Technical Note: This page is an html version of the Conference Committee’s report, S.2963, as originally filed with the Senate Clerk as a Word document at 5PM on November 30. It is formatted to allow direct hypertext links to particular sections. For example, to link to bill section 121, use this format: “https://willbrownsberger.com/conference-committee-h-4886-s-2820/#section121”. To link directly to section 9 of new Chapter 6E, use this format: “https://willbrownsberger.com/conference-committee-h-4886-s-2820/#6ESection9”. Section identifiers are case sensitive. Corrections of form may be made to the Conference report after filing if House and Senate Counsel agree to them. Those changes will not be reflected on this page. The official text appears here.
Link to section by section analysis.
An Act relative to justice, equity and accountability in law enforcement in the Commonwealth.
Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to forthwith provide justice, equity and accountability in law enforcement, therefore, it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public safety.
Section 72. (a) There shall be a permanent commission on the status of African Americans. The commission shall consist of: 3 persons appointed by the governor from a list of not less than 5 nominees provided by the Massachusetts branches of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People New England Area Conference; 3 persons appointed by the president of the senate; and 3 persons appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives. Members of the commission shall be residents of the commonwealth who have demonstrated a commitment to the African American community. Members shall be considered special state employees for purposes of chapter 268A.
(b) A member of the commission shall serve a term of 3 years and until a successor is appointed. Vacancies in the membership of the commission shall be filled by the original appointing authority for the balance of the unexpired term.
(c) The commission shall annually elect from among its members a chair, a vice chair, a treasurer and any other officers it considers necessary. The members of the commission shall receive no compensation for their services; provided, however, that members shall be reimbursed for any usual and customary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
(d) The commission shall be a resource to the commonwealth on issues affecting African Americans. It shall be a primary function of the commission to make policy recommendations, based on research and analysis, to the general court and executive agencies that: (i) ensure African Americans equitably benefit from and have access to government services in the same manner as other citizens of the commonwealth; (ii) amend laws, policies and practices that have benefited citizens of the commonwealth to the exclusion of African Americans; and (iii) promote solutions that address the impact of discrimination against African Americans. Further, the commission shall: (A) promote research and be a clearinghouse and source of information on issues pertaining to African Americans in the commonwealth; (B) inform the public and leaders of business, education, human services, health care, judiciary, state and local governments and the media of the historical and current implications of systemic racism on the African American community across the commonwealth and the unique cultural, social, ethnic, economic and educational issues affecting African Americans in the commonwealth; (C) serve as a liaison between government and private interest groups with regard to matters of unique interest and concern to African Americans in the commonwealth; (D) identify and recommend qualified African Americans for appointive positions at all levels of government, including boards and commissions; (E) assess programs and practices in all state agencies as they affect African Americans using a racial equity framework; (F) advise executive agencies and the general court on the potential effect on African Americans of proposed legislation and regulations using a racial equity framework; (G) monitor executive and legislative action purported to eliminate systemic racism for its impact on African Americans using a racial equity framework; and (H) generally undertake activities designed to enable the commonwealth to realize the full benefit of the skills, talents and cultural heritage of African Americans in the commonwealth.
(e) Annually, not later than June 2, the commission shall report the results of its findings and activities of the preceding year and its recommendations to the governor and to the clerks of the house of representatives and senate.
(f) The powers of the commission shall include, but not be limited to: (i) directing a staff to perform its duties; (ii) holding regular, public meetings and fact-finding hearings and other public forums as necessary; (iii) using the voluntary and uncompensated services of private individuals, agencies and organizations that may from time to time be offered and needed, including provision of meeting places and refreshments; (iv) establishing and maintaining offices that it considers necessary, subject to appropriation; (v) enacting by-laws for its own governance; (vi) contracting or collaborating with academic institutions, private sector consultants or other professionals for research and analysis; and (vii) recommending policies and making recommendations to agencies and officers of the state and local subdivisions of government to effectuate the purposes of subsection (d).
(g) The commission may request information and assistance from state agencies as the commission requires.
(h) The commission may accept and solicit funds, including any gifts, donations, grants or bequests or any federal funds for any of the purposes of this section. The commission shall receive settlement funds payable to the commonwealth related to matters involving racial discrimination or other bias toward African Americans; provided, that the attorney general shall deposit any such settlement funds into the separate account with the state treasurer; provided, however, that the commission shall not receive more than $2,000,000 in settlement funds in any single fiscal year or cumulatively more than $2,500,000 in settlement funds in any period of 5 fiscal years. Funds received under this subsection shall be deposited in a separate account with the state treasurer, received by the treasurer on behalf of the commonwealth and expended by the commission in accordance with law.
(i) The commission staff shall consist of an executive director, employees, consultants and unpaid volunteers who assist the commission in effectuating its statutory duties. The commission shall appoint the executive director for a term of 3 years.
Section 73. (a) There shall be a permanent commission on the status of Latinos and Latinas. The commission shall consist of: 3 persons appointed by the governor from a list of not less than 5 nominees provided by gateway municipalities as defined in section 3A of chapter 23A where 40 per cent or more of the population are Latinos and Latinas; 3 persons appointed by the president of the senate; and 3 persons appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives from a list of not less than 5 nominees provided by the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus. Members of the commission shall be residents of the commonwealth who have demonstrated a commitment to the Latino and Latina community. Members shall be considered special state employees for purposes of chapter 268A.
(b) A member of the commission shall serve a term of 3 years and until a successor is appointed. Vacancies in the membership of the commission shall be filled by the original appointing authority for the balance of the unexpired term.
(c) The commission shall annually elect from among its members a chair, a vice chair, a treasurer and any other officers it considers necessary. The members of the commission shall receive no compensation for their services; provided however, that members shall be reimbursed for any usual and customary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
(d) The commission shall be a resource to the commonwealth on issues affecting Latinos and Latinas. It shall be a primary function of the commission to make policy recommendations, based on research and analysis, to the general court and executive agencies that: (i) ensure Latinos and Latinas equitably benefit from and have access to government services in the same manner as other citizens of the commonwealth; (ii) amend laws, policies and practices that have benefited citizens of the commonwealth to the exclusion of Latinos and Latinas; and (iii) promote solutions that address the impact of discrimination against Latinos and Latinas. Further, the commission shall: (A) promote research and be a clearinghouse and source of information on issues pertaining to Latinos and Latinas in the commonwealth; (B) inform the public and leaders of business, education, human services, health care, judiciary, state and local governments and the media of the historical and current implications of systemic racism on the Latino and Latina community across the commonwealth and the unique cultural, social, ethnic, economic and educational issues affecting Latinos and Latinas in the commonwealth; (C) serve as a liaison between government and private interest groups with regard to matters of unique interest and concern to Latinos and Latinas in the commonwealth; (D) identify and recommend qualified Latinos and Latinas for appointive positions at all levels of government, including boards and commissions; (E) assess programs and practices in all state agencies as they affect Latinos and Latinas using a racial equity framework; (F) advise executive agencies and the general court on the potential effect on Latinos and Latinas of proposed legislation and regulations using a racial equity framework; (G) monitor executive and legislative action purported to eliminate systemic racism for its impact on Latinos and Latinas using a racial equity framework; and (H) generally undertake activities designed to enable the commonwealth to realize the full benefit of the skills, talents and cultural heritage of Latinos and Latinas in the commonwealth.
(e) Annually, not later than June 2, the commission shall report the results of its findings and activities of the preceding year and its recommendations to the governor and to the clerks of the house of representatives and senate .
(f) The powers of the commission shall include, but not be limited to: (i) directing a staff to perform its duties; (ii) holding regular, public meetings and fact-finding hearings and other public forums as necessary; (iii) using the voluntary and uncompensated services of private individuals, agencies and organizations that may from time to time be offered and needed, including provision of meeting places and refreshments; (iv) establishing and maintaining offices that it considers necessary, subject to appropriation; (v) enacting by-laws for its own governance; (vi) contracting or collaborating with academic institutions, private sector consultants or other professionals for research and analysis; and (vii) recommending policies and making recommendations to agencies and officers of the state and local subdivisions of government to effectuate the purposes of subsection (d).
(g) The commission may request information and assistance from state agencies as the commission requires.
(h) The commission may accept and solicit funds, including any gifts, donations, grants or bequests or any federal funds for any of the purposes of this section. The commission shall receive settlement funds payable to the commonwealth related to matters involving racial discrimination or other bias toward Latinos and Latinas; provided, that the attorney general shall deposit any such settlement funds into the separate account with the state treasurer; provided, however, that the commission shall not receive more than $2,000,000 in settlement funds in any single fiscal year or cumulatively more than $2,500,000 in settlement funds in any period of 5 fiscal years. Funds received under this subsection shall be deposited in a separate account with the state treasurer, received by the treasurer on behalf of the commonwealth and expended by the commission in accordance with law.
(i) The commission staff shall consist of an executive director, employees and consultants and unpaid volunteers who assist the commission in effectuating its statutory duties. The commission shall appoint the executive director for a term of 3 years.
Section 74. (a) There shall be a permanent commission on the status of persons with disabilities. The commission shall consist of: 3 persons appointed by the president of the senate; 3 persons appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; 1 person appointed by the minority leader of the senate; 1 person appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives; 7 persons appointed by the governor; the attorney general or their designee; the state treasurer or their designee; the state secretary or their designee; the executive director of the disabled persons protection commission or their designee; 1 person from the University of Massachusetts medical school Work Without Limits program; 1 person from the Massachusetts Disability Policy Consortium; 1 person from the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers, Inc.; and 1 person from the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council.
(b) Members of the commission shall be drawn from diverse racial, ethnic, religious, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and socio-economic backgrounds, and should have personal experience, professional background or demonstrated interest on issues relating to persons with disabilities. It shall be the goal of the commission to include representation from a broad spectrum of disabilities, as well as perspectives of family members, disability advocacy organizations, human service agencies, regional employment collaboratives and business and labor organizations throughout the commonwealth.
(c) The commission shall be an independent agency of the commonwealth and shall not be subject to the control of any other department or agency. Members of the commission shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 268A as they apply to special state employees.
(d)(1) A member of the commission shall serve a term of 3 years and until a successor is appointed, or the member is reappointed by their appointing or nominating authority.
(2) Vacancies in the membership of the commission shall be filled by the original appointing or nominating authority for the balance of the unexpired term. If the position was filled by a nominating body, the replacement member shall be selected from solicited nominations. If the nominating body or appointing authority does not fill a position, the existing members of the commission shall fill the vacancy from a pool of qualified applicants pursuant to subsection (b).
(3) Nominations for vacancies in the membership shall be solicited through an open application process using a uniform and accessible application, which accommodates candidates of all abilities. Appointments shall be announced not later than April 1 of each year.
(4) The commission shall elect from among its members a chair, a vice-chair, a clerk, a treasurer and any other officers it deems necessary to carry out its mission.
(5) The members of the commission shall receive no compensation for their services, but shall be reimbursed for any usual and customary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
(e) An executive director shall be selected by the commission and may hire staff. The executive director shall be qualified by his or her experience working on issues relating to persons with disabilities, organizing research and reports, advocacy and communication skills and demonstrated leadership abilities. The executive director shall not simultaneously serve as a member of the commission.
(f) The commission shall work to advance the cause of all persons with disabilities in the commonwealth. The commission shall be empowered to (i) study, review, advise and report on: (A) any disparities across service or geographical areas concerning the range of available options within state disability services; (B) the status of transportation for persons with disabilities including access to employment opportunities; (C) the effect of public assistance for persons with disabilities as it pertains to earning limits and eligibility for subsidies for food, housing, child care and other benefits; (D) establishing school-to-work activities for transition aged youth with disabilities that establish a bridge to self-sufficiency and engage school supports, family members and employers; (E) the status of the strategic plan to make the commonwealth a model employer by seeking to increase the number of people with disabilities employed by the executive branch; (F) the enhanced enforcement of state requirements that promote diversity in state government employment; and (G) the number of persons with disabilities who apply for state disability services and are unsuccessful in receiving services; (ii) facilitate and promote public awareness to encourage inclusion of persons with disabilities as employees and vendors within the private and public sector workforce, including under-represented business sectors of all sizes; (iii) assess programs and practices in all state agencies as they affect persons with disabilities, as the commission deems necessary and appropriate; (iv) advise executive and legislative bodies regarding the impact of proposed legislation on persons with disabilities; and (v) promote and facilitate collaboration among local disability commissions, disability rights advocacy organizations and disability employment service providers.
(g) The commission shall annually, not later than October 31, report the results of its findings and activities of the preceding fiscal year and its recommendations, which may include draft legislation, to the governor, the house and senate committees on ways and means, the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate, the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities and the joint committee on labor and workforce development.
(h) The powers of the commission shall include, but not be limited to: (i) using voluntary and uncompensated services of private individuals, agencies and organizations as may from time to time be offered and needed; (ii) reviewing policies and legislation and make recommendations to agencies and officers of the state and local subdivisions of government to effectuate the purposes of subsections (f) and (g); (iii) selecting an executive director and to acquire adequate staff to perform its duties; (iv) establishing and maintain such offices as it may deem necessary; (v) enacting by-laws for its own governance; (vi) establishing subcommittees or regional chapters of the commission as it deems necessary; and (vii) holding regular, public meetings and fact-finding hearings and other public forums as it may deem necessary.
(i) Public meetings should be held in a manner accessible to and welcoming of persons of all abilities with necessary accommodations to ensure broad participation. Notices of meetings and other information shall be posted to a publicly accessible website that also accommodates persons who are visually impaired.
(j) The commission may request from all state agencies such information and assistance as the commission may require.
(k) The commission may accept and solicit funds, including any gifts, donations, grants or bequests or any federal funds, for any of the purposes of this section. Such funds shall be deposited in a separate account with the state treasurer, be received by the state treasurer on behalf of the commonwealth and be expended by the commission in accordance with commission by-laws and state and federal law.
Section 75. (a) There shall be a permanent commission on the social status of Black men and boys to study and examine issues which disproportionately have a negative impact on Black men and boys in the commonwealth. The commission shall: (i) signal that the issues facing the Black male population are a national priority; (ii)develop solutions to these issues and (iii) help eliminate the obstacles facing Black men and boys. The commission should work to improve economic, education, criminal justice, public safety, housing, health and wellness, father-hood and mentorship outcomes of Black men and boys in the commonwealth.
(b) The commission shall consist of 21 members: 2 persons appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, 2 persons appointed by the president of the senate, the commissioner of public health or their designee; the commissioner of social services or their designee; the commissioner of education or their designee; 1 additional member from the department of education appointed by the commissioner of education; the commissioner of youth services or their designee; the commissioner of correction or their designee; the secretary of labor and workforce development or their designee; 3 additional persons appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, none of whom shall be members of the general court; 3 additional persons appointed by the president of the senate, none of whom shall be members of the general court; and 3 persons appointed by the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus or its successor organization, none of whom shall be a member of the general court.
Members of the commission shall be selected from diverse religious, age, sexual orientation, socio-economic and geographical backgrounds from throughout the commonwealth and shall have a sincere desire or experience in working toward the improvement of the social status of black men and boys. Members shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 268A as they apply to special state employees.
(c) Members shall serve terms of 3 years and until their successors are appointed. Members may be reappointed in the same manner in which they were originally appointed.
Vacancies in the membership of the commission shall be filled by the original appointing authority for the balance of the unexpired term.
The commission shall elect from among its members a chair, a vice chair, a treasurer and any other officers it deems necessary.
The members of the commission shall receive no compensation for their services, but shall be reimbursed for any usual and customary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
(d) The commission shall conduct an ongoing study of all matters concerning the social status of Black men and boys in the commonwealth. In furtherance of that responsibility, the commission shall: (i) study, review and report on the social status of Black men and boys in the commonwealth; (ii) inform leaders of business, education, health care, state and local governments and the media of issues pertaining to Black men and boys, (iii) serve as a liaison between government and private interest groups concerned with issues affecting Black men and boys; (iv) serve as a clearinghouse for information on issues pertaining to Black men and boys; (v) identify and recommend policies and programs to be implemented by state departments, agencies, commissions, and boards that will lead to the improved social status of Black men and boys, as the commission deems necessary and appropriate; and (vi) promote and facilitate collaboration among local agencies, including community-based organizations in the state, as the commission deems necessary and appropriate.
The commission shall annually, not later than August 31, report the results of its findings and activities of the preceding year and its recommendations to the governor and to the clerks of the house of representatives and senate.
(e) The powers of the commission shall include, but not be limited to: (i) using such voluntary and uncompensated services of private individuals, agencies and organizations as may from time to time be offered and needed; and (ii) recommending policies and making recommendations to agencies and officers of the state and local subdivisions of government to effectuate the purposes of this section.
(f) The powers of the commission shall include: (i) selecting an executive director and acquiring adequate staff to perform its duties, subject to appropriation, provided that said persons are not members of said commission; (ii) establishing and maintaining such offices as it may deem necessary, subject to appropriation; (iii) enacting by-laws for its own governance; and (iv) holding regular, public meetings and to hold fact finding hearings and other public forums as it may deem necessary.
(g) The commission shall set its own meeting schedule.
(h) The commission may request from all state agencies such information and assistance as the commission may require. Each state agency shall cooperate with requests from the commission and shall provide such information and assistance requested, as permitted under the state law.
The commission may accept and solicit funds, including any gifts, donations, grants or bequests or any federal funds for any of the purposes of this section. Such funds shall be deposited in a separate account with the state treasurer, be received by the state treasurer on behalf of the commonwealth and be expended by the commission in accordance with law.
(c) personnel and medical files or information and any other materials or data relating to a specifically named individual, the disclosure of which may constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; provided, however, that this subclause shall not apply to records related to a law enforcement misconduct investigation.
Section 116. As used in sections 116 to 116E, inclusive, and 116G to 116J, inclusive, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-
“Committee on police training and certification” or “committee”, the committee on police training and certification established in section 4 of chapter 6E.
“Law enforcement officer” or “officer”, as defined in section 1 of chapter 6E.
The committee on police training and certification shall establish, within the recruit basic training curriculum, a course for police schools, academies and programs for the training of law enforcement officers in the commonwealth in the handling of domestic violence and sexual violence complaints and shall develop guidelines for law enforcement response to domestic violence and sexual violence.
(a) The committee on police training and certification shall develop and establish within the recruit basic training curriculum a course for police training schools, academies and programs for the training of law enforcement officers in the commonwealth in law enforcement and related public safety technology. The course of instruction shall stress the use and application of technology to increase public safety.
(a) The committee on police training and certification shall develop and establish within the recruit basic training curriculum a course for police training schools, academies and programs for the training of law enforcement officers in bicycle safety enforcement and develop guidelines for traffic enforcement for bicyclist safety.
(a) As used in this section, “bias-free policing” shall have the same meaning as defined in section 1 of chapter 6E.
Section 116H. (a) The committee on police training and certification, established in section 4 of chapter 6E, shall establish and develop an in-service training program designed to train school resource officers, as defined in section 37P of chapter 71. Such program shall include training on: (i) the ways in which legal standards regarding police interaction and arrest procedures differ for juveniles compared to adults; (ii) child and adolescent cognitive development, which shall include instruction on common child and adolescent behaviors, actions and reactions as well as the impact of trauma, mental illness, behavioral addictions, such as gaming and gambling disorder, and developmental disabilities on child and adolescent development and behavior; (iii) engagement and de-escalation tactics that are specifically effective with youth; and (iv) strategies for resolving conflict and diverting youth in lieu of making an arrest. Such program shall also include training related to: (i) hate crime identification and prevention training curriculum including acquisition of practical skills to prevent, respond to and investigate hate crimes and hate incidents and their impacts on victim communities; (ii) anti- bias, anti-racism and anti-harassment strategies; (iii) bullying and cyberbullying; and (iv) comprehensive training to help school resource officers interact effectively with school personnel, victim communities and build public confidence with cooperation with law enforcement agencies.
(b) The course of instruction, the learning and performance objectives and the curriculum and standards for training developed pursuant to this section shall be developed in consultation with experts on child and adolescent development and child trauma and with educators and attorneys experienced in juvenile and education law and preventing and addressing youth hate crimes.
Section 116I. The committee on police training and certification, established in section 4 of chapter 6E, shall establish and develop within the recruit basic training curriculum a program for regional and municipal police training schools for the training of law enforcement officers in the commonwealth in appropriate interactions with persons on the autism spectrum and those with other intellectual and developmental disabilities. The program shall include training for law enforcement response to individuals on the autism spectrum and those with other intellectual and developmental disabilities who are victims or witnesses to a crime or suspected or convicted of a crime. Section 116J. The committee on police training and certification, in consultation with the executive office of public safety and security, and subject to the approval of the Massachusetts peace officer standards and training commission, shall establish and develop basic and in-service training programs designed to train officers on the regulation of physical force under section 14 of chapter 6E. Such programs shall be included in basic and in-service training for all law enforcement officers.
Section 220. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:
“Biometric surveillance system”, any computer software that performs facial recognition or other remote biometric recognition.
“Facial recognition”, an automated or semi-automated process that assists in identifying or verifying an individual or capturing information about an individual based on the physical characteristics of an individual’s face, head or body, that uses characteristics of an individual’s face, head or body to infer emotion, associations, activities or the location of an individual; provided, however, that “facial recognition” shall not include the use of search terms to sort images in a database.
“Law enforcement agency”, as defined in section 1 of chapter 6E.
“Other remote biometric recognition”, an automated or semi-automated process that assists in identifying or verifying an individual or capturing information about an individual based on an individual’s gait, voice or other biometric characteristic or that uses such characteristics to infer emotion, associations, activities or the location of an individual; provided, however, that “other remote biometric recognition” shall not include the identification or verification of an individual using deoxyribonucleic acid, fingerprints, palm prints or other information derived from physical contact.
“Public agency”, any: (i) agency, executive office, department, board, commission, bureau, division or authority of the commonwealth; (ii) political subdivision thereof; or (iii) authority established by the general court to serve a public purpose.
“Public official”, any officer, employee, agent, contractor or subcontractor of any public agency.
(b) Absent express authorization in a general or special law to the contrary, it shall be unlawful for a public agency or public official to acquire, possess, access, use, assist with the use of or provide resources for the development or use of any biometric surveillance system, or to enter into a contract with or make a request to any third party for the purpose of acquiring, possessing, accessing or using information derived from a biometric surveillance system.
Except in a judicial proceeding alleging a violation of this section, no information obtained in violation of this section shall be admissible in any criminal, civil, administrative or other proceeding.
(c)(1) Subsection (b) shall not apply to acquisition, possession or use of facial recognition technology by the registrar of motor vehicles to verify an individual’s identity when issuing licenses, permits or other documents pursuant to chapter 90 and perform searches of its facial recognition databases at the request of law enforcement agencies made pursuant to a warrant or emergency as set forth in paragraph (2).
(2) Law enforcement agencies may request that the registrar of motor vehicles perform a facial recognition search: (i) to execute a warrant duly authorized by a justice of the superior court based on probable cause that the search will to lead to evidence of the commission of a violent felony offense under the laws of the commonwealth; or (ii) without a warrant if the law enforcement agency reasonably believes that an emergency involving immediate danger of death or serious physical injury to any individual or group of people requires the performance of a facial recognition search without delay; provided, that the request shall be made in writing and narrowly tailored to address the emergency and shall document the factual basis for believing that an emergency requires the performance of a facial recognition search without delay.
Not later than 48 hours after the law enforcement agency obtains access to records, the agency shall file with the superior court in the relevant jurisdiction a signed, sworn statement made by a supervisory official of a rank designated by the head of the agency setting forth the grounds for the emergency search. Absent an order for delayed notice issued by a justice of the superior court or the issuance of a subsequent warrant, all individuals identified by such a search shall be provided notice that they were subject to a facial recognition search within 72 hours. Any order for delayed notice shall, to the fullest extent possible without further endangering the public, detail the ongoing nature of the emergency and the continuing and immediate threat to public safety and shall not be valid for more than 72 hours without a further order for delayed notice.
(3) The registrar of motor vehicles shall document, as a public record, each use of facial recognition, except those authorized by clause (i) of paragraph (2). Such documentation shall include: the name of the registry of motor vehicles employee who performed the search; the date and time of the search; the number of matches returned, if any; the name and position of the requesting individual and employing law enforcement agency; a copy of the warrant, or if no warrant exists, a copy of the written emergency request; and data detailing the individual characteristics included in the facial recognition request.
(4) Annually, not later than March 31, the registrar of motor vehicles shall publish on its website: (i) the total number of facial recognition searches performed at the request of law enforcement agencies during the previous calendar year; (ii) the total number of facial recognition searches conducted pursuant to a warrant; (iii) the total number of facial recognition emergency searches conducted; and (iv) the number of facial recognition searches requested by each law enforcement agency.
(d) Notwithstanding subsection (b), a public agency may: (i) acquire and possess personal electronic devices, such as a cell phone or tablet, that utilizes facial recognition technology for the sole purpose of user authentication; (ii) acquire, possess and use automated video or image redaction software; provided, that such software does not have the capability of performing facial recognition or other remote biometric recognition; and (iii) receive evidence related to the investigation of a crime derived from a biometric surveillance system; provided, that such evidence was not knowingly solicited by or obtained with the assistance of a public agency or any public official in violation of subsection (b).
“Agency”, a law enforcement agency.
“Appointing agency”, the agency appointing a law enforcement officer.
“Bias-free policing”, policing decisions made by and conduct of law enforcement officers that shall not consider a person’s race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, mental or physical disability, immigration status or socioeconomic or professional level.
“Chair”, the chair of the commission.
“Chokehold”, the use of a lateral vascular neck restraint, carotid restraint or other action that involves the placement of any part of law enforcement officer’s body on or around a person’s neck in a manner that limits the person’s breathing or blood flow with the intent of or with the result of causing bodily injury, unconsciousness or death.
“Commission”, the Massachusetts peace officer standards and training commission established pursuant to section 2.
“Commissioner”, a member of the commission.
“Committee”, the committee on police training and certification established pursuant to section 4.
“Conviction”, an adjudication of a criminal matter resulting in any outcome except wherein the matter is dismissed or the accused is found to be not guilty, including, but not limited, to an adjudication of guilt with or without the imposition of a sentence, a plea of guilty, a plea of nolo contendere, an admission to sufficient facts, a continuance without a finding or probation.
“Deadly force”, physical force that can reasonably be expected to cause death or serious physical injury.
“Decertified”, an officer whose certification is revoked by the commission pursuant to section 10.
“De-escalation tactics”, proactive actions and approaches used by an officer to stabilize a law enforcement situation so that more time, options and resources are available to gain a person’s voluntary compliance and to reduce or eliminate the need to use force including, but not limited to, verbal persuasion, warnings, slowing down the pace of an incident, waiting out a person, creating distance between the officer and a threat and requesting additional resources to resolve the incident, including, but not limited to, calling in medical or licensed mental health professionals, as defined in subsection (a) of section 511/2 of chapter 111, to address a potential medical or mental health crisis.
“Division of standards”, the division of police standards established pursuant to section 8.
“Division of training”, the division of police training and certification established pursuant to section 4.
“Executive director”, the executive director of the commission appointed pursuant to subsection (g) of section 2.
“Imminent harm”, serious physical injury or death that is likely to be caused by a person with the present ability, opportunity and apparent intent to immediately cause serious physical injury or death and is a risk that, based on the information available at the time, must be instantly confronted and addressed to prevent serious physical injury or death; provided, however, that “imminent harm” shall not include fear of future serious physical injury or death.
“Law enforcement agency”, (i) a state, county, municipal or district law enforcement agency, including, but not limited to: a city, town or district police department, the office of environmental law enforcement, the University of Massachusetts police department, the department of the state police, the Massachusetts Port Authority police department, also known as the Port of Boston Authority police department, and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority police department; (ii) a sheriff’s department in its performance of police duties and functions; or (iii) a public or private college, university or other educational institution or hospital police department.
“Law enforcement officer” or “officer”, any officer of an agency, including the head of the agency; a special state police officer appointed pursuant to section 58 or section 63 of chapter 22C; a special sheriff appointed pursuant to section 4 of chapter 37 performing police duties and functions; a deputy sheriff appointed pursuant to section 3 of said chapter 37 performing police duties and functions; a constable executing an arrest for any reason; or any other special, reserve or intermittent police officer.
“Necessary”, required due to a lack of an available, effective alternative that was known or should have been known to a reasonable person in the circumstances.
“Officer-involved injury or death”, any event during which an officer: (i) discharges a firearm, as defined in section 121 of chapter 140, actually or proximately causing injury or death to another; (ii) discharges any stun gun as defined in said section 121 of said chapter 140, actually or proximately causing injury or death to another; (iii) uses a chokehold, actually or proximately causing injury or death of another; (iv) discharges tear gas or other chemical weapon, actually or proximately causing injury or death of another; (v) discharges rubber pellets from a propulsion device, actually or proximately causing injury or death of another; (vi) deploys a dog, actually or proximately causing injury or death of another; (vii) uses deadly force, actually or proximately causing injury or death of another; (viii) fails to intervene, as required by section 15, to prevent the use of excessive or prohibited force by another officer who actually or proximately causes injury or death of another; or (ix) engages in a physical altercation with a person who sustains serious bodily injury or requests or receives medical care as a result.
“Serious bodily injury”, bodily injury that results in: (i) permanent disfigurement; (ii) protracted loss or impairment of a bodily function, limb or organ; or (iii) a substantial risk of death.
“Totality of the circumstances”, the entire duration of an interaction between a law enforcement officer and a person, from the first contact through the conclusion of the incident, including consideration of contextual factors the law enforcement officer knew or should have known during such interaction.
“Training director”, the training director appointed by the committee pursuant to section 4.
“Untruthful” or “untruthfulness”, knowingly making an untruthful statement concerning a material fact or knowingly omitting a material fact: (i) on an official criminal justice record, including, but not limited to, a police report; (ii) while testifying under oath; (iii) to the commission or an employee of the commission; or (iv) during an internal affairs investigation, administrative investigation or disciplinary process.
The commissioners shall take an oath to faithfully and impartially execute their duties as commissioners. (c) Each commissioner shall be a resident of the commonwealth within 90 days of appointment and, while serving on the commission, shall not: (i) hold, or be a candidate for, federal, state or local elected office; (ii) hold an appointed office in a federal, state, or local government; or (iii) serve as an official in a political party. Not more than 7 commissioners shall be from the same political party. The members of the commission shall be compensated for work performed for the commission at such rate as the secretary of administration and finance shall determine.
(d) Each commissioner shall serve for a term of 5 years or until a successor is appointed and shall be eligible for reappointment; provided, however, that no commissioner shall serve more than 10 years. The governor may remove a commissioner if the commissioner: (i) is guilty of malfeasance in office; (ii) substantially neglects the duties of a commissioner; (iii) is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the commissioner’s office; (iv) commits gross misconduct; or (v) is convicted of a felony.
(e) Seven commissioners shall constitute a quorum and the affirmative vote of a majority of commissioners present and voting shall be required for an action of the commission. The commission shall meet monthly and at other times as it shall deem necessary or upon the written request of 4 commissioners or the chair; provided, however, that notice of all meetings shall be given to each commissioner and to other persons who request such notice. The commission shall adopt regulations establishing procedures, which may include electronic communications, by which a request to receive notice shall be made and the method by which timely notice may be given.
(f) The commission shall annually elect 1 of the commissioners to serve as secretary and 1 of the commissioners to serve as treasurer. The secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of the commission and shall be the custodian and keeper of the records of all books, documents and papers filed by the commission and of its minute book. The secretary shall cause copies to be made of all minutes and other records and documents of the commission and shall certify that such copies are true copies, and all persons dealing with the commission may rely upon such certification.
(g) The commission shall appoint an executive director, who shall not be a member of the commission. The executive director shall serve at the pleasure of the commission, shall receive such salary as may be determined by the commission, and shall devote full time and attention to the duties of the office. The executive director shall be a person with skill and experience in management, shall be the executive and administrative head of the commission and shall be responsible for administering and enforcing the provisions of law relative to the commission and to each administrative unit thereof. The executive director may, subject to the approval of the commission, employ other employees, consultants, agents and advisors, including legal counsel, and shall attend meetings of the commission. In the case of an absence or vacancy in the office of the executive director or in the case of disability as determined by the commission, the commission may designate an acting executive director to serve as executive director until the vacancy is filled or the absence or disability ceases. The acting executive director shall have all of the powers and duties of the executive director and shall have similar qualifications as the executive director.
(h) The executive director may, subject to the approval of the commission, appoint such persons as the executive director shall consider necessary to perform the functions of the commission; provided, however, that chapter 31 and section 9A of chapter 30 shall not apply to commission employees. If an employee serving in a position which is classified under said chapter 31 or in which an employee has tenure by reason of said section 9A of said chapter 30 shall be appointed to a position within the commission which is not subject to said chapter 31, the employee shall, upon termination of service in such position, be restored to the position which the employee held immediately prior to such appointment; provided, however, that the employee’s service in such position shall be determined by the civil service commission in accordance with the standards applied by that commission in administering said chapter 31. Such restoration shall be made without impairment of the employee’s civil service status or tenure under said section 9A of said chapter 30 and without loss of seniority, retirement or other rights to which uninterrupted service in such prior position would have entitled such employee. During the period of such appointment, each person so appointed from a position in the classified civil service shall be eligible to take any competitive promotional examination for which such person would otherwise have been eligible. The executive director and employees of the commission shall be classified as group 1 pursuant to paragraph (g) of subdivision (2) of section 3 of chapter 32.
(i) No employee of the division of standards, established pursuant to section 8, or the executive director shall have previously been employed as a law enforcement officer, previously employed by a law enforcement agency or be a retired law enforcement officer or retired from a law enforcement agency; provided, however, that such employee may have been a previous employee of or have retired from the division of standards.
(j) The commission shall be a commission for the purposes of section 3 of chapter 12.
(k) Any vacancy occurring on the commission shall be filled within 90 days by the original appointing authority. A person appointed to fill a vacancy occurring other than by expiration of a term of office shall be appointed for the unexpired term of the member they succeed and shall be eligible for re-appointment.
(1) act as the primary civil enforcement agency for violations of this chapter;
(2) establish minimum officer certification standards pursuant to section 4;
(3) certify qualified applicants;
(4) deny an application or limit, condition, restrict, revoke or suspend a certification, or fine a person certified for any cause that the commission deems reasonable;
(5) receive complaints from any source and preserve all complaints and reports filed with the commission for the appropriate period of time;
(6) establish minimum agency certification standards pursuant to section 5;
(7) certify qualified agencies;
(8) withhold, suspend or revoke certification of agencies;
(9) conduct audits and investigations pursuant to section 8;
(10) appoint officers and approve employees to be hired by the executive director;
(11) establish and amend a plan of organization that it considers expedient;
(12) execute all instruments necessary or convenient for accomplishing the purposes of this chapter;
(13) enter into agreements or other transactions with a person, including, but not limited to, a public entity or other governmental instrumentality or authority in connection with its powers and duties under this chapter;
(14) appear on its own behalf before boards, commissions, departments or other agencies of municipal, state or federal government;
(15) apply for and accept subventions, grants, loans, advances and contributions of money, property, labor or other things of value from any source, to be held, used and applied for its purposes;
(16) provide and pay for advisory services and technical assistance as may be necessary in its judgment to carry out this chapter and fix the compensation of persons providing such services or assistance;
(17) prepare, publish and distribute, with or without charge as the commission may determine, such studies, reports, bulletins and other materials as the commission considers appropriate;
(18) gather facts and information applicable to the commission’s obligation to issue, suspend or revoke certifications for: (i) a violation of this chapter or any regulation adopted by the commission; (ii) a willful violation of an order of the commission; (iii) the conviction of a criminal offense; or (iv) the violation of any other offense which would disqualify a person from being certified;
(19) conduct investigations into the qualifications of all applicants for certification;
(20) request and receive from the state police, the department of criminal justice information services or other criminal justice agencies, including, but not limited to, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the federal Internal Revenue Service, such criminal offender record information relating to the administration and enforcement of this chapter;
(21) demand access to and inspect, examine, photocopy and audit all papers, books and records of any law enforcement agency;
(22) levy and collect assessments, fees and fines and impose penalties and sanctions for a violation of this chapter or any regulations promulgated by the commission;
(23) restrict, suspend or revoke certifications issued under this chapter;
(24) conduct adjudicatory proceedings in accordance with chapter 30A;
(25) refer cases for criminal prosecution to the appropriate federal, state or local authorities;
(26) issue subpoenas and compel the attendance of witnesses at any place within the commonwealth, administer oaths and require testimony under oath before the commission in the course of an investigation or hearing conducted under this chapter;
(27) maintain an official internet website for the commission;
(28) adopt, amend or repeal regulations in accordance with chapter 30A for the implementation, administration and enforcement of this chapter, including, but not limited to, regulations: (i) governing the conduct of proceedings hereunder; (ii) determining whether an applicant has met the standards for certification; (iii) establishing minimum standards for internal agency review of complaints of officer-involved injuries or deaths and recommendations to the commission regarding retraining, suspension or revocation of officer certification to ensure consistency across agencies; (iv) establishing a physical and psychological fitness evaluation pursuant to section 4 that measures said fitness to ensure officers are able to perform essential job duties; and (v) identifying patterns of unprofessional police conduct, including, but not limited to, patterns of: (A) escalating behavior that may lead to the use of excessive force or conduct that is biased on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, mental or physical disability, immigration status or socioeconomic or professional level; (B) an increase in the frequency of complaints regarding an individual officer or agency; or (C) the number of complaints regarding an officer or agency that are at least 1 standard deviation above the mean for similarly situated officers or agencies for a defined period; and (29) refer patterns of racial profiling or the mishandling of complaints of unprofessional police conduct by a law enforcement agency for investigation and possible prosecution to the attorney general or the appropriate federal, state or local authorities; provided, however, that if the attorney general has reasonable cause to believe that such a pattern exists based on information received from any other source, the attorney general may bring a civil action for injunctive or other appropriate equitable and declaratory relief to eliminate the pattern or practice.
(b) The commission shall have the power to issue a specialized certification for an individual acting, or intending to act, as a school resource officer, as defined in section 37P of chapter 71; provided, however, that a person shall not be appointed as a school resource officer, as defined in said section 37P of said chapter 71, unless specially certified as such by the commission.
(2) To ensure the specific training and educational needs of each agency are met, the division of police training and certification may create specialized basic and in-service training programs, subject to the approval of the commission, for: (i) officers of the department of the state police; (ii) deputy sheriffs; (iii) municipal officers; (iv) special, intermittent and reserve officers; and (v) any other class of officers, as the division of police training and certification determines is necessary.
(b) The division of police training and certification shall be under the management and control of a committee on police training and certification. The committee shall consist of: 5 chiefs of police to be appointed by the governor from nominations submitted by the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association Incorporated, 1 of whom shall be from the western Massachusetts region, 1 of whom shall be from the central Massachusetts region, 1 of whom shall be from the southeastern Massachusetts region, 1 of whom shall be from the northeastern Massachusetts region and 1 of whom shall be from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority; 1 chief of police selected by the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association Incorporated; 1 police officer to be appointed by the governor from nominations submitted by the Massachusetts Police Association, Inc. executive board and the Massachusetts Police Training Officers Association, Inc. executive board; the chair of the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers, Inc.; the president of the Massachusetts Association of Women in Law Enforcement, Inc.; the commissioner of police of the city of Boston or a designee; the colonel of state police or a designee; 2 sheriffs appointed by the governor; the attorney general or a designee; and 1 person to be appointed by the secretary of public safety and security. All such appointments shall be for terms of 3 years with successors appointed in a like manner.
(c) The following persons, or their designees, shall be advisory, nonvoting members of the committee: the personnel administrator; the commissioner of correction; the commissioner of youth services; the commissioner of probation; the chair of the parole board; the executive director of the committee on criminal justice; the chief justice of the trial court of the commonwealth; the chief justice of the district court department; the secretary of education; the chair of the criminal justice section council of the Massachusetts Bar Association; and the special agent in charge of the Boston field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, if consent is given by the director of the bureau. The governor shall appoint 7 additional advisory, nonvoting members of the committee, 1 of whom shall be an administrator of a city or town, 1 of whom shall be a clerk of the superior court, 1 of whom shall be a member of the committee for public counsel services, 1 of whom shall be a social worker, 1 of whom shall be a mental health clinician, 1 of whom shall be a sheriff of a county or a former county and 1 of whom shall be a district attorney of a district, or their respective designees.
(d) No person shall be eligible for admission to committee-certified police schools, programs or academies or for appointment as a law enforcement officer or for employment with an agency if they are listed in the national decertification index or the database of decertified law enforcement officers maintained by the commission pursuant to clause (i) of subsection (a) of section 13. The committee, subject to the approval of the commission, shall set policies and standards for the screening of all applicants for admission to committee-certified academies and shall set policies and standards for the screening for all applicants for certification and recertification as law enforcement officers, including, but not limited to, standards on background investigations for all applicants.
(e)(1) The committee, subject to the approval of the commission, shall set policies and standards for the training of all law enforcement officers, including, but not limited to, the training mandated by sections 116A to 116E, inclusive, and sections 116G to 116J, inclusive, of chapter 6, chapter 22C, section 36C of chapter 40, sections 96B and 97B of chapter 41 and section 24M of chapter 90.
(2) The committee shall coordinate with the center for responsive training in crisis intervention established pursuant to section 25 of chapter 19 on all behavioral health-related training.
(f)(1) The committee shall, subject to approval of the commission, establish minimum certification standards for all officers that shall include, but not be limited to: (i) attaining the age of 21; (ii) successful completion of a high school education or equivalent, as determined by the commission; (iii) successful completion of the basic training program designed by the committee and approved by the commission; (iv) successful completion of a physical and psychological fitness evaluation approved by the commission; (v) successful completion of a state and national background check, including, but not limited to, fingerprinting and a full employment history; provided, that if the applicant has been previously employed in law enforcement in any state or United States territory or by the federal government, the applicant’s full employment record, including complaints and discipline, shall be evaluated in the background check; (vi) passage of an examination administered by the committee and approved by the commission; (vii) possession of current first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation certificates or equivalent, as determined by the commission; (viii) successful completion of an oral interview; and (ix) being of good moral character and fit for employment in law enforcement, as determined by the commission.
(2) The commission shall not issue a certificate to an applicant who: (i) does not meet the minimum standards enumerated in paragraph (1) or the regulations of the commission; (ii) has been convicted of a felony or whose name is listed in the national decertification index or the database of decertified law enforcement officers maintained by the commission pursuant to clause (i) of subsection (a) of section 13; or (iii) while previously employed in law enforcement in any state or United States territory or by the federal government, would have had their certification revoked by the commission if employed by an agency in the commonwealth.
(3) The commission may issue a certificate to a qualified applicant consistent with the provisions of this chapter. The commission shall determine the form and manner of issuance of a certification. A certification shall expire 3 years after the date of issuance.
(4) An officer shall remain in compliance with the requirements of this chapter and all rules and regulations promulgated by the commission for the duration of their employment as an officer.
(g) No agency shall appoint or employ a person as a law enforcement officer unless the person is certified by the commission.
(h) The committee, in consultation with the division of police standards, shall create and maintain a database containing records for each certified law enforcement officer, including, but not limited to:
(1) the date of initial certification;
(2) the date of any recertification;
(3) the records of completion of all training and all in-service trainings, including the dates and locations of said trainings;
(4) the date of any written reprimand and the reason for said reprimand;
(5) the date of any suspension and the reason for said suspension;
(6) the date of any arrest and the charge or charges leading to said arrest;
(7) the date of, and reason for, any internal affairs complaint;
(8) the outcome of an internal affairs investigation based on an internal affairs complaint;
(9) the date of any criminal conviction and crime for said conviction;
(10) the date of any separation from employment with an agency and the nature of the separation, including, but not limited to, suspension, resignation, retirement or termination;
(11) the reason for any separation from employment, including, but not limited to, whether the separation was based on misconduct or whether the separation occurred while the appointing agency was conducting an investigation of the certified individual for a violation of an appointing agency’s rules, policies, procedures or for other misconduct or improper action;
(12) the date of decertification, if any, and the reason for said decertification; and
(13) any other information as may be required by the commission.
(i) Each certified law enforcement officer shall apply for renewal of certification prior to its date of expiration as prescribed by the commission. The commission shall not recertify any person as a law enforcement officer unless the commission certifies that the applicant for recertification continues to satisfy the requirements of subsection (f).
(j) The commission shall promulgate regulations for the committee to maintain a publicly available and searchable database containing records for law enforcement officers. In promulgating the regulations, the commission shall consider the health and safety of the officers.
(b) The committee, subject to the approval of the commission, shall establish minimum certification standards for all law enforcement agencies that shall include, but shall not be limited to, the establishment and implementation of agency policies regarding: (i) use of force and reporting of use of force; (ii) officer code of conduct; (iii) officer response procedures; (iv) criminal investigation procedures; (v) juvenile operations; (vi) internal affairs and officer complaint investigation procedures; (vii) detainee transportation; and (viii) collection and preservation of evidence.
(c) An agency shall remain in compliance with the requirements of this chapter and all rules and regulations promulgated by the commission.
(b) The committee on police training and certification may establish a course within the recruit basic training curriculum for police training schools, academies and programs to train officers on the application of section 34A of chapter 94C and section 12FF of chapter 112 and the procedures for response to calls for assistance for drug-related overdoses. The committee may periodically include within its in-service training curriculum a course of instruction on the application of said section 34A of said chapter 94C and the procedures for response to calls for assistance for drug-related overdoses. Upon request of the committee, the executive office of public safety and security, in collaboration with the department of public health, shall facilitate the collection and sharing of resources regarding the application of said section 34A of said chapter 94C.
(b) The course shall include information on the mental health resources available to help law enforcement officers and shall be designed to reduce and eliminate the stigma associated with law enforcement officers receiving mental health services.
(c) The course of instruction shall be developed by the committee on police training and certification in consultation with appropriate groups and individuals having an interest and expertise in law enforcement mental health and suicide prevention.
(d) All law enforcement officers shall annually attend and complete a course on mental wellness and suicide prevention.
(b)(1) The head of an agency shall transmit any complaint received by said agency within 2 business days to the division of police standards, in a form to be determined by the commission; provided, that the form shall include, but shall not be limited to: (i) the name and commission certification identification number of the subject officer; (ii) the date and location of the incident; (iii) a description of circumstances of the conduct that is the subject of the complaint; (iv) whether the complaint alleges that the officer’s conduct: (A) was biased on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, mental or physical disability, immigration status or socioeconomic or professional level; (B) was unprofessional; (C) involved excessive, prohibited or deadly force; or (D) resulted in serious bodily injury or death; and (v) a copy of the original complaint submitted directly to the agency; provided, however, that the commission may establish a minimum threshold and streamlined process for the reporting or handling of minor complaints that do not involve the use of force or allegations of biased behavior.
(2) Upon completion of the internal investigation of a complaint, the head of each agency shall immediately transmit to the division of police standards an investigation report in a form to be determined by the commission; provided, that the form shall include, but shall not be limited to: (i) a description of the investigation and disposition of the complaint; (ii) any disciplinary action recommended by internal affairs or the supervising officer; and (iii) if the recommended disciplinary action included retraining, suspension or termination, a recommendation by the head of the agency for disciplinary action by the commission including, retraining or suspension or revocation of the officer’s certification.
(3) Upon final disposition of the complaint, the head of each agency shall immediately transmit to the division of police standards a final report in a form to be determined by the commission; provided, that the form shall include, but shall not be limited to: (i) any disciplinary action initially recommend by internal affairs or the supervising officer; (ii) the final discipline imposed and a description of the adjudicatory process; and (iii) if the disciplinary action recommended or imposed included retraining, suspension or termination, a recommendation by the head of the agency for disciplinary action by the commission including, retraining or suspension or revocation of the officer’s certification.
(4) If an officer resigns during an agency investigation, prior to the conclusion of an agency investigation or prior to the imposition of agency discipline, up to and including termination, the head of said agency shall immediately transmit to the division of police standards a report in a form to be determined by the commission; provided, that the form shall include, but shall not be limited to: (i) the officer’s full employment history; (ii) a description of the events or complaints surrounding the resignation; and (iii) a recommendation by the head of the agency for disciplinary action by the commission, including retraining or suspension or revocation of the officer’s certification.
(5) Notwithstanding any general or special law or collective bargaining agreement to the contrary, nothing shall limit the ability of the head of an agency to make a recommendation in their professional judgement to the commission relative to the certification status of an officer, after having followed the agency’s internal affairs procedure and any appeal therefrom.
(c)(1) The division of police standards shall initiate a preliminary inquiry into the conduct of a law enforcement officer if the commission receives a complaint, report or other credible evidence that is deemed sufficient by the commission that the law enforcement officer:
(i) was involved an officer-involved injury or death;
(ii) committed a felony or misdemeanor, whether or not the officer has been arrested, indicted, charged or convicted;
(iii) engaged in conduct prohibited pursuant to section 14;
(iv) engaged in conduct prohibited pursuant to section 15; or
(v) the commission receives an affirmative recommendation by the head of an appointing agency for disciplinary action by the commission, including retraining or suspension or revocation of the officer’s certification.
(2) The division of police standards may initiate a preliminary inquiry into the conduct of a law enforcement officer upon receipt of a complaint, report or other credible evidence that is deemed sufficient by the commission that the law enforcement officer may have engaged in prohibited conduct. All proceedings and records relating to a preliminary inquiry or initial staff review used to determine whether to initiate an inquiry shall be confidential, except that the executive director may turn over to the attorney general, the United States Attorney or a district attorney of competent jurisdiction evidence which may be used in a criminal proceeding.
(3) The division of police standards shall notify any law enforcement officer who is the subject of the preliminary inquiry, the head of their collective bargaining unit and the head of their appointing agency of the existence of such inquiry and the general nature of the alleged violation within 30 days of the commencement of the inquiry.
(d) The division of police standards may audit all records related to the complaints, investigations and investigative reports of any agency related to complaints of officer misconduct or unprofessionalism, including, but not limited to, personnel records The commission shall promulgate rules and regulations establishing an audit procedure; provided, however, that said rules and regulations shall not limit the ability of the division of police standards to initiate an audit at any time and for any reason.
(e) The division of police standards shall create and maintain a database containing information related to an officer’s: (i) receipt of complaints and related information, including, but not limited to: the officer’s appointing agency, date, a description of circumstances of the conduct that is the subject of the complaint and whether the complaint alleges that the officer’s conduct: (A) was biased on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, mental or physical disability, immigration status or socioeconomic or professional level; (B) was unprofessional; (C) involved excessive, prohibited or deadly force; or (D) resulted in serious bodily injury or death; (ii) allegations of untruthfulness; (iii) failure to follow commission training requirements; (iv) decertification by the commission; (v) agency-imposed discipline; (vi) termination for cause; and (vii) any other information the commission deems necessary or relevant.
(f) The division of police standards shall actively monitor the database to identify patterns of unprofessional police conduct. Upon identification of a pattern of unprofessional police conduct, the division of police standards may recommend the evidence in its possession for review in a preliminary inquiry.
(g) The division of police standards shall be a law enforcement agency and its employees shall have such law enforcement powers as necessary to effectuate the purposes of this chapter, including the power to receive intelligence on an applicant for certification or an officer certified under this chapter and to investigate any suspected violations of law.
(2) If, after a preliminary inquiry pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of section 8, the commission concludes by a preponderance of the evidence that a law enforcement officer has engaged in conduct that could constitute a felony and upon a vote to initiate an adjudicatory proceeding of said conduct, the commission shall immediately suspend an officer’s certification.
(3) The commission may, after a preliminary inquiry pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of section 8, suspend the certification of any officer who is arrested, charged or indicted for a misdemeanor, if the commission determines by a preponderance of the evidence that the crime affects the fitness of the officer to serve as a law enforcement officer.
(4) The commission may, pending preliminary inquiry pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of section 8, suspend the certification of any officer if the commission determines by a preponderance of the evidence that the suspension is in the best interest of the health, safety or welfare of the public.
(5) A suspension order of the commission issued pursuant to this subsection shall continue in effect until issuance of the final decision of the commission or until revoked by the commission.
(b) The commission shall administratively suspend the certification of an officer who fails to complete in-service training requirements of the commission within 90 days of the deadline imposed by the commission; provided, however, that the commission may promulgate reasonable exemptions to this subsection, including, but not limited to, exemptions for: (1) injury or physical disability; (2) a leave of absence; or (3) other documented hardship. The commission shall reinstate the certification of an officer suspended pursuant to this subsection upon completion of the in-service training requirements of the commission.
(c) The commission shall administratively suspend the certification of an officer with a duty to report information to the commission pursuant to section 8 who fails to report such information. The commission shall reinstate the certificate of an officer suspended pursuant to this subsection upon completion of said report.
(d) A law enforcement officer whose certification is suspended by the commission pursuant to subsection (a), (b) or (c) shall be entitled to a hearing before a commissioner within 15 days. The terms of employment of a law enforcement officer whose certification is suspended by the commission pursuant to said subsection (a) (b) or (c) shall continue to be subject to chapter 31 and any applicable collective bargaining agreement to which the law enforcement officer is a beneficiary.
(i) the officer is convicted of a felony;
(ii) the certification was issued as a result of administrative error;
(iii) the certification was obtained through misrepresentation or fraud;
(iv) the officer falsified any document in order to obtain or renew certification;
(v) the officer has had a certification or other authorization revoked by another jurisdiction;
(vi) the officer is terminated by their appointing agency, and any appeal of said termination is completed, based upon intentional conduct performed under the color of office to: obtain false confessions; make a false arrest; create or use falsified evidence, including false testimony or destroying evidence to create a false impression; engage in conduct that would constitute a hate crime, as defined in section 32 of chapter 22C; or directly or indirectly receive a reward, gift or gratuity on account of their official services;
(vii) the officer has been convicted of submitting false timesheets in violation of section 85BB of chapter 231;
(viii) the officer knowingly files a written police report containing a false statement or commits perjury, as defined in section 1 of chapter 268;
(ix) the officer tampers with a record for use in an official proceeding, as defined in section 13E of chapter 268;
(x) the officer used force in violation of section 14;
(xi) the officer used excessive use of force resulting in death or serious bodily injury;
(xii) the officer used a chokehold in violation of said section 14;
(xiii) the officer engaged in conduct that would constitute a hate crime, as defined in section 32 of chapter 22C;
(xiv) the officer engaged in the intimidation of a witness, as defined in section 13B of chapter 268;
(xv) the officer failed to intervene, or attempt to intervene, to prevent another officer from engaging in prohibited conduct or behavior, including, but not limited to, excessive or prohibited force in violation of section 15;
(xvi) the officer is not fit for duty as an officer and the officer is dangerous to the public, as determined by the commission.
(b) The commission may, after a hearing, suspend or revoke an officer’s certification if the commission finds by clear and convincing evidence that the officer:
(i) has been convicted of any misdemeanor;
(ii) was biased on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, mental or physical disability, immigration status or socioeconomic or professional level in their conduct;
(iii) has a pattern of unprofessional police conduct that commission believes may escalate;
(iv) was suspended or terminated by their appointing agency for disciplinary reasons, and any appeal of said suspension or termination is completed; or
(v) has repeated sustained internal affairs complaints, for the same or different offenses.
(c) The commission may reinstate the certificate of an officer suspended pursuant to subsection (b) at the expiration of the suspension, if the commission finds that all conditions of the suspension were met.
(d) The commission may, after a hearing, order retraining for any officer if the commission finds substantial evidence that the officer:
(i) failed to comply with this chapter or commission regulations, reporting requirements or training requirements;
(ii) was biased on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, mental or physical disability, immigration status or socioeconomic or professional level in their conduct;
(iii) used excessive force;
(iv) failed to respond an incident according to established procedure;
(v) has a pattern of unprofessional police conduct;
(vi) was untruthful, except for a statement or action that mandates revocation pursuant to subsection (a);
(vii) was suspended or terminated by their appointing agency for disciplinary reasons, except those reasons which mandate revocation pursuant to said subsection (a);
(viii) fails to intervene to prevent another officer from engaging in prohibited conduct or behavior, except a failure to intervene in conduct that mandates revocation pursuant to said subsection (a); or
(ix) would benefit in their job performance if retrained.
(e) The commission shall immediately notify the officer and the head of the appointing agency of the officer who is decertified, suspended or ordered to undergo retraining of the order.
(f) The commission shall conduct preliminary inquiries, revocation and suspension proceedings and hearings, and promulgate regulations for such proceedings and hearings, pursuant to sections 1, 8 and 10 to 14, inclusive, of chapter 30A. Any decision of the commission relative to a preliminary inquiry, revocation and suspension proceeding shall be appealable pursuant to chapter 30A. No adverse action taken against a certification by the commission pursuant to this section shall be appealable to the civil service commission established under chapter 31. No employment action taken by an appointing authority that results from a revocation by the commission pursuant to subsection (a) shall be appealable to the civil service commission established under chapter 31.
(g) The committee shall publish any revocation order and findings. The committee shall provide all revocation information to the national decertification index. No officer may apply for certification after that officer’s certification has been revoked pursuant to this section. (h) The commission shall not institute a revocation or suspension hearing pursuant to this section until the officer’s appointing agency has issued a final disposition or 1 year has elapsed since the incident was reported to the commission, whichever is sooner. If the officer notifies the commission that the officer wishes to suspend such hearing pending an appeal or arbitration of the appointing agency’s final disposition, the commission shall suspend the hearing; provided, however, that any delay in instituting a revocation or suspension hearing shall not exceed 1 year from the officer’s request. If the officer notifies the commission that the officer wishes to suspend such hearing pending the resolution of criminal charges, the commission shall suspend the hearing; provided, however, that the officer’s certification shall be suspended during the pendency of any delay in such hearing. This subsection shall not impact the commission’s authority to suspend a certification pursuant to section 9.
(b) The commission shall cooperate with the national decertification index and other states and territories to ensure officers who are decertified by the commonwealth are not hired as law enforcement officers in other jurisdictions, including by providing information requested by those entities.
(c) A law enforcement officer shall not use a chokehold. A law enforcement officer shall not be trained to use a lateral vascular neck restraint, carotid restraint or other action that involves the placement of any part of law enforcement officer’s body on or around a person’s neck in a manner that limits the person’s breathing or blood flow.
(d) A law enforcement officer shall not discharge any firearm into or at a fleeing motor vehicle unless, based on the totality of the circumstances, such discharge is necessary to prevent imminent harm to a person and the discharge is proportionate to the threat of imminent harm to a person.
(e) When a police department has advance knowledge of a planned mass demonstration, it shall attempt in good faith to communicate with organizers of the event to discuss logistical plans, strategies to avoid conflict and potential communication needs between police and event participants. The department shall make plans to avoid and de-escalate potential conflicts and designate an officer in charge of de-escalation planning and communication about the plans within the department. A law enforcement officer shall not discharge or order the discharge of tear gas or any other chemical weapon, discharge or order the discharge of rubber pellets from a propulsion device or release or order the release of a dog to control or influence a person’s behavior unless: (i) de-escalation tactics have been attempted and failed or are not feasible based on the totality of the circumstances; and (ii) the measures used are necessary to prevent imminent harm and the foreseeable harm inflicted by the tear gas or other chemical weapon, rubber pellets or dog is proportionate to the threat of imminent harm. If a law enforcement officer utilizes or orders the use of tear gas or any other chemical weapon, rubber pellets or a dog against a crowd, the law enforcement officer’s appointing agency shall file a report with the commission detailing all measures that were taken in advance of the event to reduce the probability of disorder and all de-escalation tactics and other measures that were taken at the time of the event to de-escalate tensions and avoid the necessity of using the tear gas or other chemical weapon, rubber pellets or dog. The commission shall review the report and may make any additional investigation. After such review and investigation, the commission shall, if applicable, make a finding as to whether the pre-event and contemporaneous de-escalation tactics were adequate and whether the use of or order to use such tear gas or other chemical weapon, rubber pellets or dog was justified.
(b) An officer who observes another officer using physical force, including deadly force, beyond that which is necessary or objectively reasonable based on the totality of the circumstances shall report the incident to an appropriate supervisor as soon as reasonably possible but not later than the end of the officer’s shift. The officer shall prepare a detailed written statement describing the incident consistent with uniform protocols. The officer’s written statement shall be included in the supervisor’s report (c) A law enforcement agency shall develop and implement a policy and procedure for law enforcement personnel to report abuse by other law enforcement personnel without fear of retaliation or actual retaliation.
(d) The committee on police training and certification shall promulgate rules and regulations, subject to the approval of the commission, for the administration and enforcement of this section and section 14; provided, however, that such regulations may authorize the use of necessary, proportionate and non-deadly force for purposes not explicitly specified in this chapter where de-escalation tactics have been attempted and failed or are not feasible based on the totality of the circumstances.
Section 11H. (a)(1) Whenever any person or persons, whether or not acting under color of law, interfere by threats, intimidation or coercion, or attempt to interfere by threats, intimidation or coercion, with the exercise or enjoyment by any other person or persons of rights secured by the constitution or laws of the United States, or of rights secured by the constitution or laws of the commonwealth, the attorney general may bring a civil action for injunctive or other appropriate equitable relief in order to protect the peaceable exercise or enjoyment of the right or rights secured. Said civil action shall be brought in the name of the commonwealth and shall be instituted either in the superior court for the county in which the conduct complained of occurred or in the superior court for the county in which the person whose conduct complained of resides or has his principal place of business.
(2) If the attorney general prevails in an action under this section, the attorney general shall be entitled to: (i) an award of compensatory damages for any aggrieved person or entity; and (ii) litigation costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees in an amount to be determined by the court. In a matter involving the interference or attempted interference with any right protected by the constitution of the United States or of the commonwealth, the court may also award civil penalties against each defendant in an amount not exceeding $5,000 for each violation.
(b) All persons shall have the right to bias-free professional policing. Any conduct taken in relation to an aggrieved person by a law enforcement officer acting under color of law that results in the decertification of said law enforcement officer by the Massachusetts peace officer standards and training commission pursuant to section 10 of chapter 6E shall constitute interference with said person’s right to bias-free professional policing and shall be a prima facie violation of said person’s right to bias-free professional policing and a prima facie violation of subsection (a). No law enforcement officer shall be immune from civil liability for any conduct under color of law that violates a person’s right to bias-free professional policing if said conduct results in the law enforcement officer’s decertification by the Massachusetts peace officer standards and training commission pursuant to section 10 of chapter 6E; provided, however, that nothing in this subsection shall be construed to grant immunity from civil liability to a law enforcement officer for interference by threat, intimidation or coercion, or attempted interference by threats, intimidation or coercion, with the exercise or enjoyment any right secured by the constitution or laws of the United States or the constitution or laws of the commonwealth if the conduct of said officer was knowingly unlawful or was not objectively reasonable.
The governor, upon the recommendation of the secretary of public safety and security, shall appoint the colonel, who shall be qualified by training and experience, to direct the work of the department. At the time of appointment, the colonel shall have not less than 10 years of full- time experience as a sworn law enforcement officer and not less than 5 years of full-time experience in a senior administrative or supervisory position in a police force or a military body with law enforcement responsibilities. The appointment shall constitute an appointment as a uniformed member of the department and shall qualify the colonel to exercise all powers granted to a uniformed member under this chapter. The colonel shall serve at the pleasure of the governor and shall devote their full time during business hours to the duties of the office.
A person shall not be enlisted as a uniformed member of the state police except in accordance with this section and section 11; provided, however, that other than for an appointment made pursuant to section 3, a person employed as a police officer for an agency other than the department of state police, including, but not limited to, an agency of the commonwealth or any political subdivision of the commonwealth, shall not be allowed to transfer into a position as a uniformed member of the state police.
Section 10A. The colonel may establish a cadet program within the department and may admit as a state police cadet, for a period of full-time on the job training, a citizen resident in the commonwealth who: (i) is not less than 19 years of age and not more than 25 years of age; (ii) would otherwise be found suitable for appointment for initial enlistment as a uniformed member of the state police pursuant to sections 10, 11 and 14, with the exception of the physical fitness standards therein; (iii) has passed a qualifying physical fitness examination, as determined by the colonel; and (iv) has passed a qualifying examination, as determined by the colonel.
The qualifying examination shall be conducted under the direction of the colonel who shall, after consultation with the personnel administrator, determine its form, method and subject matter. The qualifying examination shall fairly test the applicant’s knowledge, skills and abilities that can be fairly and reliably measured and that are actually required to perform the primary or dominant duties of the position of state police cadet.
A person who has attained the age of 19 on or before the final date for the filing of applications for the state police cadet program shall be eligible to take the qualifying examination for the state police cadet program. A person who has attained the age of 26 on or before the final date for the filing of applications for the state police cadet program shall not be eligible to take the qualifying examination for the state police cadet program.
Admission as a state police cadet shall not be subject to the civil service law or rules and a state police cadet shall not be entitled to any benefits of such law or rules. The colonel shall immediately report, in writing, any admission as a state police cadet made pursuant to this section to the secretary of public safety and security and the personnel administrator. Admission shall be for a term of service of not less than 12 months as determined by the department and may be terminated at any time. A state police cadet’s term of service shall be terminated if the state police cadet fails to maintain a passing grade in any course of study required by the colonel. A state police cadet shall be required to meet the physical fitness standards required for appointment for initial enlistment as a uniformed member of the state police within 12 months of the state police cadet’s admission to the state police cadet program. A state police cadet shall be an at-will employee. A state police cadet shall receive such compensation and such leave with pay as the colonel shall determine in consultation with the personnel administrator. The colonel shall establish requirements for successful completion of the state police cadet program.
The colonel shall determine the duties and responsibilities of state police cadets. A state police cadet shall not carry arms and shall not have any power of arrest other than that of an ordinary citizen. A state police cadet shall be considered an employee of the commonwealth for the purposes of workers’ compensation.
While participating in the state police cadet program, a state police cadet shall not be subject to or entitled to the benefits of any retirement or pension law, nor shall any deduction be made from a state police cadet’s compensation for the purpose thereof; provided, however, that a state police cadet who successfully completes the state police cadet program and is appointed to the department of state police pursuant to section 11 or is appointed as a police officer in a municipal police department, the Massachusetts bay transportation authority police force, the office of law enforcement within the executive office of energy and environmental affairs or the University of Massachusetts or becomes an employee, as defined in section 1 of chapter 32, shall have any state police cadet service considered as creditable service, as defined in said section 1 of said chapter 32, for purposes of retirement if the state police cadet pays into the annuity savings fund of the retirement system in 1 sum or in installments, upon such terms and conditions as the board may prescribe, not later than 1 year after appointment as described above, such amount as the retirement board determines equal to that which the state police cadet would have paid had the state police cadet been a member of the retirement system during the period of training as a state police cadet, together with buyback interest.
Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, the colonel may appoint for initial enlistment as a uniformed member of the state police any person who has successfully completed the state police cadet program pursuant to section 10A and who is willing to accept such appointment. Appointment for initial enlistment as a uniformed member of the state police under this paragraph shall terminate that person’s admission as a state police cadet. Not more than 1/3 of the total number of appointments to the state police in any single recruit training troop shall be made pursuant to this paragraph. The colonel shall immediately report, in writing, any appointment made pursuant to this paragraph to the personnel administrator.
Section 13. (a) A uniformed member of the state police who has served for at least 1 year and against whom charges have been referred shall be tried by a board to be appointed by the colonel or, at the request of the officer, a board consisting of the colonel. A person aggrieved by the finding of the trial board under this subsection may appeal the decision of the trial board under sections 41 to 45, inclusive, of chapter 31. A uniformed officer of the state police who has been dismissed from the state police force after a trial under this subsection, or who resigns while charges to be tried by a trial board are pending against the uniformed officer, shall not be reinstated by the colonel.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the colonel may administratively suspend without pay a uniformed member who has served for at least 1 year if: (i) the uniformed member had a criminal complaint or indictment issued against them; (ii) the department has referred the uniformed member to a prosecutorial agency for review for prosecution; or (iii) there are reasonable grounds to believe that the uniformed member has engaged in misconduct in the performance of the uniformed member’s duties that violates the public trust.
Prior to such administrative suspension, the department shall provide the uniformed member notice of, and the underlying factual basis for, the administrative suspension. After such notice, the colonel or the colonel’s designee shall hold a departmental hearing at which the uniformed member shall have an opportunity to respond to the allegations. Following the departmental hearing and upon a finding that there are reasonable grounds for such administrative suspension without pay, the colonel may administratively suspend without pay such uniformed member immediately. The administrative suspension without pay shall not be appealable under sections 41 to 45, inclusive, of chapter 31; provided, however, that the administrative suspension without pay may be appealed as provided in section 43.
A uniformed member who is administratively suspended without pay pursuant to this section may seek a review by the colonel or the colonel’s designee of the administrative suspension without pay after 1 year from the date of the administrative suspension and every year thereafter, or sooner if the uniformed member can demonstrate a material change in circumstances. The decision of the colonel or the colonel’s designee after such review may be appealed under said sections 41 to 45, inclusive, of said chapter 31.
(c) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the colonel may impose on a uniformed member who has served at least 1 year any permanent discipline that does not involve a suspension of pay, loss of accrued vacation time, loss of rank or seniority or termination without provision for a trial by a trial board under said subsection (a). Prior to imposing such discipline, the department shall provide the uniformed member notice of, and the underlying factual basis for, the discipline. After such notice, the colonel or the colonel’s designee shall hold a departmental hearing at which the uniformed member shall have an opportunity to respond to the allegations. Following the departmental hearing and upon a finding that there are reasonable grounds for discipline, the colonel may impose such discipline immediately.
An order imposing discipline pursuant to this subsection shall not be appealable under sections 41 to 45, inclusive, of chapter 31; provided, however, that such order may be appealed as provided in section 43.
(d) Any member, retired for disability for more than 3 years shall not return to active service for the department if such member fails to meet the requirements set forth in paragraph (a) and fails to complete the police training approved by the committee on police training and certification established in chapter 6E.
This section shall not apply to a person who is the subject of disciplinary action or employment-related consequences by an appointing agency, as defined in section 1 of chapter 6E, that results from decertification under section 10 of said chapter 6E.
Section 96B. Every person who receives an appointment to a position in which they will exercise police powers in a law enforcement agency, as defined in section 1 of chapter 6E, shall, prior to exercising police powers, be assigned to and satisfactorily complete a prescribed course of study approved by the committee on police training and certification, established in section 4 of said chapter 6E. Chapter 31 and any collective bargaining agreement notwithstanding, any person so attending such a school, academy or program shall be deemed to be a student officer and shall be exempted from said chapter 31 and any collective bargaining agreement for that period during which they are assigned to a police training school, academy or program; provided, however, that such person shall be paid the regular wages provided for the position to which they were appointed and such reasonable expenses as may be determined by the appointing authority and shall be subject to chapter 152.
Every law enforcement officer, as defined in section 1 of chapter 6E, appointed to a position in any such agency, shall be assigned to and shall attend a prescribed course of study approved by the committee on police training and certification for in-service officers training at such intervals and for such periods as said committee, subject to approval of the Massachusetts peace officer standards and training commission established in section 2 of said chapter 6E, may determine. Any such police officer who receives an appointment to a position of higher rank shall also complete such other courses of supervisory training as the committee, subject to approval of the commission, may determine. While attending such school, academy or program or completing such courses, such persons shall be paid their regular wages as a law enforcement officer and shall receive such reasonable expenses as may be determined by the appointing authority.
Failure of an appointed person to comply with this section prior to exercising police powers shall result in the appointed person’s removal by the appointing authority. Failure of an appointed person to satisfactorily complete the prescribed course of study shall prevent the Massachusetts peace officer standards and training commission from issuing a certification to said person.
Section 98H. An agreement by a law enforcement agency, as defined in section 1 of chapter 6E, to settle a complaint of professional misconduct by a law enforcement officer, as defined in said section 1 of said chapter 6E, shall not include a nondisclosure, non-disparagement or other similar clause in a settlement agreement between the law enforcement agency and a complainant unless the complainant requests such provision in writing.
School department personnel and school resource officers, as defined in section 37P, shall not disclose to a law enforcement officer or agency, including local, municipal, regional, county, state and federal law enforcement, through an official report or unofficial channels, including, but not limited to, text, phone, email, database and in-person communication, or submit to the department of state police’s Commonwealth Fusion Center, the Boston Regional Intelligence Center or any other database or system designed to track gang affiliation or involvement, any information relating to a student or a student’s family member from its databases and other recordkeeping systems including: (i) immigration status; (ii) citizenship; (iii) neighborhood of residence; (iv) religion; (v) national origin; (vi) ethnicity; or (vii) suspected, alleged, or confirmed gang affiliation, unless it is germane to a specific unlawful incident or to a specific prospect of unlawful activity the school is otherwise required to report. Nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit the sharing of information: (i) for the purposes of completing a report pursuant to section 51A of chapter 119; (ii) upon the specific, informed written consent of the eligible student, parent or guardian; (iii) to comply with a court order or lawfully issued subpoena; (iv) in connection with a health or safety emergency pursuant to the provisions of 603 C.M.R. 23.07(4)(e); or (v) for the purposes of filing a weapon report with the local chief of police pursuant to this section.
Section 37P. (a) As used in this section the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:
“Chief of police”, the chief of police or the board or officer having control of the police department in a city or town.
“Commission”, the model school resource officer memorandum of understanding review commission established in subsection (b).
“Model memorandum of understanding”, the model school resource officer memorandum of understanding developed by the commission.
“School resource officer”, a duly sworn municipal police officer with all necessary training, up-to-date certificates, including special school resource officer certification as required by subsection (b) of section 3 of chapter 6E or a special officer appointed by the chief of police charged with: (i) providing law enforcement; (ii) promoting school safety and security services to elementary and secondary public schools; and (iii) maintaining a positive school climate for all students, families and staff. For the purpose of this section, a school resource officer shall be exempt pursuant to subsection (j) of section 10 of chapter 269, while serving in the officer’s official capacity.
(b) There shall be a model school resource officer memorandum of understanding review commission to develop and review the model memorandum of understanding and make recommendations for changes to the model memorandum of understanding as the commission deems appropriate.
The commission shall include: the commissioner of elementary and secondary education and the secretary of the executive office of public safety and security, who shall serve as co- chairs; the attorney general or a designee; the child advocate or a designee; the chief justice of the juvenile court or a designee; the secretary of health and human services or a designee; the executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, Inc. or a designee ; the president of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association Incorporated or a designee; the president of the Massachusetts Major City Chiefs, Inc. or a designee; the training director of the committee on police training and certification established in section 4 of chapter 6E or a designee; the executive director of the mental health legal advisors committee established in section 34E of chapter 221 or a designee; the executive director of Citizens for Juvenile Justice, Inc. or a designee; the executive director of the Children’s League of Massachusetts, Inc. or a designee; a Massachusetts public school superintendent, to be appointed by the senate president; a Massachusetts public school teacher, to appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; a Massachusetts public school social worker, to be appointed by the minority leader of the senate; a parent or guardian of a child in a Massachusetts public school, to be appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives; and 4 members to be appointed by the governor: 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, Inc., 1 of whom shall be a representative of Massachusetts School Counselors Association, Inc. and 2 of whom shall be representatives from Massachusetts youth organizations with proven records of supporting services and programs for high numbers of youths in order to ensure healthy development and social responsibility.
The model memorandum of understanding shall be developed for schools and police departments as the minimum requirement for schools to formalize and clarify implementation of the partnership between the school and the school resource officer. In conducting such development and review, the commission shall determine the necessary provisions to achieve the district’s educational and school safety goals and to help maintain a positive school environment for all students.
The model memorandum of understanding shall, at minimum, describe: (i) the mission statement, goals and objectives of the school resource officer program; (ii) the roles and responsibilities of the school resource officer, the police department and the school; (iii) the process for selecting school resource officers; (iv) the mechanisms to incorporate school resource officers into the school environment, including school safety meetings; (v) information sharing between school resource officers, school staff and other partners; (vi) the organizational structure of the school resource officer program, including supervision of school resource officers and the lines of communication between the school district and police department; (vii) training for school resource officers, including, but not limited to, continuing professional development in child and adolescent development, conflict resolution and diversion strategies, de-escalation tactics and any other training required by the Massachusetts peace officer standards and training commission established in section 2 of chapter 6E; and (viii) the manner and division of responsibility for collecting and reporting the school-based arrests, citations and court referrals of students to the department of elementary and secondary education in accordance with regulations promulgated by the department.
The model memorandum of understanding shall expressly state that school resource officers shall not: (i) serve as school disciplinarians, enforcers of school regulations or in place of licensed school psychologists, psychiatrists or counselors; and (ii) use police powers to address traditional school discipline issues, including non-violent disruptive behavior.
In carrying out its duties under this section, the commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall work with the executive office of public safety and security to provide the commission with any data and information they consider relevant to the commission’s duties.
The commission shall meet every 5 years for the purpose of developing and reviewing the model memorandum of understanding. The model memorandum of understanding shall be subject to final approval by the co-chairs of the commission and shall be made publicly available by the department of elementary and secondary education, distributed to school districts and filed with the clerks of the house of representatives and senate.
Members shall not receive compensation for their services but may receive reimbursement for the reasonable expenses incurred in carrying out their responsibilities as members of the commission. The commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall furnish reasonable staff and other support for the work of the commission. Prior to issuing its recommendations, the commission shall provide the opportunity to seek public input across regions of the commonwealth. It shall not constitute a violation of chapter 268A for a person employed by a school district to serve on the commission or to participate in commission deliberations that may have a financial impact on the district or municipality employing that person. The commission may establish procedures to ensure that no such person participates in commission deliberations that may directly affect the school districts employing those persons.
(c) The executive office of public safety and security, in consultation with the department of elementary and secondary education, shall make available to all communities the model memorandum of understanding, statements of operating procedures and advisories on how to establish said documents.
(d) For the purpose of fostering a safe and healthy environment for all students through strategic and appropriate use of law enforcement resources and to achieve positive outcomes for youth and public safety, a chief of police, at the request of the superintendent and subject to appropriation, shall assign at least 1 school resource officer to serve the city, town, commonwealth charter school, regional school district or county agricultural school. In the case of a regional school district, commonwealth charter school or county agriculture school, the chief of police of the city or town in which the school is located shall, at the request of the superintendent, assign the school resource officer who may be the same officer for all schools in the city or town. Annually, not later than August 1, the superintendent shall report to the department of elementary and secondary education and publicly present to the relevant school committee: (i) the cost to the school district of assigning a school resource officer; (ii) a description of the proposed budget for mental, social or emotional health support personnel for the school; and (iii) the number of school-based arrests, citations and court referrals made in the previous year disaggregated as required by the department of elementary and secondary education.
In assigning a school resource officer, the chief of police shall assign an officer that the chief believes would strive to foster an optimal learning environment and educational community that promotes a strong partnership between school and police personnel. The chief of police shall give preference to candidates who demonstrate the requisite personality and character to work effectively with children, youth and educators in a school environment with a demonstrated ability to work successfully with a population that has a similar racial and ethnic background as those prevalent in the student body, and who have received specialized training relating to working with adolescents and children, including cognitive development, de-escalation tactics, as defined in section 1 of chapter 6E and alternatives to arrest and diversion strategies. The appointment shall not be based solely on seniority. The performance of a school resource officer shall be reviewed annually by the superintendent and the chief of police.
The superintendent and the chief of police shall adopt, at minimum, the model memorandum of understanding developed by the commission pursuant to subsection (b) and may add further provisions as they mutually deem fit; provided, however, that no further provision included in the memorandum of understanding adopted by said superintendent and said chief of police shall conflict with or omit any provisions of this section. The final memorandum of understanding adopted by the superintendent and the chief of police shall be made public and placed on file annually with the department of elementary and secondary education and in the offices of the school superintendent and the chief of police.
The chief of police, in consultation with the school superintendent, shall establish operating procedures to provide guidance to school resource officers about daily operations, policies and procedures. At a minimum, the operating procedures as established by the chief of police, shall describe the following for the school resource officer:
(i) the school resource officer uniform;
(ii) use of police force, arrest, citation and court referral on school property;
(iii) a statement and description of students’ legal rights, including the process for searching and questioning students and circumstances requiring notification to and presence of parents and administrators;
(iv) chain of command, including delineating to whom the school resource officer reports and how school administrators and the school resource officer work together;
(v) performance evaluation standards, which shall incorporate monitoring compliance with the memorandum of understanding and use of arrest, citation and police force in school;
(vi) protocols for diverting and referring at-risk students to school and community-based supports and providers; and
(vii) information sharing between the school resource officer, school staff and parents or guardians.
(e) Each school shall annually file its final memorandum of understanding and operating procedures with the department of elementary and secondary education. The department of elementary and secondary education shall collect data on the number of mental and social emotional health support personnel and the number of school resource officers employed by each local education agency and shall publish a report of the data on its website. The department shall promulgate rules or regulations necessary to carry out this section.
(f) Notwithstanding subsection (d), if the chief of police, in consultation with the superintendent, determines that there are not sufficient resources to assign a school resource officer to serve the city, town, regional school district or county agricultural school, the chief of police shall consult with the department of state police to ensure that a school resource officer is assigned, subject to appropriation, pursuant to the requirements of this section; provided, further, that if a state police officer is assigned to a city, town, regional school district or county agricultural school, said assignment shall not be based solely on seniority and a candidate shall be considered who would strive to foster an optimal learning environment and educational community; provided, further, that there shall be placed on file in the office of the superintendent and the department of state police the final memorandum of understanding clearly defining the roles and duties of the school resource officer.
(g) No public employer shall be liable for injury, loss of property, personal injury or death caused by an act or omission of a public employee while acting in the scope of the public employee’s employment and arising out of the implementation of this section. This section shall not be construed as creating or imposing a specific duty of care.
The department of elementary and secondary education shall collect and publish disaggregated data regarding school-based arrests, citations and court referrals of students to the department and shall make such report available for public review.
(1) The committee on police training and certification established in section 4 of chapter 6E shall provide training, including, but not limited to alcohol education concerning the aforesaid sections, to all law enforcement personnel throughout the commonwealth.
Each police chief appointed by the trustees of the commonwealth’s state universities and community colleges under section 22 of chapter 15A shall certify to the registrar, on or before January first of each year, that:
(1) the police officers appointed by the trustees at the state university or community college have been certified pursuant to chapter 6E;
(2) said officers have completed the annual in-service training required by the committee on police training and certification established in said chapter 6E;
(3) the state university or community college police department submits uniform crime reports to the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
(4) a memorandum of understanding has been entered into with the police chief of the municipality wherein the state university or community college is located outlining the policies and procedures for utilizing the municipality’s booking and lock-up facilities, fingerprinting and breathalyzer equipment if the state university or community college police department does not provide booking and lock-up facilities, fingerprinting or breathalyzer equipment; and
(5) the state university or community college police department has policies and procedures in place for use of force, pursuit, arrest, search and seizure, racial profiling and motor vehicle law enforcement.
Nothing in this section, except the previous paragraph, shall limit the authority granted to the police chiefs and police officers at the state universities and community colleges under said section 22 of said chapter 15A or section 18 of chapter 73.
“Law enforcement-related injuries and deaths”, injuries and deaths caused by a law enforcement officer or correction officer, whether employed by the commonwealth, a county, a municipality or other public or private entity, and occupational fatalities of a law enforcement officer or correction officer.
Section 6E. The department shall collect and report data on law enforcement-related injuries and deaths. The commissioner shall promulgate regulations necessary to implement this section, including, but not limited to, protocols and procedures for the reporting of law enforcement-related injuries and deaths to the department by physicians and other licensed health care professionals.
Section 85BB. (a) A law enforcement officer, as defined in section 1 of chapter 6E, who knowingly submits to a state agency, state authority, city, town or agency, as defined in said section 1 of said chapter 6E, a false or fraudulent claim of hours worked for payment and receives payment therefor or knowingly makes, uses or causes to be made or used a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim of hours worked for payment that results in a law enforcement officer receiving payment therefor or any person who conspires to commit a violation of this section shall be punished by a fine of 3 times the amount of the fraudulent wages paid or by imprisonment for not more than 2 years.
Section 13H1/2. (a) For the purposes of this section “law enforcement officer” shall mean a police officer, an auxiliary, intermittent, special, part-time or reserve police officer, a police officer in the employ of a public institution of higher education pursuant to section 5 of chapter 15A, a public prosecutor, a municipal or public emergency medical technician, a deputy sheriff, a correction officer, a court officer, a probation officer, a parole officer, an officer of the department of youth services, a constable, a campus police officer who holds authority as a special state police officer or a person impersonating one of the foregoing.
(b) A law enforcement officer who commits an indecent assault and battery on a person who has attained the age of 14 and who is in the custody or control of such law enforcement officer shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or by imprisonment for not more than 21/2 years in a jail or house of correction. In a prosecution commenced under this subsection, a person shall be deemed incapable of consent to contact of a sexual nature with a law enforcement officer.
(c) A law enforcement officer who commits an indecent assault and battery on an elder or person with a disability, as defined in section 13K, and who is in the custody or control of such law enforcement officer shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 10 years, or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 21/2 years, and a law enforcement officer who commits a second or subsequent such offense shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 20 years. In a prosecution commenced under this subsection, a person shall be deemed incapable of consent to contact of a sexual nature with a law enforcement officer.
(d) A law enforcement officer who commits an indecent assault and battery on a person in their custody or control who is known to such law enforcement officer as having an intellectual disability shall for the first offense be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than 5 years or not more than 10 years; and for a second or subsequent offense shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than 10 years. Except in the case of a conviction for the first offense for violation of this subsection, the imposition or execution of the sentence shall not be suspended, and no probation or parole shall be granted until the minimum imprisonment herein provided for the offense shall have been served. In a prosecution commenced under this subsection, a person shall be deemed incapable of consent to contact of a sexual nature with a law enforcement officer.
(e) A law enforcement officer who commits an indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14 and who is in the custody or control of such law enforcement officer shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 10 years, or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 2 and one-half years. A prosecution commenced under this subsection shall neither be continued without a finding nor placed on file. In a prosecution commenced under this subsection, a child under the age of 14 shall be deemed incapable of consent to contact of a sexual nature with a law enforcement officer.
(c) A law enforcement officer who has sexual intercourse with a person in the custody or control of the law enforcement officer shall be found to be in violation of subsection (b), provided, however, that for the purposes of this subsection, “sexual intercourse” shall include vaginal, oral or anal intercourse, including fellatio, cunnilingus or other intrusion of a part of a person’s body or an object into the genital or anal opening of another person’s body. In a prosecution commenced under this subsection, a person shall be deemed incapable of consent to sexual intercourse with such law enforcement officer. For the purposes of this subsection, “law enforcement officer” shall mean a police officer, an auxiliary, intermittent, special, part-time or reserve police officer, a police officer in the employ of a public institution of higher education pursuant to section 5 of chapter 15A, a public prosecutor, a municipal or public emergency medical technician, a deputy sheriff, a correction officer, a court officer, a probation officer, a parole officer, an officer of the department of youth services, a constable, a campus police officer who holds authority as a special state police officer or a person impersonating any of the foregoing.
Section 2D. (a) A warrant that does not require a law enforcement officer to knock and announce their presence and purpose before forcibly entering a residence shall not be issued except by a judge and only if the affidavit supporting the request for the warrant: (i) establishes probable cause that if the law enforcement officer announces their presence their life or the lives of others will be endangered; and (ii) includes an attestation that the law enforcement officer filing the affidavit has no reason to believe that minor children or adults over the age of 65 are in the home.
(b) A police officer executing a search warrant shall knock and announce their presence and purpose before forcibly entering a residence unless authorized by a warrant to enter pursuant to subsection (a).
(c) An officer shall not dispense with the requirements of subsections (a) and (b) except to prevent a credible risk of imminent harm as defined in section 1 of chapter 6E.
(d) Evidence seized or obtained during the execution of a warrant shall be inadmissible if a law enforcement officer violates this section.
(b) All law enforcement officers who have completed a reserve training program on or before the effective date of this section shall be certified as of the effective date of this section. Prior to the expiration of that certification, the officer shall complete additional training as required by the committee on police training and certification.
(c) Any training waiver or exemption granted by the municipal police training committee prior to the effective date of this section shall expire 6 months after the effective date of this section. Any person who has not completed an academy or training program certified by the municipal police training committee or the training programs prescribed by said chapter 22C on or before the effective date of this section, and has been appointed to a law enforcement position as of the effective date of this section, shall not exercise police powers following the expiration of any training waiver or exemption under this section. Prior to the expiration of this 6-month period, the person may obtain from the committee on police training and certification a waiver or an extension of time necessary to complete training according to a work plan approved by the committee on police training and certification.
(d) The certification of a law enforcement officer who has graduated from an academy or training program certified by the municipal police training committee or the training programs prescribed by said chapter 22C who is certified as a result of this section and whose last names begin with: (i) A to H, inclusive, shall expire 1 year after the effective date of this section; (ii) I to P, inclusive, shall expire 2 years after the effective date of this section; and (iii) Q to Z, inclusive, shall expire 3 years after the effective date of this section.
(b) The commission shall consist of: a former judge appointed by the chief justice of the supreme judicial court who shall serve as chair; the commissioner of correction or a designee; 1 correctional officer who shall be appointed by the New England Police Benevolent Association, Inc.; the president of the Massachusetts Sheriffs Association, Inc. or a designee; the commissioner of the department of youth services or a designee; 1 correction officer who shall be appointed by the president of the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union; 1 member appointed by American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 93 who shall be an employee of the department of youth services and who shall have not less than 5 years of experience working in a department of youth services secure facility; the executive director of Citizens for Juvenile Justice, Inc. or a designee; the executive director of Prisoners’ Legal Services or a designee; the president of the Boston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People New England Area Conference or a designee; the executive director of Lawyers for Civil Rights, Inc. or a designee; the president of the Massachusetts Bar Association or a designee; 2 members appointed by the Massachusetts Black and Latino legislative caucus who shall not be members of the caucus; 2 members appointed by the Massachusetts House Asian Caucus who shall not be members of the caucus; the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, Inc. or a designee; and 2 members who shall be appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall be a member of the LGBTQ community and 1 of whom shall be a formerly-incarcerated woman.
(c) In order to establish clear limitations on the use of physical force by correctional officers, the commission shall collect and analyze data on the use of force against inmates. The department of correction and sheriffs’ departments shall provide the commission access to any and all reports written pursuant to 103 CMR 505.13 (1) and (2), or successor provisions. The commission shall ascertain whether the information provided is uniform, standardized and reasonably complete and, if not, shall recommend policies to increase uniformity, standardization and completeness.
(d) The commission shall report and file its findings and recommendations, including any legislation, with the clerks of the house of representatives and senate and the joint committee on public safety and security not later than December 31, 2021.
“Biometric data”, computerized data relating to the physical, physiological or behavioral characteristics of a natural person, which allow or confirm the unique identification of such person, including, but not limited to, facial recognition, fingerprints, palm veins, deoxyribonucleic acid, palm prints, hand geometry or iris recognition.
“Body-worn camera”, a portable electronic recording device worn on a law enforcement officer’s person that creates, generates, sends, receives, stores, displays and processes audiovisual recordings or records audio and video data of law enforcement-related encounters and activities.
“Facial recognition software”, a category of biometric software that maps an individual’s facial features mathematically and stores the data as a faceprint.
“Law enforcement officer”, as defined in section 1 of chapter 6E of the General Laws.
“Law enforcement-related activities”, activities by a law enforcement officer, including, but not limited to, traffic stops, pedestrian stops, arrests, searches, interrogations, investigations, pursuits, crowd control, traffic control or non-community caretaking interactions with an individual while on patrol; provided, however, that “law enforcement-related activities” shall not include completion of paperwork alone or only in the presence of other law enforcement officers or civilian law enforcement personnel.
“Recording”, the process of capturing data or information stored on a recording medium.
(b) The executive office of public safety and security, in collaboration with the executive office of technology services and security, shall establish the law enforcement body camera task force. The task force shall propose regulations establishing a uniform code for the procurement and use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement officers to provide consistency throughout the commonwealth. The task force shall propose minimum requirements for the storage and transfer of audio and video recordings collected by body-worn cameras. The task force shall conduct not fewer than 5 public hearings in various parts of the commonwealth to hear testimony and comments from the public.
(c) The task force shall consist of 25 members: the secretary of public safety and security or a designee; the secretary of technology services and security or a designee; the attorney general or a designee; a member appointed by the committee for public counsel services; a district court judge appointed by the chief justice of the supreme judicial court; 2 members appointed by the Massachusetts Black and Latino legislative caucus who shall have expertise in constitutional or civil rights law; 1 member appointed by the chair of the Massachusetts Minority Law Enforcement Officers Association; 1 member appointed by the chair of the Massachusetts Minority State Police Officers Association, Inc.; 1 member appointed by the chair of the Massachusetts Latino Police Officers Association, Inc.; 1 member appointed by the chair of the Massachusetts Association of Women in Law Enforcement, Inc.; 2 members appointed by the Massachusetts House Asian Caucus who shall have expertise in constitutional or civil rights law; the president of the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association or a designee; 1 member appointed by the Massachusetts Coalition of Police, Inc.; the colonel of state police or a designee; the president of the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association or a designee; the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, Inc. or a designee; the president of the Boston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People New England Area Conference or a designee; the president of the Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association, Inc., or a designee; and 5 members appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall be a police chief in a municipality with a body camera pilot program and a population of not fewer than 100,000 people, 1 of whom shall be a police chief in a municipality with a body camera pilot program and a population of not more than 50,000 people, 1 of whom shall be an expert on constitutional or privacy law who is employed by a law school in the commonwealth, 1 of whom shall be an elected official in a municipality with a body camera pilot program and 1 of whom shall be a representative of a law enforcement labor organization.
(d) The task force shall elect a chair and vice-chair. A meeting of the task force may be called by its chair, the vice-chair or any 3 of its members. A quorum for the transaction of business shall consist of 7 members. All members of the task force shall serve without compensation. The executive agencies convening the task force shall assign administrative personnel to assist the work of the task force. The task force shall meet not less than 12 times. In addition to taking public testimony, the task force shall seek the advice of experts specializing in the fields of criminology, education, criminal or family law or other related fields, as appropriate.
(e) On or before July 31, 2022, the task force shall, by majority vote, adopt recommended regulations for law enforcement agencies. The regulations recommended by the task force shall include, but not be limited to: (i) standards for the procurement of body-worn cameras and vehicle dashboard cameras by law enforcement agencies, including a requirement that such cameras or associated processing software include technology for redacting the images and voices of victims and bystanders; (ii) standards regarding the use of facial recognition or other biometric-matching software or other technology to analyze recordings obtained through the use of such cameras; provided, however, that such standards may prohibit or allow such use subject to requirements based on best practices and protocols; (iii) standards for training law enforcement officers in the basic use of such cameras; (iv) standards for: (A) the types of law enforcement encounters and interactions that shall be recorded and what notice, if any, shall be given to those being recorded; and (B) when a camera should be activated and when to discontinue recording; (v) a requirement that a camera be equipped with pre-event recording, capable of recording at least the 30 seconds prior to camera activation; (vi) a requirement preventing an officer from accessing or viewing any recording of an incident involving the officer before the officer is required to make a statement about the incident; (vii) standards for the identification, retention, storage, maintenance and handling of recordings from body cameras, including a requirement that recordings be retained for not less than 180 days but not more than 30 months for a recording not relating to a court proceeding or ongoing criminal investigation or for the same period of time that evidence is retained in the normal course of the court’s business for a recording related to a court proceeding; (viii) standards pertaining to the recordings of use of force, detention or arrest by a law enforcement officer or pertaining to ongoing investigations and prosecutions to assure that recordings are retained for a period sufficient to meet the needs of all parties with an interest in the recordings; (ix) standards for the security of facilities in which recordings are kept; (x) requirements for state procurement of contracts for body-worn cameras and for data storage through which qualified law enforcement agencies may purchase goods and services; (xi) best practice language for contracts with third- party vendors for data storage, which shall provide that recordings from such cameras are the property of the law enforcement agency, are not owned by the vendor and cannot be used by the vendor for any purpose inconsistent with the policies and procedures of the law enforcement agency; (xii) procedures for supervisory internal review and audit; (xiii) sanctions for improper use of cameras, including a requirement that a law enforcement officer who does not activate a body-worn camera in response to a call for assistance shall include that fact in their incident report and note in the case file or record the reason for not activating the camera; (xiv) sanctions for tampering with a camera or recordings and for improper destruction of recordings; (xv) regulations pertaining to handling requests for the release of information recorded by a body- worn camera to the public; (xvi) requirements for reporting by law enforcement agencies utilizing body-worn cameras; (xvii) a retention schedule for recordings to ensure that storage policies and practices are in compliance with all relevant laws and adequately preserve evidentiary chains of custody and identify potential discovery issues; and (xviii) a process by which body camera footage may be included in a public record.
(f) Not later than July 31, 2021, the task force shall file an interim report on its work product, including its proposed regulations under subsection (e) and any proposed legislation that is necessary to effectuate the regulations with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate and the joint committee on public safety and homeland security.
The commission shall evaluate the use of facial recognition technology in the commonwealth and make recommendations to the legislature. The commission shall: (i) examine and evaluate the facial recognition system operated by the registry of motor vehicles and provide recommendations for regular independent bias testing; (ii) propose standards to ensure accuracy and equity of the system based on age, race, gender and religion; (iii) examine access to the facial recognition system and the management of information derived from it, including, but not limited to, data retention, data sharing and audit trails; (iv) identify which federal agencies, if any, have access to databases maintained by the commonwealth that catalogue images of faces and the authorization for, and terms of, such access; (v) evaluate the requirement for a warrant by law enforcement agencies to perform facial recognition searches, including, but not limited to, enhanced requirements to perform a search similar to those set forth in section 99 of chapter 272 of the General Laws; (vi) provide recommendations for due process protections of criminal defendants when facial recognition technology is used in any part of an investigation; (vii) provide recommendations to ensure privacy for the public; and (viii) provide recommendations for adequate training and oversight on the use of facial recognition technology.
For the purposes of this section, “facial recognition” shall mean an automated or semi- automated process that assists in identifying or verifying an individual or capturing information about an individual based on the physical characteristics of an individual’s face, head or body, that uses characteristics of an individual’s face, head or body to infer emotion, associations, activities or the location of an individual; provided, however, that “facial recognition” shall not include the use of search terms to sort images in a database.
(b) The commission shall submit its findings and recommendations relative to the use of facial recognition technology by filing the same with the clerks of the house of representatives and senate and the governor not later than December 31, 2021.
(b) The commission shall consist of 11 members: the commissioner of mental health or a designee; the secretary of public safety and security or a designee; the executive director of the mental health legal advisors committee established in section 34E of chapter 221 of the General Laws or a designee; 2 law enforcement officers, as defined in section 1 of chapter 6E of the General Laws, to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, of whom at least 1 shall reside in a gateway municipality as defined in section 3A of chapter 23A of the General Laws; 2 clinical social workers to be appointed by the president of the senate, of whom at least 1 shall reside in a gateway municipality, as defined in said section 3A of said chapter 23A; the president of the Massachusetts Medical Society or a designee; the president of the Massachusetts Nurses Association or a designee; the president of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association Incorporated or a designee; and the president of the Massachusetts Coalition of Police, Inc. or a designee.
(c) The commission shall conduct a thorough review of the policies and procedures related to emergency hospitalizations pursuant to subsection (a) of section 12 of chapter 123 of the General Laws. The goals of the special commission shall be to: (i) develop strategies that reduce the amount of police resources and police interactions with individuals hospitalized pursuant to said subsection (a) of said section 12 of said chapter 123; (ii) better determine how law enforcement and medical professionals can coordinate services to advance the shared goals of public safety and public health in the commonwealth; and (iii) make recommendations, including, but not limited to, policy or legislative changes, related to emergency hospitalizations.
(d) The commission shall submit its report and recommendations, together with drafts of legislation to carry its recommendations into effect, by filing the same with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate not later than September 30, 2021.
(b) The commission shall consist of 29 members; 3 members appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall be a member of a police officers’ union, 1 of whom shall be a member of a firefighters’ union and 1 of whom shall be a member of a correctional officers’ union; 1 of whom shall be the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, Inc. or the executive director’s designee; 1 of whom shall be the president of the Boston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People New England Area Conference or the president’s designee; 1 of whom shall be the chair of the Massachusetts Law Enforcement Policy Group, Inc.; 1 of whom shall be the president of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association Incorporated or the president’s designee; 1 of whom shall be the president of the Fire Chiefs’ Association of Massachusetts, Inc. or the president’s designee; 1 of whom shall be the chair of the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers, Inc. ; 1 of whom shall be the colonel of state police or the colonel’s designee; 1 of whom shall be the chairman of the civil service commission or the chairman’s designee; 1 of whom shall be the secretary of administration and finance or the secretary’s designee; 1 of whom shall be the president of the Massachusetts Bar Association or the president’s designee; 1 of whom shall be the secretary of public safety and security or the secretary’s designee; 1 of whom shall be the president of the Mass. Veterans’ Service Agents Association, Inc. or the president’s designee; 1 of whom shall be the secretary of veterans’ services or the secretary’s designee; 1 of whom shall be the commander of the Disabled American Veterans, Department of Massachusetts, Inc., or the commander’s designee; 1 of whom shall be the executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, Inc. or the executive director’s designee; 1 of whom shall be the chair of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus or the chair’s designee; 1 of whom shall be the chair of the Massachusetts House Asian Caucus or the chair’s designee; 4 members of the house of representatives, 2 of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, 1 of whom shall be the house chair of the joint committee on public service or the chair’s designee and 1 of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives; 4 members of the senate, 2 of whom shall be appointed by the senate president, 1 of whom shall be the senate chair of the joint committee on public service or designee and 1 of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the senate; and the attorney general or the attorney general’s designee. The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint 1 co-chair from the house appointees to the commission and the senate president shall appoint 1 co-chair from the senate appointees to the commission.
(c) The commission shall study the employment, promotion, performance evaluation and disciplinary procedures for civil service employees, including, but not limited to: (i) the hiring and recruitment processes for civil service positions; (ii) the use of civil service eligible lists, the statutory merit preference status and the hiring from those eligible lists; (iii) all current civil service examinations and the use of the examinations for hiring and promotions; (iv) collective bargaining agreements by unions; (v) the disciplinary and appeal procedures as applied to civil service employees; and (vi) identifying any barriers that exist in hiring, recruiting or promoting civil service employees.
(d) The commission shall study the employment, promotion, performance evaluation and disciplinary procedures of municipalities not subject to the civil service law, including, but not limited to: (i) the hiring and recruitment procedures and by-laws for municipalities; (ii) all examinations administered by municipalities and the use of the examinations for hiring and promotions; (iii) the use of minimum eligibility guidelines and hiring qualifications or preferences; (iv) collective bargaining agreements by unions; (v) the disciplinary and appeal procedures as applied to municipal employees; and (vi) identifying any barriers that exist in hiring, recruiting or promoting municipal employees.
(e) The commission shall study employment, promotion, performance evaluation and disciplinary procedures of the department of state police, including, but not limited to: (i) hiring and recruitment laws and procedures; (ii) the requirements of chapter 22C of the General Laws; (iii) all examinations used by the state police for hiring and promotions; (iv) collective bargaining agreements by unions; (v) the disciplinary and appeal procedures as applied to officers of the Massachusetts state police; and (vi) identifying any barriers that exist in hiring, recruiting or promoting officers of the department of state police.
(f) The commission shall evaluate the feasibility of creating a statewide diversity office within the executive office of administration and finance to establish affirmative action plans and guidelines for municipalities, oversee the implementation of these plans and guidelines and monitor noncompliance. The commission shall examine the feasibility and cost of hiring or appointing a diversity officer for every city or town with a municipal police or fire department.
(g) The commission shall make recommendations for changes to the civil service law to improve diversity, transparency and representation of the community in recruitment, hiring and training of civil service employees, including, but not limited to, any changes to civil service exams, merit preference status, eligible lists and appointment from eligible lists by hiring authorities. The commission shall make recommendations to improve diversity, transparency and representation of the community in recruitment, hiring and training for municipalities not subject to the civil service law and for the department of state police.
(h) The commission shall hold its first meeting not later than 30 days after the effective date of this act and shall meet at least monthly thereafter. The commission shall submit a report of its study and any recommendations, together with any draft legislation necessary to carry those recommendations into effect, by filing the same with the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate and the clerks of the house of representatives and senate on or before September 30, 2021.
(b) The appointments made by the governor pursuant to subsection (a) shall include women and people of color in such proportion as these groups exist in the commonwealth’s population as periodically determined by the state secretary as the commonwealth’s chief census officer.
(c) The commission shall evaluate the establishment of a statewide law enforcement officer cadet program in the commonwealth through which all law enforcement agencies, as defined in section 1 of chapter 6E of the General Laws, may hire law enforcement officers and shall make recommendations to the legislature. The commission shall study the feasibility and benefits of establishing said cadet program, including, but not limited to: (i) impact on diversity within law enforcement agencies; (ii) impact on veteran preference hiring within law enforcement agencies; (iii) recommendations to ensure increased diversity across law enforcement agencies; (iv) proposed standards for admission to the statewide cadet program, including, but not limited to, age, education and physical, psychological and mental health; (v) proposed standards, including form, method and subject matter, for a qualifying examination which shall fairly test the applicant’s knowledge, skill and abilities that can be fairly and reliably measured and that are actually required to perform the primary or dominant duties of a law enforcement cadet; (vi) proposed standards for completion of the cadet program and enlistment as a uniformed law enforcement officer; (vii) recommended cadet compensation and benefits, including, but not limited to, insurance coverage, retirement and pension benefits; (viii) the feasibility of providing specialized training required for appointment to a particular agency or by a city or town; and (ix) any other information the commission deems relevant.
(d) The commission shall submit its findings and recommendations relative to the establishment of a statewide law enforcement cadet program by filing the same with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate and the governor not later than December 31, 2021.
(b) The special legislative commission shall consist of 17 members: 4 of whom shall be members of the house of representatives to be appointed by the speaker of the house, 1 of whom shall be a member of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus and 1 of whom shall be a member of the Massachusetts House Asian Caucus; 2 of whom shall be members of the senate to be appointed by the senate president; 2 of whom shall be appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall be the secretary of public safety and security; 1 of whom shall be the president of the Massachusetts Sheriffs Association, Inc. or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the president of the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, Inc. or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the president of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, Inc. or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the executive director of Roca, Inc. or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the chief executive officer of UTEC, Inc. or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the executive director of Prisoners’ Legal Services or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the executive director of GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, Inc. or a designee;1 of whom shall be the executive director of Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, Inc. or a designee; and 1 of whom shall be the chair of the New England Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association or a designee.
(c) The special commission shall conduct a thorough review of the policies and procedures in place at state and county correctional facilities, both as written and as implemented, to determine if there are disparities in the treatment of persons of color and if structural racism at these facilities is a cause of those disparities. The special commission shall also conduct a thorough review of the access to educational, vocational or other programming options for incarcerated inmates and if there are disparities in access for persons of color and if structural racism is a cause of those disparities. The special commission shall make recommendations to eliminate any disparities in the treatment of persons of color found at state and county facilities including policy or legislative changes.
(d) The special commission shall submit its report and recommendations, together with drafts of legislation to carry its recommendations into effect, by filing the same with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate not later than September 30, 2021.
(b) The special legislative commission shall consist of 13 members: 3 of whom shall be members of the house of representatives to be appointed by the speaker of the house, 1 of whom shall be a member of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus and 1 of whom shall be a member of the Massachusetts House Asian Caucus; 2 of whom shall be members of the senate to be appointed by the senate president; 2 of whom shall be appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall be a member of the parole board; 1 of whom shall be the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, Inc. or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the president of the Boston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People New England Area Conference or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the executive director of Roca, Inc. or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, Inc. or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the chief executive officer of UTEC, Inc. or a designee; and 1 of whom shall be the executive director of Prisoners’ Legal Services or a designee.
(c) The special commission shall conduct a thorough review of the parole process to determine if there are disparities in the treatment of persons of color in the granting or denying of parole and if structural racism is a cause of those disparities. The special commission shall also conduct a thorough review of any disparities in conditions of release placed on persons of color and if structural racism is a cause of those disparities. The special commission shall make recommendations to eliminate any disparities in the treatment of persons of color found in the parole process including policy or legislative changes.
(d) The special commission shall submit its report and recommendations, together with drafts of legislation to carry its recommendations into effect, by filing the same with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate not later than September 30, 2021.
(b) The special legislative commission shall consist of 13 members: 3 of whom shall be members of the house of representatives to be appointed by the speaker of the house, 1 of whom shall be a member of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus and 1 of whom shall be a member of the Massachusetts House Asian Caucus; 2 of whom shall be members of the senate to be appointed by the president of the senate; 1 of whom shall be appointed by the governor; 1 of whom shall be the commissioner of probation; 1 of whom shall be the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, Inc. or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the president of the Boston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People New England Area Conference or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the executive director of Roca, Inc. or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the chief executive officer of UTEC, Inc. or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, Inc. or a designee; and 1 of whom shall be the chief counsel of the committee for public counsel services or a designee.
(c) The special commission shall conduct a thorough review of the probation process to determine if there are disparities in the treatment of persons of color in the probation system and if structural racism is a cause of those disparities. The special commission shall also conduct a thorough review of any disparities in conditions or revocation of probation for persons of color and if structural racism is a cause of those disparities. The special commission shall make recommendations to eliminate any disparities in the treatment of persons of color found in the parole process including policy or legislative changes.
(d) The special commission shall submit its report and recommendations, together with drafts of legislation to carry its recommendations into effect, by filing the same with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate not later than September 30, 2021.
(a) The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint, on or before May 1, 2021, 1 member for a term of 1 year, 1 member for a term of 2 years and 1 member for a term of 3 years.
(b) The president of the senate shall appoint, on or before May 1, 2021, 1 member for a term of 1 year, 1 member for a term of 2 years and 1 member for a term of 3 years.
(c) The Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus or its successor organization shall appoint, on or before May 1, 2021, 1 member for a term of 1 year, 1 member for a term of 2 years and 1 member for a term of 3 years.
(b) The special legislative commission shall consist of 15 members: 2 of whom shall be the chairs of the joint committee on the judiciary or their designees, who shall serve as co-chairs; 2 of whom shall be members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house; 1 of whom shall be a member of the house of representatives appointed by the minority leader; 2 of whom shall be members of the senate appointed by the president of the senate; 1 of whom shall be a member of the senate appointed by the minority leader; 3 of whom shall be appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall be a member of a police officers’ union, 1 of whom shall be a member of a firefighters’ union and 1 of whom shall be a retired justice of the appeals court; 1 of whom shall be the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, Inc. or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the president of the Massachusetts Bar Association or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, Inc. or a designee; and 1 of whom shall the president of the Boston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People New England Area Conference or a designee.
(c) The special legislative commission shall submit a report of its study and recommendations, together with legislation, if any, to the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate on or before September 30, 2021.
(b) All employees of the municipal police training committee transferred to the service of the commission shall be transferred without impairment of seniority, retirement or other statutory rights of employees, without loss of accrued rights to holidays, sick leave, vacation and other benefits, and without change in union representation or certified collective bargaining unit as certified by the state labor relations commission or in local union representation or affiliation, except as otherwise provided in this act. Terms of service of employees of the program shall not be deemed to be interrupted by virtue of transfer to the commission.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to confer upon any employee of the municipal police training program any right not held immediately before the date of said transfer to the commission or to prohibit any reduction of salary grade, transfer, reassignment, suspension, discharge, layoff or abolition of position not prohibited before such date.
(d) The terms and conditions of any collective bargaining agreement that is in effect upon such transfers authorized by this section shall continue in effect until the stated expiration date of such agreement, at which point the agreement shall expire; provided, however, that all such employees shall continue to retain their right to collectively bargain under chapter 150E of the General Laws and shall be considered employees of the Massachusetts peace officer standards and training commission established pursuant to chapter 6E of the General Laws for the purposes of said chapter 150E.