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| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1500 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1391 |
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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 | | Julian Cyr |
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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 harm reduction and racial justice. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Julian CyrCape and Islands 1 of 3 |
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| 16 | 16 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1500 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1391 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Mr. Cyr, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1391) of Julian Cyr for legislation |
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| 19 | 19 | | relative to harm reduction and racial justice. Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery. |
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| 20 | 20 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 21 | 21 | | SEE SENATE, NO. 1243 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 harm reduction and racial justice. |
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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 1. (a) Chapter 94C of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out |
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| 31 | 31 | | 2section 34, as |
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| 32 | 32 | | 3 appearing in 2022 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following section:- |
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| 33 | 33 | | 4 Section 34: No person knowingly or intentionally shall possess a controlled substance |
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| 34 | 34 | | 5unless such substance was obtained directly, or pursuant to a valid prescription or order, from a |
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| 35 | 35 | | 6practitioner while acting in the course of his professional practice, or except as otherwise |
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| 36 | 36 | | 7authorized by the provisions of this chapter. Except as provided in Section 32L of this Chapter, |
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| 37 | 37 | | 8any person who violates this section shall be subjected to receiving a written list of resources in |
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| 38 | 38 | | 9lieu of a citation. 2 of 3 |
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| 39 | 39 | | 10 (b) Except as provided in subdivision (c) of this section, in any criminal proceeding, no |
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| 40 | 40 | | 11finding or determination of reasonable cause to believe a crime has been committed shall be |
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| 41 | 41 | | 12based solely on evidence of the use or possession of a controlled substance. |
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| 42 | 42 | | 13 (c) Paragraph (b) shall not apply when a law enforcement officer is investigating whether |
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| 43 | 43 | | 14a person is operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs in violation of section 22 of |
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| 44 | 44 | | 15chapter 90. |
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| 45 | 45 | | 16 SECTION 2. Section 32L of chapter 94C of the General Laws is hereby repealed |
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| 46 | 46 | | 17 SECTION 3. Section 40 of said chapter 94C is hereby repealed |
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| 47 | 47 | | 18 SECTION 4. Chapter 278 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding after section |
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| 48 | 48 | | 1928E of the |
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| 49 | 49 | | 20 following section:- |
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| 50 | 50 | | 21 28F. Motion for resentence; persons convicted of controlled substance offenses |
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| 51 | 51 | | 22 (a) When a person is serving a sentence for a conviction in this state, whether by trial |
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| 52 | 52 | | 23verdict or guilty plea, under Chapter 94C, section 32, including conspiracy to commit such an |
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| 53 | 53 | | 24offense, prior to enactment of this act and such persons’ conduct as alleged in the accusatory |
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| 54 | 54 | | 25instrument or shown by the guilty plea or trial verdict would not have been a crime under the |
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| 55 | 55 | | 26same Chapter on or after enactment of this act, then the chief justice of the trial court shall, in |
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| 56 | 56 | | 27accordance with this section, automatically |
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| 57 | 57 | | 28 vacate, dismiss and expunge such conviction. 3 of 3 |
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| 58 | 58 | | 29 (b) The court administrator of the trial court shall immediately notify the department of |
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| 59 | 59 | | 30criminal justice information services, the department of corrections and the appropriate local |
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| 60 | 60 | | 31correctional facility, which shall immediately effectuate the appropriate relief. |
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| 61 | 61 | | 32 (c) The division of criminal justice record services shall notify all relevant police and law |
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| 62 | 62 | | 33enforcement agencies to destroy or seal records related to such cases. |
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| 63 | 63 | | 34 (d) A person who was sentenced for a conviction in this state, whether by trial verdict or |
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| 64 | 64 | | 35guilty plea, under section 32 of Chapter 94C prior to enactment of this act in conjunction with |
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| 65 | 65 | | 36another criminal offense, shall be resentenced by the trial court of conviction and any time |
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| 66 | 66 | | 37served shall be credited against the new sentence imposed. |
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