HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2371        FILED ON: 1/20/2011

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2267

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Benjamin Swan

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to reform the "School Zone" law for drug offenses.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2371        FILED ON: 1/20/2011

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2267

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 1754 OF 2009-2010.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Eleven

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An Act to reform the "School Zone" law for drug offenses.

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.Section 32J of Chapter 94C shall be amended by replacing the language, “within one thousand feet of the real property” with “within one hundred feet of the real property.”

SECTION 2.Section 32J of Chapter 94C shall be amended to include the following new paragraph:  “This section shall not apply to an offense occurring inside a private residence or other dwelling house within the zones described herein.”

SECTION 3.Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no violation of an offense under Section 32J of Chapter 94C shall be punished by a mandatory minimum sentence.

SECTION 4.Notwithstanding any other provision of Chapter 94C, the court may impose a sentence that does not include a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment, including a term of imprisonment that is less than the minimum term currently specified.  The court may instead impose sentence pursuant to Section 24 of Chapter 279.

SECTION 5.Section 32H of Chapter 94C shall be amended by deleting, “The provisions of section 87 of chapter 276 shall not apply to any person, seventeen years of age or over, charged with a violation of said sections.”

SECTION 6.Section 32J of Chapter 94C shall be amended by deleting, “In accordance with the provisions of section eight A of chapter two hundred and seventy-nine such sentence shall begin from and after the expiration of the sentence for violation of section thirty-two, thirty-two A, thirty-two B, thirty-two C, thirty-two D, thirty-two E, thirty-two F or thirty-two I.”

SECTION 7.Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a person serving a sentence for violating any provision of Chapter 94C as of the effective date of this section shall be eligible to receive deductions from his sentence for good conduct under Sections 129C and 129D of Chapter 127.              

SECTION 8.Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a person serving a sentence for violating any provision of Chapter 94 as of the effective date of this section shall be eligible to participate in education, training, employment, or work release programs established pursuant to Sections 49, 49B, 49C, 86F and 86G of Chapter 127.

SECTION 9.Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a person serving a sentence for violating any provision of Chapter 94C as of the effective date of this section shall not be eligible for parole until he shall have served two thirds of the minimum term of the sentence if the sentence is to a state prison.