HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2837        FILED ON: 1/14/2009

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1675

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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An Act Relative to Motor Vehicle Homicide..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

An act relative to felony motor vehicle homicide.

SECTION 1.  Subdivision (2) of section 24 of chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, after paragraph (a), the following paragraph:-

(a ¼)  Whoever, upon any way or in any place to which the public has a right of access, or any place to which members of the public have access, as invitees or licensees, operates a motor vehicle recklessly, or operates such vehicle negligently so that the lives or safety of the public might be endangered and by any such operation, causes the death of another person, shall be  punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than 2 ½ years nor more than 20 years.  The sentence imposed upon such person shall not be suspended, nor shall any person convicted under this paragraph be eligible for probation, parole, or furlough or receive any deduction from his sentence until such person has served at least 1 year of such sentence; provided, however, that the commissioner of correction may, on the recommendation of the warden, superintendent, or other person in charge of a correctional institution, or the administrator of a county correctional institution, grant to an offender committed under this subsection a temporary release in the custody of an officer of such institution for the following purposes only: to attend the funeral of a relative; to visit a critically ill relative; to obtain emergency medical or psychiatric services unavailable at said institution; or to engage in employment pursuant to a work release program.  Prosecutions commenced under this paragraph shall not be continued without a finding nor placed on file.

SECTION 2.   Paragraph (b) of subdivision (2) of said section 24 of said chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, after the letter “(a)” in line 811, the following:-  , paragraph (a ¼)

SECTION 3.   Paragraph (c) of subdivision (2) of said section 24 of said chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, after the letter “(a)” in line 828, the following:-  , (a ¼)

SECTION 4.  Said paragraph (c) of said subdivision (2) of said section 24 of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting, after the word “to:” in line 830, the following:-  (i) any person convicted of a violation of paragraph (a ¼) until 20 years after the date of revocation following his conviction.

SECTION 5.  This act shall be known as the Russell "R.J." Potter Act.