An Act elevating the National Guard to a cabinet level position

This bill would elevate the National Guard to a cabinet level position that reports directly to the Governor and has a direct line of communication to our federal delegation. The bill also establishes the Executive Office of the Military Division, of which the adjunct general will serve as the secretary and report directly to the Governor.

In any instances of public safety or national security threats, the National Guard can respond quickly and efficiently, and with military power and resources. However, they currently must report to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, which reports directly to the Governor, making communications delayed, non-transparent, and potentially makes us at a greater risk to activity dangerous to our way of life.   

The Massachusetts National Guard is a reserve component of the United States Army and Air Force that operates under state authority in part. The Guard responds to an array of domestic emergencies, overseas combat missions, counterdrug efforts, reconstruction missions and more. Guard soldiers can be called upon at any time by either the state governor or the president of the United States as they are trained to respond to natural disasters, other civil emergencies, and support federal military missions. This bill is crucial to ensuring adequate response in any of the Guard’s functions but also in case of emergency by the Guard, such as natural disasters, threats to our basic public, community safety, and even our national security.   

An Act relative to technical rescue services

This bill was formerly filed by Senator Timilty and would amend Chapter 22D of the Massachusetts General Laws to bring the regional technical rescue team infrastructure into the Department of Fire Services. They’d then be tasked with making the infrastructure operate as efficiently as the current infrastructure that we have established for our Hazmat teams around the Commonwealth. This bill will clarify and consolidate the management of the Technical Rescue Response System under DFS and be overseen by the State Fire Marshal. Through these changes, the Technical Rescue Response System will be able to more effectively and equitably deliver and fund these services throughout each and every town and city in the Commonwealth.  

An Act relative to enhanced fire protection in new one- and two-family dwellings 

In recognition that fires are the leading cause of natural disaster deaths, this bill would establish a local option to require new one- and two-family homes be built with automatic sprinkler systems.

Massachusetts requires all homes to have both a working smoke detector and a working carbon monoxide detector in their homes. These alarms have become an essential part of our public safety system, warning people of all ages of dangerous situations. Ultimately, a smoke alarm’s function is to prevent physical harm or death from a fire to an individual, but fire alarms do not protect a person or their property from destruction. Fire sprinklers, however, have the ability to effectively notify a household, protect the people in it, prevent damage or the destruction of their property from the threat of fires, allow residents more time to evacuate the premise, and fire departments more time to respond.

An Act maintaining protective orders

This bill was filed to clarify that protective orders that restrict contact with a child remain valid even after the death of the parent who filed the order, and extends the protective order until it is vacated by the court.

Currently, when a parent or guardian requests a protective order, the Court is allowed to impose a range of restrictions, including ordering the defendant to refrain from abusing or contacting the plaintiff’s child or a child in the plaintiff’s care, unless authorized by the court. However, were the parent or guardian to pass away, the court order affiliated with their request then comes into question.

This clarification and expansion of the law will ultimately keep one of our most vulnerable populations — children — safe from potential abuse. A parent will do all that they can to keep their children safe and the law should uphold this commitment so that their passing does not inhibit their ability to protect their child's well-being.

An Act relative to public safety on private college and university campuses

This bill would allow any police officer employed by public or private colleges in universities in Massachusetts to be eligible to obtain a Police Identification Card to be used as a basic ID across law enforcement departments. Providing Police ID cards to officers of public and private college and universities is especially important for a number of urban campus departments who regularly assist municipal departments for large scale events, such as the Boston Marathon or various parades.   

From a law passed in 2023, these officers are currently allowed to carry a taser if:

  • They hold a valid license to carry authorized by their local authority

  • Are authorized to carry firearms as part of their duties

  • The use of tasers is approved by the chief of their department

However, these officers are not eligible to hold a Massachusetts Police ID card which demonstrates their authority to protect and serve.

An Act relative to car theft with digital devices

This bill addresses a modern form of car theft that involves using motor vehicle key programs or emulation devices to break into vehicles. This bill would establish criminal penalties for individual who, with intent to steal a motor vehicle or other property manufacture, sell, offer to sell, transfer, or possess a motor vehicle key programming or emulating device, or relay attack device. 

An Act establishing local emergency management agencies 

This bill would allow municipalities to establish Local Emergency Management Agencies which would be organized and run by a director appointed by a city’s Mayor or City manager, or a Town Manager or Town Administrator. The agency would have the authority to utilize and coordinate the services, equipment, supplies, and facilities of the town in response to an emergency. This legislation would only take effect in the case of a declaration of a state of emergency by the local municipal authority and would be superseded by any declaration made by the Governor.

An Act relative to oversight of the sex offender registry board

This legislation mandates that Sex Offender Registry Board and the State Police establish a memorandum of understanding to identify and locate offenders who failed to comply or could not be notified. The bill also requires the state police file an arrest warrant for any offender who violates the reporting requirements and expands the reporting requirements to include the state police and departments where the offender previously lived and worked. Finally, the bill also creates a new category of offenders, to be known as “Level Zero”, to be used to identify offenders who are appealing their classification. This would include individuals who avoid the notification efforts to delay their classification.  

Following a review by the State Auditor that found some offenders who were not being monitored, I filed this legislation to close gaps in enforcement. The largest group that escaped supervision abandoned their approved residences during the process of appealing their level of classification. Because of due process issues outlined by the SJC, SORB is unable to classify offenders under the existing level system during an appeal. By establishing a statewide standard for alerting law enforcement, we can encourage more consistent and effective handling of these offenders and that it will be much more difficult for individuals to fall through the cracks. 

An Act relative to the timely and consistent payment of law enforcement personnel

Many public construction projects require a police detail. While the laws on the use of police details are clear, the method of compensation is not; some awarding authorities require the contractor to pay for police details, others make the payments themselves. The awarding authority, who is responsible for the oversight and management of a project, including recordkeeping in connection with police details on the project, should likewise be responsible for handling the payment associated with those police details.    

This legislation clarifies that awarding authorities are responsible for handling the payment of police details on the project. Assigning responsibility in this manner ensures that awarding authorities are responsible and would guarantee payment for law enforcement personnel, improve bid pricing, allow for greater cost control and prevent certain project delays.  

An Act relative to the Massachusetts Fire Training Council

This bill would update Massachusetts law regarding Massachusetts Fire Training Council eligibility to include “at large” fire departments rather than only “full call” fire departments, allowing more fire chiefs to participate.

Currently, only Fire Chiefs of “full call” departments are eligible to sit on the MA Fire Training Council, making the pool of candidates for this position very slim. This change would allow Fire Chiefs who are not considered full time to be eligible to sit on the Council to more efficiently fulfill their responsibility and better represent the fire departments across the Commonwealth as a whole.

An Act relative to collective bargaining rights of the state police

This bill would change the collective bargaining agreement process for the State Police by aligning the state police union with all other public employee unions in the Commonwealth. Currently, the collective bargaining process contains no binding arbitration clause that governs the MA State Police. This has created an imbalanced power dynamic with the Commonwealth holding a disproportionate level of leverage in the process.  

Collective bargaining is the cornerstone of labor relations, providing a structured framework for employers and unions to negotiate wages, benefits, and working conditions. The provisions of the current system undermine the fairness and effectiveness of collective bargaining and leaves the State Police at a significant disadvantage because they have no way to enforce the provisions of a contract they bargained in good faith. This is a particularly critical issue for public police unions, where the lack of binding arbitration can undermine the stability of labor relations and jeopardize public safety.  

An Act regarding conditions of release in Superior Court

This bill was filed on behalf of the Trial Court and would grant Superior Court judges the same discretion to order conditions of release that the District Court judges have. Currently, Superior Court Judges can only order such conditions in domestic violence cases. This would give judges more flexibility when deciding on release petitions and create uniformity throughout the Trial Court system.

An Act strengthening synthetic drug laws in correctional facilities

This bill builds upon language I had passed through FY15 budget that established a definition for K-2/Spice drugs (synthetic marijuana). With the rise of K-2 drugs in our correctional facilities, DAs were experiencing issues with prosecuting these crimes due to the way the current law is written, as it only allow the DAs to prosecute any person who knowingly or intentionally manufactures, distributes, dispenses, or possesses with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense a Class C substance. This bill would strictly prohibit K-2/Spice drugs in correctional facilities and the distribution, possession or use of the substances would become a felony in the state of Massachusetts. 

This legislation was co-filed with Senator Patrick O’Connor.

An Act relative to the retirement of MassPort officers

MassPort police officers provide high level public safety services for the Commonwealth on important properties that are controlled by the agency. These officers share jurisdiction with the Massachusetts State Police in essential public areas like Logan Airport and the Seaport in Boston. Despite their duties and qualifications matching any police department in the state, they have been incorrectly relegated to group 2 for the purposes of the retirement system. This bill would bring them into group 4, which is reflective of their training, work, and dedication to public safety.

An act relative to gift card tampering

Gift Card Tampering is when one acquires unloaded gift cards for the purpose of changing or stealing physical card details in order to attain monetary value from the card upon activation by a victim. One of the challenges the industry is facing in addressing this emerging problem is the lack of a consistent and clear path to prosecution due to the nature of the activity and loopholes within existing criminal statutes. This bill intends to update the Massachusetts criminal code in an effort to close such gaps and allow for meaningful prosecution of such activity occurring in the Commonwealth. 

An Act relative to the alignment of the University of Massachusetts police

This bill was filed in regard to the retirement of the officers of the University of Massachusetts Police Department. These officers are expected to perform at the same level as municipal police across the Commonwealth, receiving the same training, wielding the same powers, rights, and responsibilities — yet are entitled to a fraction of the retirement benefits. This inequity has lasting detrimental effects on the University’s police force, which experiences a high rate of turnover, with many citing the lack of benefits as a primary reason for departure. The lack of continuity and inability to retain talented and dedicated officers is especially harmful in the unique scenarios that compromise campus policing.

This bill aims to rectify this inequity by moving their retirement group from Group 2 to Group 4, aligning the retirement benefits for all officers of our police departments. 

An Act updating hunter harassment laws 

This bill will prohibit anyone from harassing or impeding the efforts of hunters and fishermen who are operating legally in the Commonwealth. This includes attempting to herd animals away from lawful hunters, physical and verbal intimidation, and restricting access to land set aside for the lawful harvest of fish and wildlife.

Any fines collected under this bill shall be deposited into the Inland Fisheries and Game Fund and will go towards supporting the Hunter Education Program. 

An Act relative to sheriffs

This legislation includes recommendations approved by the Sheriff’s Commission (final report filed as S.1865 during the 2013-2014 legislative session). This bill exempts the Sheriffs from the prohibition on providing meals to employees by allowing collective bargaining on this issue. The bill also establishes a Corrections Advisory Board with the aim of improving coordination across the criminal justice system and establishing best practices in all aspects of corrections operations. Additionally, the bill provides for a Human Resource Development assessment of current Sheriffs’ Office’s policies and practices, updates the civil process operations, moves deputy sheriffs to Group 4 and provides injured line of duty benefits as well. These recommended advancements will allow our Sheriff Office’s to increase employment and retain the workforce, allowing our Sheriff’s to better protect the communities we live in.