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| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1945 FILED ON: 1/17/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2109 |
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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 | | Nick Collins |
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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 to close travel loophole in the state conflict of interest law, and to provide for greater |
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| 13 | 13 | | transparency and accountability regarding travel gifts. |
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| 14 | 14 | | _______________ |
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| 15 | 15 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 16 | 16 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Nick CollinsFirst Suffolk 1 of 2 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1945 FILED ON: 1/17/2025 |
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| 18 | 18 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2109 |
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| 19 | 19 | | By Mr. Collins, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 2109) of Nick Collins for legislation |
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| 20 | 20 | | to close a travel loophole in the state conflict of interest law, and to provide for greater |
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| 21 | 21 | | transparency and accountability regarding travel gifts. State Administration and Regulatory |
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| 22 | 22 | | Oversight. |
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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 to close travel loophole in the state conflict of interest law, and to provide for greater |
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| 29 | 29 | | transparency and accountability regarding travel gifts. |
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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 SECTION 1. Section 3(f) of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 268A is hereby |
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| 33 | 33 | | 2amended by inserting immediately before the end of subsection (iv) the following: "; provided, |
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| 34 | 34 | | 3however, that no exclusion shall be established for travel expenses paid or reimbursed by an |
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| 35 | 35 | | 4organization that, for the year in which the travel commences, is registered with the State |
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| 36 | 36 | | 5Secretary as a Client under the Massachusetts Lobbying Law, Massachusetts General Laws |
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| 37 | 37 | | 6Chapter 3 Sections 39 and 41." |
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| 38 | 38 | | 7 SECTION 2. The State Ethics Commission shall maintain, and make available to any |
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| 39 | 39 | | 8member of the public upon request, a remotely accessible electronic data base of all travel |
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| 40 | 40 | | 9expense disclosure forms filed by elected public officials as required by the Commission's |
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| 41 | 41 | | 10regulations at 930 CMR 5.00. The electronic data base shall be searchable by name of the elected |
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| 42 | 42 | | 11public official filing the disclosure. 2 of 2 |
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| 43 | 43 | | 12 SECTION 3. The State Ethics Commission shall revise the travel expense disclosure |
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| 44 | 44 | | 13form filed by elected public officials to include whether the official has, within the 12 months |
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| 45 | 45 | | 14prior to the commencement of travel, been the subject of legislative lobbying by the organization |
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| 46 | 46 | | 15paying his or her travel expenses with respect to legislation filed with the General Court. For the |
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| 47 | 47 | | 16purposes of this Section 3, the terms "legislative lobbying" and "legislation" shall have the |
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| 48 | 48 | | 17meanings given them by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 3 Section 39. |
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