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| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2310 FILED ON: 1/17/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1173 |
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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 | | Joan B. Lovely |
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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 minimizing suffering during the commitment process. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Joan B. LovelySecond Essex 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2310 FILED ON: 1/17/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1173 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Ms. Lovely, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1173) of Joan B. Lovely for |
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| 19 | 19 | | legislation relative to minimizing suffering during the commitment process. The Judiciary. |
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| 20 | 20 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 21 | 21 | | SEE SENATE, NO. 1041 OF 2023-2024.] |
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| 22 | 22 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 23 | 23 | | _______________ |
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| 24 | 24 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 25 | 25 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 26 | 26 | | _______________ |
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| 27 | 27 | | An Act relative to minimizing suffering during the commitment process. |
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| 28 | 28 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 29 | 29 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 30 | 30 | | 1 Section 35 of chapter 123 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, |
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| 31 | 31 | | 2is hereby amended by striking, in lines 43-45 the words:- "The court shall order examination by a |
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| 32 | 32 | | 3qualified physician, a qualified psychologist or a qualified social worker”, and inserting in place |
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| 33 | 33 | | 4thereof the following:- |
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| 34 | 34 | | 5 Upon appearance or apprehension, the court shall have the individual examined by a |
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| 35 | 35 | | 6physician or a qualified advanced practice registered nurse designated to have the authority to |
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| 36 | 36 | | 7admit to a facility. If the physician or qualified advanced registered nurse reports that the failure |
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| 37 | 37 | | 8to hospitalize or provide medical treatment to the individual would create a likelihood of serious |
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| 38 | 38 | | 9harm, the court shall order the individual with alcohol or substance use disorder to be committed 2 of 2 |
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| 39 | 39 | | 10to a facility designated by the department of public health for treatment during the pendency of |
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| 40 | 40 | | 11the petition. |
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