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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1975 FILED ON: 1/15/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 623 |
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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 | | Michael P. Kushmerek and Edward R. Philips |
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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 relative to equipping public elementary and secondary schools with panic alarms or |
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| 13 | 13 | | emergency mechanisms. |
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| 14 | 14 | | _______________ |
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| 15 | 15 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 16 | 16 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Michael P. Kushmerek3rd Worcester1/15/2025Edward R. Philips8th Norfolk1/15/2025Marcus S. Vaughn9th Norfolk3/10/2025 1 of 3 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1975 FILED ON: 1/15/2025 |
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| 18 | 18 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 623 |
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| 19 | 19 | | By Representatives Kushmerek of Fitchburg and Philips of Sharon, a petition (accompanied by |
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| 20 | 20 | | bill, House, No. 623) of Michael P. Kushmerek, Edward R. Philips and Marcus S. Vaughn |
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| 21 | 21 | | relative to equipping public elementary and secondary schools with panic alarms or emergency |
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| 22 | 22 | | mechanisms. Education. |
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| 23 | 23 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 27 | 27 | | _______________ |
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| 28 | 28 | | An Act relative to equipping public elementary and secondary schools with panic alarms or |
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| 29 | 29 | | emergency mechanisms. |
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| 30 | 30 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 31 | 31 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 32 | 32 | | 1 Chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding after section 97 the |
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| 33 | 33 | | 2following section:- |
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| 34 | 34 | | 3 Section 98. Equipping public elementary and secondary schools with panic alarms or |
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| 35 | 35 | | 4emergency mechanisms |
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| 36 | 36 | | 5 Section 1. (a) For the purpose of this section “panic alarm” shall mean a silent security |
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| 37 | 37 | | 6system signal generated by the manual activation of a device intended to signal a life-threatening |
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| 38 | 38 | | 7or emergency situation requiring a response from law enforcement. |
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| 39 | 39 | | 8 (b) Except as otherwise provided pursuant to subsection e. of this section, each public |
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| 40 | 40 | | 9elementary and secondary school building shall be equipped with at least one panic alarm for use |
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| 41 | 41 | | 10in a school security emergency including, but not limited to, a non-fire evacuation, lockdown, or 2 of 3 |
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| 42 | 42 | | 11active shooter situation. The alarm shall be directly linked to local law enforcement authorities |
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| 43 | 43 | | 12or, in the case of a school building located in a municipality in which there is no municipal |
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| 44 | 44 | | 13police department, a location designated by the Superintendent of State Police, and shall |
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| 45 | 45 | | 14immediately transmit a signal or message to such authorities upon activation. The alarm shall not |
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| 46 | 46 | | 15be audible within the school building. |
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| 47 | 47 | | 16 (c) Each panic alarm required under this section shall adhere to nationally recognized |
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| 48 | 48 | | 17industry standards, including the standards of the National Fire Protection Association and |
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| 49 | 49 | | 18Underwriters Laboratories. |
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| 50 | 50 | | 19 (d) Each panic alarm required under this section shall be installed solely by a person |
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| 51 | 51 | | 20licensed to engage in the alarm business under sections 57, 58, and 59 chapter 147 of the general |
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| 52 | 52 | | 21laws. |
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| 53 | 53 | | 22 (e) A school district may equip its elementary and secondary school buildings with an |
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| 54 | 54 | | 23emergency mechanism that is an alternative to a panic alarm if the mechanism is approved by the |
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| 55 | 55 | | 24Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. |
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| 56 | 56 | | 25 (f) A school district that is in the process of building a school may be required to install a |
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| 57 | 57 | | 26panic alarm system. |
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| 58 | 58 | | 27 Section 2. Funding of panic alarms or emergency mechanisms. |
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| 59 | 59 | | 28 The Massachusetts School Building Authority shall be responsible for funding the full |
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| 60 | 60 | | 29cost of the panic alarms required in public elementary and secondary school buildings in any |
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| 61 | 61 | | 30district pursuant to section 1 of section 98 or alternative emergency mechanisms approved by the |
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| 62 | 62 | | 31department pursuant to that section. A school district that, prior to the effective date of this act, 3 of 3 |
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| 63 | 63 | | 32installed a panic alarm or alternative emergency mechanism approved by the department may |
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| 64 | 64 | | 33receive reimbursement for those costs. |
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| 65 | 65 | | 34 Section 3. Rules, regulations. |
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| 66 | 66 | | 35 The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall promulgate rules and |
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| 67 | 67 | | 36regulations to establish a program to effectuate the purposes of this act. |
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