SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1119        FILED ON: 1/13/2009

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2018

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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An Act relative to the use of road flaggers and police details on public works projects..

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

SECTION 1.  Whereas, pursuant to Section 10 of Chapter 86 of the Acts of 2008 the secretary of transportation and public works promulgated regulations regarding the use of road flaggers and police details on public works projects (701 CMR 7.00); And

Whereas, pursuant to Section 10 of Chapter 86 of the Acts of 2008, the secretary of transportation and public works issued a Cost Report and Analysis on September 2, 2008 suggesting that cost savings would result from the replacement of sworn police officers with civilian road flaggers for the provision of traffic direction at public works projects; And

Whereas, it is in the public interest to objectively review and analyze the impact of 701 CMR 7.00 on public works projects cost and also on the public safety and efficient operations of public safety services; And

SECTION 2.  The University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute shall conduct a comprehensive study of public works projects, as defined in 701 CMR 7.02, for the calendar years 2008 and 2009, and shall prepare a report of that study.  The study shall examine the cost of traffic direction at public works projects, by year, and shall measure the financial impact of 701 CMR 7.00.  The study shall further examine public safety incidents at all public works projects, and shall examine the number of automobile or other accidents, the number of injuries to workers, the number of injuries to non-workers, and the number of emergency calls to public work project sites.  The report shall define, by calendar year, the traffic direction costs and public safety incidents at public works projects as delineated herein.

SECTION 3.  The sum of fifty thousand dollars shall be appropriated to the Donahue Institute to conduct the study and prepare the report described in herein.

SECTION 4.  The Donahue Institute shall submit the report to the Joint Committee on Public Safety not later than March 1, 2010.