Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts Senate Bill S1204 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 92 FILED ON: 1/7/2025
3	3	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1204
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Michael O. Moore
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 updating the Commonwealth's wiretap statutes.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Michael O. MooreSecond Worcester 1 of 3
16	16	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 92 FILED ON: 1/7/2025
17	17	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1204
18	18	By Mr. Moore, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1204) of Michael O. Moore for
19	19	legislation to update the Commonwealth's wiretap statutes. The Judiciary.
20	20	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
21	21	SEE SENATE, NO. 1075 OF 2023-2024.]
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
25	25	(2025-2026)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act updating the Commonwealth's wiretap statutes.
28	28	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
29	29	of the same, as follows:
30	30	1 SECTION 1. Paragraph A of section 99 of chapter 272 of the General Laws, as appearing
31	31	2in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the last paragraph, in lines 21 to
32	32	327, inclusive, and inserting in place thereof the following 2 paragraphs:-
33	33	4 The general court further finds that in certain circumstances normal investigative
34	34	5procedures may not be effective in the investigation of specific illegal acts not associated with
35	35	6organized crime as described in clause 7 of paragraph B. Therefore, law enforcement officials
36	36	7may use modern methods of electronic surveillance, under strict judicial supervision, when
37	37	8investigating those specific crimes.
38	38	9 The general court further finds that the uncontrolled development and unrestricted use of
39	39	10modern electronic surveillance devices pose grave dangers to the privacy of all citizens of the 2 of 3
40	40	11commonwealth. Therefore, the secret use of such devices by private individuals shall be
41	41	12prohibited. The use of such devices by law enforcement officials shall be conducted under strict
42	42	13judicial supervision and shall be limited to the investigation of designated offenses as defined in
43	43	14clause 7 of paragraph B.
44	44	15 SECTION 2. Paragraph B of said section 99 of said chapter 272, as so appearing, is
45	45	16hereby further amended by striking out paragraph 7, in lines 66 to 77, inclusive, and inserting in
46	46	17place thereof the following paragraph:-
47	47	18 7. The term “designated offense” shall include (a) the following offenses in connection
48	48	19with organized crime as defined in the preamble: the illegal use, possession, theft, transfer or
49	49	20trafficking of one or more firearms, rifles, shotguns, sawed-off shotguns, machine guns, assault
50	50	21weapons, large capacity weapons, covert weapons as defined by section 121 of chapter 140, or
51	51	22silencers; any arson; assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; bribery; any felony burglary;
52	52	23money laundering in violation of chapter 267A; enterprise crime in violation of chapter 271A;
53	53	24extortion; forgery; gaming in violation of sections 38, 39, 40, 41 and 43 of chapter 23K and
54	54	25sections 16A and 17 of chapter 271; kidnapping; any felony larceny; lending of money or things
55	55	26of value in violation of the general laws; perjury; any felony involving prostitution; robbery;
56	56	27subornation of perjury; any violation of section 13B of chapter 268; any violation of this section;
57	57	28being an accessory to any of the foregoing offenses; and conspiracy, attempt or solicitation to
58	58	29commit any of the foregoing offenses; and (b) the following offenses, whether or not in
59	59	30connection with organized crime, as referenced in paragraph 3 of the preamble: human
60	60	31trafficking in violation of sections 50 through 53 of chapter 265; illegal trafficking in weapons;
61	61	32the illegal use or possession of explosives or chemical, radiological or biological weapons; civil 3 of 3
62	62	33rights violation causing bodily injury; being an accessory to any of the foregoing offenses; and
63	63	34conspiracy, attempt or solicitation to commit any of the foregoing offenses.