continuing offence after notice of such violation, to a fine of
62	62	31not more than one hundred dollars for every day during which the violation continues, unless
63	63	32said violation pertains to cutting, welding, or hot works processes. In the event of any person
64	64	33violating regulations regarding cutting, welding, or hot works processes, said person shall be 3 of 3
65	65	34liable to the following punishments: First offense: a fine of not more than $1,000 Second
66	66	35offense: a fine of not more than $2,000 and/or imprisonment in the house of correction for up to
67	67	36a year, provided that the Judge shall have the authority to take into account the size of the project
68	68	37on which the violation occurred and levy additional fines if the total cost said project is such that
69	69	38the fine is inadequate to deter continued offenses. Third and continuing offenses: a fine of not
70	70	39more than .025% of the total project value, or $10,000, whichever is greater, and/or
71	71	40imprisonment in the house of correction for up to 3 years." SECTION 5. Notwithstanding any
72	72	41general or special law to the contrary, the Department of Fire Safety shall, in consultation with
73	73	42the Department of Professional Licensure, or any other executive agency or department it deems
74	74	43necessary, establish a system of public notification and recording of non-compliance with
75	75	44regulations and statues pertaining to cutting, welding, and hot works processes. Said system may
76	76	45include: quarterly publications, an online database, an automated notification system to alert
77	77	46property owners, and/or communication with insurance companies.