The Massachusetts Legislature regularly enacts criminal penalty increases.

Legislators respond with the tools that they have to public concerns and to troubling events.  One can see, in the list of major criminal law enactments below, the history of punitive responses to recurring waves of legitimate public concern about drunk driving, drugs, guns, domestic violence, youth violence, sex offenses and crimes against the elderly.

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Major Enactments altering Penalties for Crimes in Massachusetts: 1970 - 2015

Year	Chapter	Title	Description	Law Area
1957	660	An Act Relative to the Sale Possession and Distribution of Narcotic Drugs	Includes mandatories for heroin second offense -- stiffer than currrent	Drug
1971	1071	An Act Providing for the Regulation of Drugs and Controlled Substances	Creates current class structure and heavy second offense mandatories	Drug
1974	649	An Act Requiring Minimum Mandatory Jail Sentence Of One Year, Without Suspension, Probation Or Parole, For The Unlicensed Or Unauthorized Carrying Of Firearms, Rifles Or Shotguns, Loaded Or Unloaded, And Strengthening The Laws Related Thereto.	New regulatory scheme and increased penalties	Gun Violence
1978	447	An Act Providing Certain Temporary Protection for Persons Suffering Abuse	Creates Chapter 209A restraining order structure	Domestic violence
1980	436	An Act to Increase the Penalties for Manufacture, Distribution and Dispensing of Class A and Class B Controlled Substnaces and to Limit Parole Eligibility for Certain Drug Related Violations	Creates trafficking penalty structure	Drug
1980	459	An Act Providing Graduated Penalties And Victim Compensation For The Crime Of Rape And Related Offenses.	Graduate and stiffen higher end penalties for sex offenses	Sex
1980	463	An Act Facilitating The Investigation And Prosecution Of The Theft Of Motor Vehicles And Of Fraudulent Motor Vehicles Insurance Claims.	Increased penalties and tightened procedures	Auto Theft
1981	678	An Act Providing Mandatory Minimum Sentences Of Imprisonment For Repeat Offenders Convicted Of Certain Violent Crimes Committed Against Persons Sixty-Five Years Or Older	New aggravated offense definitions and increased penalties for various assaultive offenses	Violence against Elderly
1982	373	An Act Increasing the Penalties for Operating a Motor Vehicle under the Influence of Intoxicating Liquors	Increased penalties	OUI
1982	650	An Act Further Regulating the Distribution of Controlled Substances	Raises trafficking penalties	Drug
1983	571	An Act Further Regulating the Distribution of Controlled Substances	Tightens penalty language in 1982, c. 650	Drug
1983	678	An Act Relative to the Prevention of Family Abuse	Strengthens Chapter 209A; adds criminal penalties for violation of restraining order	Domestic violence
1986	620	An Act Relative to Improving Safety on the Highways and Roads of the Commonwealth	Increased penalties	OUI
1988	124	An Act Increasing the Penalties for Trafficking Cocaine	Lower trafficking weights for cocaine (and raise penalties)	Drug
1989	227	An Act Providing for Drug Free School Zones	Created school zone statute	Drug
1992	396	An Act Providing for a Mandatory Term of Imprisonment for Certain Drug Offenses	Lower trafficking weights for heroin (and raise penalties)	Drug
1993	432	An Act To Promote The Effective Management Of The Criminal Justice System Through Truth-In Sentencing	Standardize state prison sentences as minimum and maximum at face value (no early parole, no statutory good time, no reformatory sentences, no state prison split sentences)	Truth in Sentencing
1994	25	An Act Increasing the Penalties for Operating a Motor Vehicle under the Influence of Alcohol	Extended lookback period and increased penalties	OUI
1995	297	An Act Relative To The Assault, Abuse, Neglect And Financial Exploitation Of An Elderly Or Disabled Person	New aggravated offense definitions for various offenses; lower age to 60	Violence against Elderly
1996	200	An Act To Provide For The Prosecution Of Violent Juvenile Offenders In The Criminal Courts Of The Commonwealth	Allows offenders 14 and up to be tried as adults	Violent youth
1996	239	An Act Relative To Sex Offender Registration And Community Notification.	Creates Sex Offender Registry Board	Sex
1998	180	An Act Relative To Gun Control In The Commonwealth	New aggravated offense definitions for various assaultive offenses if involve firearms as part of comprehensive gun regulation	Gun Violence
2002	35	An Act Relative to the Crimes of Assault and Battery and Assault and Battery by Means of a Dangerous Weapon	New aggravated assault definitions and increased penalties	Domestic violence
2002	302	An Act Relative To Repeat Offenders Of The Crime Of Operating A Motor Vehicle Under The Influence Of Alcohol	Lifetime lookback for counting prior offenses	OUI
2005	122	An Act Increasing Penalties for Drunk Drivers in the Commonwealth	Comprehensive mandatory minimum penalty Increases	OUI
2006	303	An Act Increasing the Statute of Limitations for Sexual Crimes against Children	Also tightens SORB registration requirements and penalties.	Sex
2008	205	An Act Further Protecting Children	New aggravated offense definitions and increased penalties for sex offenses	Sex
2008	387	An Act Establishing a Sensible State Marihuana Policy	Decriminalize marihuana	Drug
2010	256	An Act Reforming The Administrative Procedures Relative to Criminal Offender Record Information and Pre- and Post-Trial Supervised Release	Introduced parole eligibility for certain lower level dealing offenses	Drug
2012	192	An Act Relative to Sentencing and Improving Law Enforcement Tools	Reduced penalties for drug offenders -- raise weight thresholds, reduce 2d offense penalties, shrink school zones; increased penalties for habitual violent offenders	Drug and Habitual Offenders
2014	284	An Act Relative to the Reduction of Gun Violence	Regulatory improvement and some increased penalties for use of firearms in crimes and for regulatory violations	Gun Violence

Note: This list was developed as follows: Tables from the Fiscal 2013 Survey of Sentencing Practices were provided in electronic form by the Massachusetts Sentencing Commission. Tables 45 and 46 were used to compute the person-years of incarceration (maximum sentences at either House or State Prison level) resulting from all convictions under each separate criminal provision used in Fiscal 2013. The top 50 criminal provisions ranked by person-years (accounting for 80% of all person-years) were then reviewed in Massachusetts General Laws Annotated to identify all acts passed since 1970 amending them to alter penalties. This manually intensive approach involved the potential for omissions and errors. The 1957 drug enactment is included just for completeness on the history of the drug laws.