Bill H.3522

FILED ON: 6/19/2013

HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3522

House bill No. 3514, as changed by the House committee on Bills in the Third Reading, and as amended and passed to be engrossed by the House. June 18, 2013.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Thirteen

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An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2013 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects.

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to make supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2013, and to make other changes in law, each of which is immediately needed for important public purposes, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.

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. To provide for supplementing certain items in the general appropriation act and other appropriation acts for fiscal year 2013, the sums set forth in section 2 are hereby appropriated from the General Fund unless specifically designated otherwise in this act or in those appropriation acts, for the several purposes and subject to the conditions specified in this act or in those appropriation acts, and subject to the laws regulating the disbursement of public funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013. These sums shall be in addition to any amounts previously appropriated and made available for the purposes of those items.

SECTION 2.

JUDICIARY

Board of Bar Examiners.

0321-0100....................................................................................... $18,681

Berkshire District Attorney.

0340-1100....................................................................................... $53,813

SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH

Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

0511-0000…………………………………………………………..$19,547

TREASURER AND RECEIVER GENERAL

Office of the Treasurer and Receiver General.

0610-2000.............................................................................. $500,000

0611-1000................................................................................ $50,000

0612-0105.............................................................................. $200,000

Human Resource Division.

1750-0300.............................................................................. $347,000

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Department of Housing and Community Development.

7004-0099..................................................................................$100,000

7004-0103.............................................................................. $1,200,000

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Department of Workforce Development.

7002-0012............................................................................. $10,000,000

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF EDUCATION

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

7061-9010.............................................................................. $8,000,000

Department of Higher Education.

7066-0009.............................................................................. $183,000

EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY

Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

8000-0122.............................................................................. $250,000

Emergency Management Agency.

8800-0001.............................................................................. $641,750

Department of Corrections.

8900-0001.............................................................................. $4,200,000

Franklin Sheriff’s Office

8910-0108.............................................................................. $350,000

Essex Sheriff’s Office

8910-0619.............................................................................. $315,000

Hampden Sheriff’s Office

8910-1000.............................................................................. $100,000

Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association

8910-7100.............................................................................. $28,000

Barnstable Sheriff’s Office

8910-8200.............................................................................. $1,825,000

Bristol Sheriff’s Office

8910-8300.............................................................................. $3,200,000

Dukes Sheriff’s Office

8910-8400.............................................................................. $125,000

Norfolk Sheriff’s Office

8910-8600.............................................................................. $900,000

Plymouth Sheriff’s Office

8910-8700.............................................................................. $2,500,000

Suffolk Sheriff’s Office

8910-8800.............................................................................. $2,500,000

SECTION 2A. To provide for certain unanticipated obligations of the commonwealth, to provide for an alteration of purpose for current appropriations, and to meet certain requirements of law, the sum set forth in this section are hereby appropriated from the General Fund unless specifically designated otherwise in this section, for the several purposes and subject to the conditions specified in this section, and subject to the laws regulating the disbursement of public funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013. The sums shall be in addition to any amounts previously appropriated and made available for the purposes of this item.

SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH

Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

0521-0010 For the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ administrative costs associated with both the special statewide primary and the special statewide election to fill the United States Senate seat on June 25, 2013, including, but not limited to, printing of nomination papers, printing of ballots, extended polling hours, printing and delivery of election supplies and programming of accessible equipment for both the special statewide primary and special statewide, and for reimbursements to municipalities for costs associated with said elections; provided that the state secretary shall only reimburse municipalities for the actual costs that are thereafter certified by the division of local mandates; provided further, that no less than $19,392 shall be expended for extraordinary election costs incurred by the town of Northampton due to the November 6, 2012 election……………………………………................... $13,592,734 EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE

Reserves

1599-0415 For a reserve to provide home modifications and moving expenses for certain victims of the Boston Marathon bombings; provided, however, that funding shall only be provided to a person who has either lost a limb or lost the use of a limb as a result of the Boston Marathon bombings that occurred on April 15, 2013; provided, further, that an eligible person shall receive benefits for the purpose of home modification or moving expenses to suitably accessible housing that shall include, but not be limited to, the following: special fixtures or movable facilities, moving expenses to obtain suitable alternative housing and other necessary home modifications due to the person’s disability; provided, further, that the secretary of administration and finance shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary for the identification of eligible victims of the Boston Marathon bombings and the awarding of benefits; and provided, further, that the funds appropriated in this item shall not revert and shall be made available for these purposes through June 30, 2014……………………….…..$200,000

1599-1973 For the cost of hired and leased equipment, vehicle repair and sand, salt and other control chemicals used for snow and ice control....................................$55,687,495

Commonwealth Transportation Fund 100 %

1599-1974 For a reserve to be administered by the executive office for administration and finance for the purposes of facilitating the purchase of health insurance by certain commonwealth employees under the premium only plan of the Section 125 cafeteria plan, 26 U.S.C. § 125, who are not eligible for health insurance coverage provided by the group insurance commission under chapter 32A of the General Laws; provided, that funds in this item may be expended until June 30, 2014.............................................................................$400,000

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Department of the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

4000-0265…………………………………………………………...…………$1,000,000

Worcester Sheriff’s Office

8910-0106 For the Worcester Sheriff’s Office to conduct a feasibility study for a regional lock-up facility for Worcester County…………………………………………..$50,000Middlesex Sheriff’s Office

8910-1102 For the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office for payroll, emergency supplies and added costs incurred as a result of the Middlesex Jail evacuation and the Boston Marathon bombings………………………………………………………………………….…..$168,504

SECTION 2C.I. For the purpose of making available in fiscal year 2014 balances of appropriations which otherwise would revert on June 30, 2013, the unexpended balances of the maintenance appropriations listed below, not to exceed the amount specified below for each item, are hereby re-appropriated for the purposes of and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding item in section 2 of the general appropriation act for fiscal year 2013. However, for items which do not appear in section 2 of the general appropriation act, the amounts in this section are re-appropriated for the purposes of and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding item in section 2 or 2A of this act or in prior appropriation acts. Amounts in this section are re-appropriated from the fund or funds designated for the corresponding item in section 2 of the general appropriation act; provided, however, that for items which do not appear in section 2 of the general appropriation act, the amounts in this section are re-appropriated from the fund or funds designated for the corresponding item in section 2 or 2A of this act or in prior appropriation acts. The sums re-appropriated in this section shall be in addition to any amounts available for said purposes.

TRESURER AND RECIEVER GENERAL

Office of the Treasurer and Receiver General.

0612-0105$200,000

EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE

Office of the Secretary of Administration and Finance.

1599-2013$477,000

SECTION 3. Subsection (e) of section 167A of chapter 6 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following clause:- ; and (iii) the collection, storage, access, dissemination, content organization and use of fingerprint-based checks of all state and national databases, including criminal databases.

SECTION 4. Chapter 6A of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 16U the following 2 sections:-

Section 16V. (a) As used in this section and section 16W, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meaning:-

“Office”, executive office of health and human services.

“Recipient|”, anyone receiving public assistance through a benefit program administered by the office of health and human services.

(b) There shall be within the office, but not subject to the control of the office, a bureau of program integrity. The inspector general shall appoint a director of the bureau, who shall serve as an assistant inspector general under the supervision of the inspector general, and shall serve for a term of 4 years. The inspector general may remove the director and designate an interim director until a new director is appointed. The director shall devote full time and attention to the duties of this office. The director shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 12A.

(c) The director of the bureau may appoint persons as are necessary to perform the functions of the bureau; provided, however, that section 9A of chapter 30 and chapter 31 shall not apply to any person holding such an appointment. The director may appoint and remove, subject to the approval of the inspector general, expert, clerical or other assistants as the work of the bureau may require. Employees shall devote their full-time and attention to their duties while employed with the bureau and shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 12A.

(d) The bureau shall monitor the quality, efficiency and integrity of programs administered by the office. The bureau shall seek to prevent, detect and correct fraud, waste and abuse in the expenditure of public funds for benefit programs including, but not limited to, MassHealth, transitional aid to families with dependent children, emergency aid to elders, disabled and children, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other assistance benefits distributed via electronic benefit transfer cards.

(e) In addition to the responsibilities set forth in subsection (c), the bureau shall have the following duties: (i) review current eligibility intake and determination procedures for public benefit programs administered by the office, and make recommendations as appropriate; (ii) provide advice to the office on any new intake procedures and regulations for eligibility determination; (iii) monitor whether eligibility regulations are being followed by the administering agency; (iv) review the office’s efforts to coordinate with other state agencies to transmit and collect data on beneficiaries; (v) monitor the efficiency of the program integrity division under the department of transitional assistance; (vi) review the training provided to employees serving under the office of health and human services on methods of intake procedures and beneficiary determination; (vii) provide advice on automating reporting of indicators of potential fraud cases; and (viii) monitor compliance with workforce requirements.

(f) The bureau shall coordinate and consult with the office regarding the efforts to verify eligibility for recipients of benefit programs through the sharing of information with other agencies and departments, including, but not limited to, the department of revenue, the department of elementary and secondary education, the department of unemployment assistance, the department of industrial accidents, the registry of motor vehicles, the department of criminal justice information services and the department of corrections.

(g) Chapter 12A shall apply to investigations, reviews, studies and all other work the bureau performs.

Section 16W. (a) For the purposes of this section “applicant” shall mean anyone who applies to receive public assistance through a benefit program administered by the office of health and human services.

(b) The executive office of health and human services shall establish and maintain a computerized income, asset, and identity eligibility verification system, hereinafter referred to as the integrated eligibility system, to aggregate data necessary to verify income, assets and identity when determining an applicant’s eligibility for assistance in order to eliminate the duplication of assistance and deter fraud within each public benefits program administered by the office; provided, however, that information held pursuant to the establishment of this system is used in compliance with chapter 66A and meets all applicable federal and state privacy and security requirements.

(c) The office may enter into contracts with third-party vendors for the purposes of developing and maintaining the integrated eligibility system; provided, however, that any such vendor shall be required by contract to establish annualized savings realized from the implementation of the integrated eligibility system that shall exceed the total yearly cost to the commonwealth for implementing the integrated eligibility system.

(d) The office shall require all departments, offices and divisions under the authority of the office that are administering public benefits programs to use the integrated eligibility system to match the social security number of an applicant for, or recipient of, public assistance against information provided by the following data sources where permitted by state and federal privacy laws: (1) a nationwide public records data source of physical asset ownership such as real property, automobiles, watercraft, aircraft and luxury vehicles; (2) the department of revenue; (3) undisclosed depository account information and account balances of disclosed accounts at national and local financial institutions; (4) a nationwide public records data source of incarcerated individuals; (5) outstanding default or arrest warrant information maintained by the criminal history systems board, the criminal justice information system and the warrant management system; (6) a nationwide best-address and driver's license data source to verify individuals are residents of the commonwealth; (7) the registry of motor vehicles; (8) the department of elementary and secondary education; (9) a comprehensive public records database that identifies potential identity fraud or identity theft that can closely associate name, social security number, date of birth, phone and address information; and (10) a database which is substantially similar to or a successor of a database mentioned in this section.

(e) In addition to the data source matching requirements under subsection (c), the office shall incorporate into the integrated eligibility system access to the following data sources, to the extent such data sources are available and permitted by state and federal privacy law: (1) unearned income information maintained by the Internal Revenue Service; (2) employer quarterly reports of income and unemployment insurance payment information maintained by the executive office of labor and workforce development; (3) earned income information maintained by the Social Security Administration; (4) immigration status information maintained by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; (5) death register information maintained by the Social Security Administration; (6) prisoner information maintained by the Social Security Administration; (7) public housing and Section 8 Housing Assistance payment information maintained by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Massachusetts public housing authorities; (8) national fleeing felon information maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; (9) wage reporting and similar information maintained by states contiguous to this state; (10) beneficiary records and earnings information maintained by the Social Security Administration in its Beneficiary and Earnings Data Exchange database; (11) earnings and pension information maintained by the Social Security Administration in its Beneficiary Earnings Exchange Record System database; (12) employment information maintained by the department of labor and workforce development and the department of unemployment assistance; (13) employment information maintained by the United States Department of Health and Human Services in its National Directory of New Hires database; (14) supplemental Security Income information maintained by the Social Security Administration in its SSI State Data Exchange database; (15) workers compensation information maintained by the department of industrial accidents; (16) veterans’ benefits information maintained by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, in coordination with the Massachusetts department of health and human services and department of veterans’ affairs, in the federal Public Assistance Reporting Information System database; (17) child care services information maintained by the department of children and families; (18) utility payments information maintained by the department of housing and community development under the low income home energy assistance program; (19) emergency utility payment information maintained by local cities and towns or councils on aging; (20) a database of all persons who currently hold a license, permit, or certificate from a state agency the cost of which exceeds $1,000; and (21) a database which is substantially similar to or a successor of a database mentioned in this section.

(f) The office shall work with the departments, offices, or divisions, under the authority of the office, that assist in the administration of public benefit programs, as well as the bureau of program integrity, established pursuant to this chapter, to develop uniform rules and regulations regarding intake procedures and procedures for handling discrepancies that may result between an applicant or recipient’s social security number and 1 or more of the databases or information tools outlined in this section; provided that an applicant or recipient shall be notified of any discrepancy that arises between their social security number and information retrieved by the integrated eligibility system and the applicant or recipient shall be provided an opportunity to explain any discrepancy; provided that self-declarations by an applicant or recipient shall not be accepted as the sole verification of categorical and financial eligibility during eligibility evaluations and reviews; provided that all self-declarations made on or pursuant to an application for public assistance shall be signed under the pains and penalties of perjury; and, provided further that numerical identifiers, other than valid social security numbers, shall not be used as alternatives to social security numbers for time periods in excess of 3 months. If a recipient is unable to provide an accurate social security number to replace a numerical identifier within a time period of 3 months, the recipient’s public assistance benefits shall be terminated unless the individual is a victim of domestic violence who has a pending petition for legal status under the federal Violence Against Women Act.

(g) Where permitted by state and federal law, the office shall enter into intergovernmental service agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies to develop an information sharing system to verify identity, through an automated fingerprinting comparison system to be accessed by the office and law enforcement agencies, in instances of trafficking of electronic benefit transfer cards or other suspected criminal activity involving fraud and misuse of public benefits.

SECTION 5. Section 7 of chapter 15D of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out subsection (a), as amended by section 1 of chapter 459 of the Acts of 2012, and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(a) The department shall issue and may renew a license to any person other than a department, agency or institution of the commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof, who meets applicable standards and requirements to establish and maintain or to assist in the establishment and maintenance of a school-aged child care program, a child care center, family child care home, placement agency or large family child care home, family foster care which is not supervised and approved by a placement agency, group care facility or temporary shelter facility. As part of the department’s licensing and background record check process, the department shall:

(i) conduct fingerprint-based checks of all state and federal databases, including criminal databases, before issuing any license. The fingerprint-based checks shall be conducted on any applicant for a family child care, small group and school age, large group and school age, residential and placement license or family child care assistant certificate. The fingerprint-based checks shall also be required for any household member, age 15 or older, or person regularly on the premises, age 15 or older, of applicants for family child care licensure and for all in-home non-relative department funded caregivers. Authorized department staff may receive all criminal offender record information and the results of checks of state and national criminal history databases, under Public Law 92-544, in accordance with the law. When the department obtains the results of checks of state and national criminal history databases, it shall treat the information according to sections 167 to 178, inclusive, of chapter 6 and the regulations thereto regarding criminal offender record information.

(ii) conduct fingerprint-based checks of all state and federal databases, including criminal databases, to determine the suitability of all applicants for employment, interns or volunteers who have the potential for unsupervised contact with children in any department licensed or funded program. The fingerprint-based checks shall also be required to determine the suitability of any individual who provides transportation services on behalf of any department licensed or funded program. Authorized department staff may receive all criminal offender record information and the results of checks of state and national criminal history databases, under Public Law 92-544, in accordance with the law. When the department obtains the results of checks of state and national criminal history databases, it shall treat the information according to sections 167 to 178, inclusive, of chapter 6 and the regulations thereto regarding criminal offender record information.

(iii) conduct fingerprint-based checks of all state and federal databases, including criminal databases, for all applicants to be adoptive or foster parents and their household members age 15 or older. Authorized department staff may receive all criminal offender record information and the results of checks of state and national criminal databases, in accordance with the law. When the department obtains the results of checks of state and national criminal databases, it shall treat the information according to sections 167 to 178, inclusive, of chapter 6 and the regulations thereto regarding criminal offender record information.

(iv) obtain from the sex offender registry board all current sex offender registration information, pursuant to paragraphs (i) and (j) of section 178 of chapter 6, associated with the address of the center, home, program or facility.

SECTION 6. Section 7 of chapter 15D of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out subsection (b), as amended by section 2 of chapter 459 of the acts of 2012, and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(b) The department shall issue approval to a department, agency or institution of the commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof which it determines meets the applicable standards and requirements to establish and maintain a child care center, family child care home or large family child care home, placement agency, group care facility or temporary shelter facility.

As part of the department’s approval process, the department shall conduct fingerprint-based checks of all state and federal databases, including criminal databases, before issuing any approval. The fingerprint-based checks of the state and national criminal history databases shall also be conducted, to determine the suitability of all applicants for employment, interns or volunteers who have the potential for unsupervised contact with children in any department approved program. The fingerprint-based checks shall also be required to determine the suitability of any individual who provides transportation services on behalf of any department approved program. Authorized department staff may receive all criminal offender record information and the results of checks of state and national criminal history information databases, under this subsection, in accordance with the law. When the department obtains the results of checks of state and national criminal information databases, it shall treat the information according to sections 167 to 178, inclusive, of chapter 6 and the regulations thereto regarding criminal offender record information.

As part of the department’s approval process, the department shall obtain from the sex offender registry board all current sex offender registration information, pursuant to sections 178I and 178J of chapter 6, associated with the address of the center, home, program or facility before issuing any approval.

SECTION 6A. Subsection (b) of section 8 of said chapter 15D is hereby amended by striking out the words “, which shall incorporate all fees associated with conducting fingerprint – based checks by the state and national criminal history databases, under 42 U.S.C. section 16962, as set by the department”, inserted by section 3 of chapter 459 of the acts of 2012.

SECTION 7. Subsection (d) of said section 8 of said chapter 15D, as appearing in section 3 of chapter 459 of the acts of 2012, is hereby amended by inserting after the figure “16962”, the following words:- for potential adoptive and foster parents and their household members age 15 or older; and for all licensing matters as set forth by the department and for all applicants for employment, interns or volunteers in any department licensed, funded or approved program.

SECTION 8. Subsection (d) of section 8 of chapter 15D of the General Laws, as amended by section 4 of said chapter 459, is hereby further amended by adding the following paragraph:-

The board shall adopt regulations establishing that each person providing child care or support services with the potential for unsupervised contact with children in any program or facility licensed, funded or approved by the department, as well as any household members or persons regularly on the premises of family child care and large family child care homes, any prospective adoptive and foster parents and their household members, any department funded caregivers, and any individual who provides transportation services on behalf of any department licensed, funded or approved program shall be subject to a sexual offender registry information check pursuant to sections 178I and 178J of chapter 6. The regulations shall also establish the conditions in which the department may deny an application for a license, license renewal or approval, employment, or department funding, as well as deny prospective adoptive and foster parents based upon the information obtained from the sex offender registry search. The board shall also adopt regulations establishing an address search of the sex offender registry for purposes of licensing, license renewal or approval of school-aged child care programs, child care centers, family child care homes, placement agencies or large family child care homes, family foster care that is not supervised and approved by a placement agency, group care facilities or temporary shelter facilities, including the conditions in which the department may deny an application for a license, license renewal or approval based upon the information obtained from the address search of the sex offender registry.

SECTION 9. Said section 8 of said chapter 15D, as added by section 5 of said chapter 459, is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (j) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(j) Fingerprints, as referenced in subsections (a) and (b) of section 7 and subsection (d) of this section, shall be submitted to the identification section of the department of state police for a state criminal history check and forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history check, according to the policies and procedures established by the identification section and by the department of criminal justice information services. Fingerprint submissions may be retained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the state identification section, and the department of criminal justice information services for the purpose of assisting the department in its review of suitability for initial or continued licensure, certification or approval. The department of criminal justice information services may disseminate the results of a state and national criminal history checks to the department of early education and care to determine the suitability of : (i) any current holder of or applicant for a family child care, small group and school age, large group and school age, and residential and placement license or family child care assistant certificate; (ii) all current and prospective employees in any department licensed, funded or approved program, who have the potential for unsupervised contact with children; (iii) all household members, age 15 or older, or persons regularly on the premises, age 15 or older, of current family child care providers and applicants for family child care licensure; (iv) all in-home non-relative department funded caregivers; (v) all adoptive or foster parent applicants and their household members age 15 or older; and (vi) any individual who provides transportation services on behalf of any department licensed, funded or approved program. If the department receives information from a fingerprint-based check that does not include any final disposition or is otherwise incomplete, the department may request that an applicant, either new or renewing, provide additional information to assist the department in determining the suitability of the individual for licensure, certification, approval, funding or employment.

For the purposes of this section, a “conditional employee” is an individual who has the potential for unsupervised contact with children who a department licensed, funded or approved program or a provider of transportation services on behalf of any department licensed, funded or approved program, hires without first obtaining the results of a state and national fingerprint-based criminal history check because the employer determines that hiring the individual is necessary. A department licensed, funded or approved program, or a provider of transportation services on behalf of any department licensed, funded or approved program, may hire conditional employees under the following circumstances:

Until the commonwealth has fully implemented a system for forwarding fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history check and providing the results of those checks to the department, the department licensed, approved or funded program, or the provider of transportation services on behalf of any department licensed, funded or approved program, may hire individuals without first obtaining the results of a state and national fingerprint-based criminal background check if the employer has first obtained the results of a criminal offender record information check and department of children and families background record check, as required by the department, on the individual(s).

Once the commonwealth has fully implemented a system for forwarding fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history check and providing the results of those checks to the department, programs or transportation providers shall require employees hired for September, 2013 or thereafter without the results of state and national fingerprint-based criminal history checks to submit fingerprints for state and national criminal history checks within a reasonable period of time; and; may hire individuals without first obtaining the results of a state and national fingerprint-based criminal history check in limited circumstances. Notwithstanding any laws to the contrary, if a program or transportation provider seeks to hire a conditional employee, the program or transportation provider may request that the individual provide additional information regarding his or her history of criminal convictions, if any, to assist the program or transportation provider in determining the individual’s suitability for unsupervised contact with children; provided, however, that no unsupervised contact with children shall occur prior to the program or transportation provider obtaining the results of a sexual offender registry information check pursuant to sections 178I and 178J of chapter 6.

The department of criminal justice information services shall disseminate the results of the criminal background check to the department. The department of criminal justice information services shall only disseminate information under this section that would otherwise be available to requesting entities under sections 167 to 178, inclusive, of chapter 6 and the regulations thereto regarding criminal offender record information.

The department of early education and care shall in a manner provided by law and in accordance with chapter 15D, promulgate regulations necessary to carry out this section. These regulations shall address the circumstances under which a program or transportation provider may hire a conditional employee.

All persons required to submit fingerprints pursuant to this chapter, including, but not limited to, (i) any current holder of or applicant for a family child care, small group and school age, large group and school age, and residential and placement license, or family child care assistant certificate; (ii) all current and prospective employees in any department licensed, funded or approved program, who have the potential for unsupervised contact with children; (iii) all household members, age 15 or older, or persons regularly on the premises, age 15 or older, of current family child care providers and applicants for family child care licensure; (iv) all in-home non-relative department funded caregivers; (v) all adoptive or foster parent applicants and their household members age 15 or older; and (vi) any individual who provides transportation services on behalf of any department licensed, funded or approved program, shall pay a fee, to be established by the department in consultation with the secretary of public safety and security, to offset the costs of operating and administering a fingerprint-based criminal background check system. The fee shall not exceed $35 per person. The fee may increase accordingly if the Federal Bureau of Investigation increases its fingerprint background check service fee. The department licensed, funded or approved programs may reimburse applicants for employment for all or part of the fee on the grounds of financial hardship. Any fees collected from fingerprinting activity under this chapter shall be deposited into the Fingerprint-Based Background Check Trust Fund, established under section 2HHHH of chapter 29.

SECTION 10. Paragraph (B) of section 2 of chapter 18 of the General Laws, as amended by section 1 of chapter 161 of the acts of 2012, is hereby further amended by adding the following clause:-

(k) require the use of photo identification on the front of each newly issued and reissued electronic benefit transfer card for each cardholder who is over the age of 18 provided further, that the department shall promulgate regulations to ensure that all authorized users and members of the household are able to use an electronic benefit transfer card pursuant to 7 U.S.C.A § 2016(h)(9).

SECTION 11. Paragraph (D) of said section 2 of said chapter 18, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after clause (f) the following clauses:—

(g) the termination of benefits to any recipient, who has failed to notify the department of a change of address, and who the department has attempted to contact by certified mail, but whose mail communication has been returned to the department as undeliverable;

(h) the termination of benefits to any recipient who has failed to provide the department with a social security number within 3 months of application for assistance, pursuant to section 16 of chapter 6A; and

(i) the analysis and review of electronic payment processing information control reports such as those provided by the department’s electronic benefit transfer card vendor including, but not limited to: reports on even dollar transactions, out of state card activity, manual card entry, full supplemental nutritional assistance program balance withdrawal, and multiple transactions within one hour. Such reports shall be used to assist the department in program management, operations, performance, and in identifying and investigating likely cases of fraud.

SECTION 12. Paragraph (a) of section 5J of chapter 18 of the General Laws, as appearing in section 2 of chapter 161 of the acts of 2012, is hereby amended by striking out the last sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:— A store owner who knowingly allows a prohibited electronic benefit transfer transaction in violation of this section, subsection (b) of section 5I, or section 5O, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $2,500 for a first offense, by a fine of not less than $5,000 for a second offense, and by a fine of not less than $10,000 for a third or subsequent offense.

SECTION 13. Said section 5J of said chapter 18, as amended by section 2 of said chapter 161, is hereby further amended by adding the following subsection:-

(d) Subject to appropriation, the department shall promulgate rules and regulations to increase the education of benefit recipients and retail vendors regarding: statutory requirements under sections 5I and 5J; personal financial management, banking, and budgeting; and the online payment system outlined in section 26A.

SECTION 14. Said chapter 18 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 5N the following 2 sections:-

Section 5O. (a) The department of transitional assistance shall establish and maintain an online application process for businesses wishing to apply to accept electronic benefit transfer cards at point of sale. All businesses that wish to accept electronic benefit transfer cards at point of sale shall apply online on the department’s website. The department shall seek to increase acceptance of electronic benefit transfer cards at retail establishments. The list of businesses that shall not be approved includes, but is not limited to, those establishments detailed in subsection (a) of section 5J of this chapter.

(b) The online application shall require, at minimum, the following information: name of store or business, including if different, corporation name or doing business as name; full address of business; owner name, owner phone number and address; standard industrial classification code; and an explanation of the business conducted by the establishment which includes the type of goods or merchandise sold.

(c) The department shall continuously maintain a list of businesses declined by the department from accepting electronic benefit transfer cards. The list shall be made public and updated on a quarterly basis.

(d) Upon approval of the application, the department shall issue an authorization number to the owner of the business. The owner shall display said authorization number in an area conspicuous to customers of the business.

(e) Any store owner who knowingly accepts electronic benefit transfer cards without the approval of the department shall be subject to the fines and punishments outlined in subsection 5J of this chapter.

(f) The department shall promulgate all rules and regulations necessary to carry out this section.

Section 5P. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, direct cash assistance issued by the commonwealth shall not be used for purchases in states other than Massachusetts and states contiguous to Massachusetts. For the purposes of this section, contiguous states shall mean: New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, and Vermont. The department of transitional assistance shall identify all violators on a monthly basis. Any eligible recipient who violates this section may be disqualified from the program for not less than 3 months, subject to any appeals process established by the department pursuant to chapter 30A. The department shall notify the recipient that they must report in person to their local department of transitional assistance office to have their benefits reinstated. Any eligible recipient who violates this section for a second time may be permanently disqualified from the direct cash assistance program where permissible by state and federal law.

SECTION 15. Section 10 of said chapter 18, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 2, the words “general court” and inserting in place thereof, the following words:- house and senate committees on ways and means.

SECTION 16. Said chapter 18 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 26 the following section:-

Section 26A. (a) The department shall implement an online payment system accessible by computer or mobile device for cash assistance recipients to manage benefits and pay rent and utility bills by direct payment to a landlord or utility company by regularly deducting the amount of the rent or utility bill from the amount of the benefits otherwise payable to the recipient. The system shall, at minimum, allow recipients to track personal expenditures of cash assistance benefits, to view the balance of benefits received, and to orchestrate the direct regular payment of recipient rent and utility bills by the department. The department shall also consider including in the online payment system educational tools and suggestions regarding personal financial management, banking and budgeting.

Whenever a determination is made that benefits have not been used in the best interest of the child or the assistance unit or other chronic misuse of benefits is occurring, the department shall manage the provision of benefits in the form of vendor payments with respect to rent and utilities. The department may presume mismanagement of benefits whenever shelter costs, including, but not limited to, rent, heat, fuel and utilities, have regularly not been met without reasonable cause. Upon an affirmative finding of the mismanagement of benefits by a recipient, the department shall review the eligibility of said recipient to receive benefits.

At eligibility determinations and reviews, the department shall screen households to determine if they have chronically failed to pay rent and utilities to determine if it is appropriate to institute or terminate vendor payments and shall refer those households to the housing consumer education centers and community-based resources for assistance in meeting their expenses.

(b) All cash assistance recipients shall have the option to manage benefits and pay rent and utility bills through the online payment system and shall receive cash assistance benefits equal to the amount of the balance of benefits otherwise payable to the recipient following said online payments.

(c) All new cash assistance recipients shall be required to pay rent and utility bills through the online payment system and shall receive cash assistance benefits equal to the amount of the balance of benefits otherwise payable to the recipient following said online payment. Existing cash assistance recipients shall continue to have the option to pay rent and utility bills through the online payment system.

(d) All cash assistance recipients shall be required to pay rent and utility bills through the online payment system and shall receive cash assistance benefits equal to the amount of the balance of benefits otherwise payable to the recipient following said online payment.

(e) The department shall regularly evaluate the online payment system and the number of recipients utilizing and not utilizing the system to pay rent and utility bills. The department shall screen the households not utilizing the online payment system to determine if they have failed to pay rent and utilities and if they are using benefits in the best interest of the child or assistance unit. Following a determination of mismanagement of benefits, the department may reexamine recipient eligibility and investigate the possibility of eligibility fraud and shall manage the provision of benefits to said households in the form of vendor payments pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.

(f) The department shall promulgate all rules and regulations necessary to carry out this section.

SECTION 17. Section 2HHHH of chapter 29 of the General Laws, inserted by section 6 of chapter 459 of the acts of 2012, is hereby amended by striking out the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following 2 paragraphs:-

There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Fingerprint-Based Background Check Trust Fund, which will consist of all fees collected for the purposes enumerated in chapter 459 of the acts of 2012. Amounts credited to the fund shall be available, without further appropriation, to the executive office of public safety and security to carry out fingerprint-based state and national criminal background checks for the purposes of employment, professional licensure and other non-criminal justice purposes.

For the purpose of accommodating discrepancies between the receipt of revenue and related expenditures for implementing fingerprint-based checks of the state and national criminal history databases, as authorized by chapter 459 of the acts of 2012, the executive office of public safety and security may incur expenses and the comptroller may certify for payment amounts not to exceed the most recent revenue estimate, provided further that the fund shall be in balance by the end of the fiscal year. Revenues deposited in the fund that are unexpended at the end of the fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in the following fiscal year.

SECTION 18. Section 24 of chapter 32A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 4 and 5, the words “and shall administer the fund in accordance with that section” and inserting in place thereof the following:- the fund and shall employ the Pension Reserves Investment Management Board to invest the fund’s assets in the Pension Reserves Investment Trust Fund.

SECTION 19. Subsection (b) of section 6M of chapter 62 of the General Laws, as appearing in section 29 of chapter 238 of the acts of 2012, is hereby amended by striking out the definition of “Taxpayer” and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-

“Taxpayer”, a taxpayer subject to the personal income tax under this chapter.

SECTION 20. Clause (4) of subsection (c) of said section 6M of said chapter 62, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the word “‘fiscal” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- taxable.

SECTION 21. Said section 6M of said chapter 62, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out subsections (f) to (k), inclusive, and inserting in place thereof the following 6 subsections:-

(e) The total of all tax credits available to a taxpayer that makes a qualified investment under this section shall not exceed $1,000,000 in any 1 taxable year. No tax credit shall be allowed to a taxpayer that makes a qualified investment of less than $1,000.

(f) A taxpayer that makes a qualified investment shall be allowed a refundable credit, to be computed as provided in this subsection, against the taxes imposed by this chapter. If the amount of the credit allowed under this subsection exceeds the taxpayer’s tax liability, the commissioner shall treat the excess as an overpayment and shall pay the taxpayer the amount of the excess, without interest. Alternatively, at the option of the taxpayer, a taxpayer entitled to a credit under this subsection for a taxable year may carry over and apply against the taxpayer’s tax liability for any one or more of the succeeding 5 taxable years, the portion, as reduced from year to year, of the credit which exceeds the tax for the taxable year. If the taxpayer elects to carry over a credit balance, however, then the credit refund provision allowed by this subsection shall not apply. The credit shall be equal to 50 per cent of the total qualified investments made by the taxpayer, subject to the limits described in subsection (e). The department shall issue a certification to the taxpayer after the taxpayer makes a qualified investment. This certification shall be acceptable as proof that the expenditures related to that investment qualify as a qualified investment for purposes of the credit allowed under this section.

(g) The credit allowable under this section shall be allowed for the taxable year in which a qualified investment is made.

(h) Community investment tax credits allowed to a pass-through entity such as a partnership or a limited liability company taxed as a partnership shall be passed through to the persons designated as partners, members or owners, respectively, pro rata or pursuant to an executed agreement among the persons designated as partners, members or owners documenting an alternative distribution method without regard to their sharing of other tax or economic attributes of the entity.

(i) The department shall authorize the tax credits under this section. The total value of the tax credits authorized under this section, together with section 38EE of chapter 63, shall not exceed $3,000,000 in taxable year 2014 and $6,000,000 in each of taxable years 2015 to 2019, inclusive.

(j) The commissioner, in consultation with the department, shall adopt regulations to carry out the tax credit established in this section.

SECTION 22. Subsection (b) of section 21 of chapter 62C of the General Laws is hereby further amended by adding the following clause:-

(27) the disclosure of tax return information for individuals or households to an agency of the commonwealth, if the agency certifies that the information is relevant to determine eligibility of those individuals or households for benefits awarded by the agency.

SECTION 23. Subsection (b) of section 38EE of chapter 63 of the General Laws, as appearing in section 35 of said chapter 238 of the acts of 2012, is hereby amended by inserting before the definition of “Community development corporation” the following definition:-

“Commissioner”, the commissioner of revenue or the commissioner’s duly authorized representative.

SECTION 24. The definition of “Community investment tax credit” in said subsection (b) of said section 38EE of said chapter 63, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the letter “(c)” and inserting in place thereof the following letter:- (d).

SECTION 25. Subsection (b) of said section 38EE of said chapter 63, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the definition of “Taxpayer” and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-

“Taxpayer”, a taxpayer subject to an excise under this chapter.

SECTION 26. Clause (4) of subsection (c) of said section 38EE of said chapter 63, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the word “‘fiscal” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- taxable.

SECTION 27. Said section 38EE of said chapter 63, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out subsections (e) to (i), inclusive, and inserting in place thereof the following 5 subsections:-

(f) A taxpayer that makes a qualified investment shall be allowed a refundable credit, to be computed as provided in this subsection, against the taxes imposed by this chapter. If the amount of the credit allowed under this subsection exceeds the taxpayer’s tax liability, the commissioner shall treat the excess as an overpayment and shall pay the taxpayer the amount of the excess, without interest. Alternatively, at the option of the taxpayer, a taxpayer entitled to a credit under this subsection for a taxable year may carry over and apply against the taxpayer’s tax liability for any 1 or more of the succeeding 5 taxable years, the portion, as reduced from year to year, of the credit which exceeds the tax for the taxable year. If the taxpayer elects to carry over a credit balance, however, then the credit refund provision allowed by this subsection shall not apply. The credit shall be equal to 50 per cent of the total qualified investments made by the taxpayer, subject to the limits described in subsection (e). The department shall issue a certification to the taxpayer after the taxpayer makes a qualified investment. This certification shall be acceptable as proof that the expenditures related to that investment qualify as a qualified investment for purposes of the credit allowed under this section.

(g) The credit allowable under this section shall be allowed for the taxable year in which a qualified investment is made.

(h) Community investment tax credits allowed to a pass-through entity such as a partnership or a limited liability company taxed as a partnership shall be passed through to the persons designated as partners, members or owners, respectively, pro rata or under an executed agreement among the persons designated as partners, members or owners documenting an alternative distribution method without regard to their sharing of other tax or economic attributes of the entity.

(i) The department shall authorize the tax credits under this section. The total value of the tax credits authorized under this section, together with section 6M of chapter 62, shall not exceed $3,000,000 in taxable year 2014 and $6,000,000 in each of taxable years 2015 to 2019, inclusive.

SECTION 28. Chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 38R, as amended by section 7 of chapter 459 of the acts of 2012, and inserting in place thereof the following:-

Section 38R. In a manner prescribed by the board of elementary and secondary education, the school committee and superintendent of any city, town or regional school district and the principal or other administrator, by whatever title the position be known, of a public or private school, including a special education school program approved under chapter 71B, shall obtain periodically, but not less than every 3 years, from the department of criminal justice information services all available criminal offender record information for any current or prospective employee or volunteer within the school district who may have direct and unmonitored contact with children, including any individual who regularly provides school related transportation to children. Said school committee, superintendent or principal or other administrator shall also have access to and may obtain all criminal offender record information for any subcontractor or laborer commissioned by the school committee or school or employed by the city or town to perform work on school grounds, who may have direct and unmonitored contact with children.

The school committee, superintendent of any city, town or regional school district or the principal or other administrator, by whatever title the position be known, of a public or private school, including a special education school program approved under chapter 71B, shall also obtain a state and national fingerprint-based criminal background check, under 42 U.S.C. section 16962, to determine the suitability of current and prospective school employees who may have direct and unmonitored contact with children. For the purpose of this section, employees shall include any apprentice, intern, or student teacher who may have direct and unmonitored contact with children. The school committee shall only obtain a state and national fingerprint-based criminal background check for current and prospective employees for whom the school committee has direct hiring authority. The superintendent, principal or other administrator shall also obtain a state and national fingerprint-based criminal background check for any individual who regularly provides school related transportation to children. Said school committee, superintendent or principal or other administrator may obtain a state and national fingerprint-based criminal background check, as authorized by 42 U.S.C. section 16962, for any volunteer or subcontractor or laborer commissioned by the school committee or school or employed by the city or town to perform work on school grounds, who may have direct and unmonitored contact with children. Fingerprints shall be submitted to the identification section of the department of state police for a state criminal history check and forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal background check, according to the policies and procedures established by the identification section and by the department of criminal justice information services. Fingerprint submissions may be retained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the state identification section, and the department of criminal justice information services for the purpose of assisting employers authorized under this chapter to ensure the continued suitability of those individuals. The department of criminal justice information services may disseminate the results of the state and national criminal background checks to: a school committee, superintendent, principal or the designee of the school committee, superintendent or principal, to determine the suitability of current and prospective employees of the school employer; and to the department of elementary and secondary education to determine the suitability of applicants for license and licensed educators who may have direct and unmonitored contact with children; provided that the department of criminal justice information services may disseminate to a school committee only results for current and prospective employees for whom the school committee has direct hiring authority.

Entities that receive the results of national criminal background checks shall treat the information in accordance with sections 167 to 178, inclusive, of chapter 6 and the regulations thereto regarding criminal offender record information. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections 9 and 9 1/2 of section 4 of chapter 151B if a school employer receives criminal record information from the state and national fingerprint-based criminal background checks that includes no disposition or is otherwise incomplete, the school employer may request that an individual provide additional information regarding the results of the criminal background checks to assist the school employer in determining suitability for direct and unmonitored contact with children. The department of criminal justice information services shall only disseminate information under this section that would otherwise be available to requesting entities under sections 167 to 178, inclusive, of chapter 6 and the regulations thereto regarding criminal offender record information. The school committee, superintendent or principal shall notify the commissioner of any criminal record information relevant to the fitness for licensure of any holder of, or applicant for, an educator’s license in the commonwealth.

The board of elementary and secondary education shall in a manner provided by law and in accordance with this section and sections 167 to 178, inclusive, of chapter 6 and the regulations thereto, promulgate regulations necessary to carry out this section. These regulations shall address the circumstances under which a school employer may rely on a suitability determination made by a previous Massachusetts school employer or the department of elementary and secondary education, in lieu of obtaining a new state and national criminal background check. The factors identified in the regulations shall include, but need not be limited to: the date of the previous suitability determination; the individual’s employment history; and the individual’s state, or states, of residence since the previous suitability determination. If an employer chooses to conduct a new state and national finger-print based criminal history background check, rather than rely on a previous suitability determination, the employer shall pay the fees for the new check. The regulations shall provide for the confidentiality of criminal offender record information and the results of fingerprint-based checks of the state and national criminal history databases, under 42 U.S.C. section 16962 and any other federal law, obtained under this section.The regulations may reflect a phased-in schedule for the fingerprint-based background checks of individuals whose employment or service began prior to the 2013-2014 school year.

The applicant shall pay a fee, to be established by the secretary of administration and finance in consultation with the secretary of public safety and security and the commissioner, to offset the costs of operating and administering a fingerprint-based criminal background check system. The fee shall not exceed $55 for employees who are certified pursuant to section 38G and shall not exceed $35 for employees who are not certified pursuant to section 38G. The fee may increase accordingly if the Federal Bureau of Investigation increases the fee for its fingerprint background check service. The school committee, superintendent or principal may reimburse applicants all or part of the fee on the grounds of financial hardship. Any fees collected from fingerprinting activity under this chapter shall be deposited into the Fingerprint-Based Background Check Trust Fund established under section 2HHHH of chapter 29.

SECTION 29. Chapter 138 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out sections 82 and 83, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 82. The office of commonwealth performance, accountability and transparency, in consultation with the department of housing and community development and the commissioner of revenue, shall review the community investment tax credit in section 6M of chapter 62 and section 38EE of chapter 63 and report on the estimate of the anticipated foregone revenue from the tax credit, whether this tax credit achieves the desired outcome and stated public policy purpose of the tax credit, and if the tax credit is the most cost effective means of achieving this public policy purpose and whether the tax credit should be subject to a recapture if certain conditions are not met. Not later than March 1, 2015, the office of commonwealth performance, accountability and transparency shall file a report, together with any recommendations regarding whether there should be legislative changes to the tax credit or whether the goals of the tax credit can better be served through other means, with the governor and with the clerks of the house and senate, who shall forward the report to the joint committee on revenue, the joint committee on economic development and emerging technologies, the joint committee on community development and small businesses, and the house and senate committees on ways and means.

SECTION 30. Section 12 of said chapter 138, as so appearing, , is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 145 to 157, inclusive, the following words:- “; provided further, that a local licensing authority, subject to the approval of the commission, may grant a license notwithstanding section 17 to sell wine for consumption on the winery premises to a winegrower authorized to operate a farmer-winery under section 19B, to sell malt beverages for consumption on the brewery premises to a farmer-brewer authorized to operate a farmer-brewer under section 19C and to sell spirits for consumption on the distillery premises to a farmer-distiller authorized to operate a farmer-distillery under section 19E; and provided further, that such licensees may sell for on premises consumption wines, malt beverages and spirits produced by the winery, brewery or distillery or produced for the winery, brewery or distillery and sold under the winery, brewery or distillery brand name.”

SECTION 33. Said section 19B of said chapter 138, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following paragraph:-

(n) A local licensing authority, subject to the approval of the commission, may grant a license notwithstanding section 17 to sell wine for consumption on the winery premises to a winegrower authorized to operate a farmer-winery under section 19B; provided that such licensees may sell for on premises consumption wines produced by the winery or produced for the winery and sold under the winery brand name.

SECTION 32. Section 19B of said chapter 138 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 113, as so appearing, the words “section twelve” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- this section.

SECTION 35. Said section 19C of said chapter 138, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following paragraph:-

(n) A local licensing authority, subject to the approval of the commission, may grant a license notwithstanding section 17 to sell malt beverages for consumption on the brewery premises to a farmer-brewer authorized to operate a farmer-brewer under section 19C; provided, that such licensees may sell for on premises consumption malt beverages produced by the brewery or produced for the brewery and sold under the brewery brand name.

SECTION 34. Section 19C of said chapter 138 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 119, as so appearing, the words “section twelve” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- this section.

SECTION 37. Section 19E of said chapter 138, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-

(o) A local licensing authority, subject to the approval of the commission, may grant a license notwithstanding section 17 to sell spirits for consumption on the distillery premises to a farmer-distiller authorized to operate a farmer-distillery under section 19E; provided, that such licensees may sell for on premises consumption spirits produced by the distillery or produced for the distillery and sold under the distillery brand name.

SECTION 36. Section 19E of said chapter 138, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 123, the words “section 12” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- this section.

SECTION 38. Section 4B of chapter 262 of the General Laws, as amended by section 116 of chapter 93 of the acts of 2011, is hereby further amended by adding the following sentence:- No fee under this section shall be charged to the commonwealth or a state agency, but if an action initiated by the commonwealth or a state agency results in the appointment of a fiduciary with control over the assets of an estate, then any such fees normally chargeable to an estate shall be deferred until the fiduciary is duly appointed and authorized to expend the assets of the estate.

SECTION 39. Section 40 of said chapter 262, as appearing in section 60 of chapter 140 of the acts of 2012, is hereby amended by inserting at the end thereof the following sentence:-

No fee under this section shall be charged to the commonwealth or a state agency, but if an action initiated by the commonwealth or a state agency results in the appointment of a fiduciary with control over the assets of an estate, then any such fees normally chargeable to an estate shall be deferred until the fiduciary is duly appointed and authorized to expend the assets of the estate.

SECTION 40. Item 2800-0700 of section 2 of chapter 139 of the acts of 2012 is hereby amended by adding the following words:- ; provided, further, that the department may issue grants to public entities for the repair and maintenance of certain flood prevention structures established pursuant to chapter 602 of the acts of 1966.

SECTION 41. Clause (4) of item 4100-0060 of said section 2 of said chapter 139 is hereby amended by inserting after the figure “1997” the following words:- ; provided, further, that assessment revenue received after June 30, 2013 for assessments billed in fiscal 2013 shall be credited toward fiscal 2013 revenue receipts.

SECTION 42. Item 1595-1067 of section 2E of said chapter 139 is hereby amended by inserting after the words “nonfederal share of such payment” the following words:- ; provided, further, that upon certification from the secretary of administration and finance the comptroller shall credit up to $11,213,334 in transfers made by the Cambridge Public Health Commission received after June 30, 2013, toward fiscal year 2013 revenue receipts.

SECTION 43. Section 62 of chapter 176 of the acts of 2012 is hereby amended by striking out the words “January 11, 2013”, inserted by section 5 of chapter 435 of the acts of 2012, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- June 30, 2013.

SECTION 45. Chapter 459 of the acts of 2012 is hereby amended by striking out section 8C and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 8C. For the purposes of this section, a “conditional employee” is an individual who may have direct and unmonitored contact with children who a school employer hires without first obtaining the results of a state and national fingerprint-based criminal history check because the employer determines that hiring the individual is necessary. School employers may hire conditional employees under the following circumstances:

(i) Until the commonwealth has fully implemented a system for forwarding fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history check and providing the results of those checks to school employers, school employers may hire individuals without first obtaining the results of a state and national fingerprint-based criminal history check if the school employer has obtained from the Massachusetts department of criminal justice information services all available criminal offender record information on the individual.

(ii) Once the commonwealth has fully implemented a system for forwarding fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history check and providing the results of those checks to school employers:

(1) school employers shall require employees hired for the 2013-14 school year or thereafter without the results of a state and national fingerprint-based criminal history check to submit fingerprints for a state and national criminal history check within a reasonable period of time; and

(2) school employers may hire individuals without first obtaining the results of a state and national fingerprint-based criminal history check in limited circumstances. The board of elementary and secondary education shall in a manner provided by law and in accordance with this section, promulgate regulations necessary to carry out this section. These regulations shall address the circumstances under which a school employer may hire a conditional employee.

Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections 9 and 9 ½ of section 4 of chapter 151B of the General Laws, if a school employer seeks to hire a conditional employee, the school employer may request that an individual provide additional information regarding his or her history of criminal convictions, other than juvenile or sealed convictions, to assist the school employer in determining suitability for direct and unmonitored contact with children.

SECTION 46. Said chapter 459 is hereby further amended by striking out section 9 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 9. Sections 1 and 2 shall apply to all new applicants for licensure, certification or approval, for all household members, age 15 or older, or persons regularly on the premises, age 15 or older, of applicants for family child care licensure, for all applicants to be adoptive or foster parents and their household members age 15 or older, and for all in-home non-relative department funded caregiver applicants, submitted on or after September 1, 2013. All individuals who are currently licensed, certified or approved by the department of early education and care, all household members, age 15 or older, or persons regularly on the premises, age 15 or older of family child care licensees, as well as all in-home non-relative department funded caregivers, shall be required to comply with the requirements of this act upon renewal of licensure, certification, approval or funding, no later than September 1, 2016. Sections 1 and 2 of this act shall also apply to prospective employees in any department of early education and care licensed, funded or approved program who have the potential for unsupervised contact with children, including those providing transportation services on behalf of any department licensed, funded or approved program, hired to begin employment on or after September 1, 2013. Employees in any department of early education and care licensed, funded or approved programs who have the potential for unsupervised contact with children, including those providing transportation services on behalf of any early education and care department licensed, funded or approved program hired prior to that date shall submit fingerprints for state and national criminal history checks no later than September 1, 2016.

Should a state and national fingerprint-based criminal check not be available through the department by September 1, 2013, then all new applications for licensure, certification or approval, all household members, age 15 or older, or persons regularly on the premises, age 15 or older, of applicants for family child care licensure, all applicants to be adoptive or foster parents and their household members age 15 or older, and all in-home non-relative department funded caregiver applicants who apply on or after September 1, 2013, must undergo such a check as soon it becomes available.

Should a state and national fingerprint-based criminal check not be available through the department at the time an application for renewal of a department issued license, certificate, approval or funding request is due, then the applicant for renewal must undergo such a check as soon it becomes available but not later than September 1, 2016.

Should a state and national fingerprint-based criminal check not be available through the department by September 1, 2013, then any prospective employee in any department of early education and care licensed, funded or approved program who has the potential for unsupervised contact with children, including those providing transportation services on behalf of any department licensed, funded or approved program, hired to begin employment on or after September 1, 2013, will be hired conditionally as set forth in this act.

Should a state and national fingerprint-based criminal check not be available through the department by September 1, 2013, then any employee in any department licensed, funded or approved program who has the potential for unsupervised contact with children, including those providing transportation services on behalf of any department licensed, funded or approved program, hired prior to September 1, 2013, who is undergoing a department required periodic CORI and DCF background record checks investigation, may continue employment conditionally as set forth in this act, but must undergo such a check not later than September 1, 2016.

Section 7 and Section 8C shall apply to all individuals in K-12 education whose employment or service for a school or district begins in or after the 2013-2014 school year. Individuals in K-12 education whose employment or service began before the 2013-2014 school year shall submit fingerprints for state and national criminal history checks on a phased-in basis prior to the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year.

SECTION 47. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of health and human services, with the written approval of the secretary of administration and finance, may authorize transfers of surplus among items 4000-0320, 4000-0430, 4000-0500, 4000-0600, 4000-0700, 4000-0870, 4000-0875, 4000-0880, 4000-0890, 4000-0895, 4000-0950, 4000-0990, 4000-1400, 4000-1405 and 4000-1420 of section 2 of chapter 139 of the acts of 2012 for the purpose of reducing any deficiency in these items, but any such transfer shall be made not later than August 30, 2013.

SECTION 48. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of administration and finance may transfer funds from item 1599-1711 to item 1599-1710 of section 2 of chapter 139 of the acts of 2012. The secretary shall notify the house and senate committees on way and means in writing not less than 10 days before directing the comptroller to make any such transfer.

SECTION 49. The salary adjustments and other economic benefits authorized by the following collective bargaining agreements shall be effective for the purposes of section 7 of chapter 150E of the General Laws:

(a) between the University of Massachusetts and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 25 (Unit B33), for the Boston campus;

(b) between the University of Massachusetts and the American Federation of Teachers, Local 1895, AFL-CIO, Faculty Federation (Units D80 and D81), for the Dartmouth campus; and

(c) between the University of Massachusetts and the Federation of Maintenance and Custodial Employees, MFT, AFT, AFL-CIO (Unit D83), for the Dartmouth campus.

SECTION 50. The department of conservation and recreation shall erect and maintain a suitable marker on the Charles river Esplanade in the city of Boston in recognition of David G. Mugar on the 40th Anniversary of the Boston Pops July 4th Fireworks Spectacular.

SECTION 51. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary and in recognition of heroic measures taken by officer Sean Allen Collier to protect the public safety of the commonwealth, who was sworn as a special state police officer under section 63 of chapter 22C of the General Laws and as a deputy sheriff of Middlesex county and Suffolk county, the state retirement board shall issue a killed in the line of duty death benefit to the family of officer Sean Allen Collier under section 100A of chapter 32 of the General Laws. The state retirement board shall administer said benefit according to terms and conditions established for benefits provided under said section 100A of said chapter 32.

SECTION 52. There shall be established upon the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Medical Marijuana Trust Fund, to be expended, without prior appropriation, by the department of public health. Unless a greater amount is authorized by law, the fund shall consist of revenue generated from fees collected after July 1, 2013, as authorized by section 3B of chapter 7 of the General Laws and section 13 of chapter 369 of the acts of 2012. The commissioner of public health or a designee shall be the trustee of the fund and shall make expenditures from the fund for the administrative costs of the associated operations and programs. The department may incur expenses, and the comptroller may certify for payment, amounts in anticipation of expected receipts; provided, however, that no expenditure shall be made from the fund which shall cause the fund to be in deficit at the close of a fiscal year. Moneys deposited in the trust fund that are unexpended at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund. The commissioner shall report annually on March 1 to the house and senate committees on ways and means on factors related to fund, including an analysis of revenue generation, with projections for the forthcoming fiscal year, and an analysis of the services provided based on trust fund expenditures, including the manner in which the trust fund expenditures assist the department in meeting its regulatory mandates.

SECTION 53. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, for fiscal year 2014, the secretary of health and human services shall implement, in its entirety and without being subject to adjustment for the entire fiscal year, section 253 of chapter 224 of the acts of 2012 for its managed care and primary clinician programs.

SECTION 54. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of the commonwealth shall transfer $716,511 from the elections division operating account, in item 0521-0000, to the HAVA Trust Account, in item 0521-0700, in order to meet federal matching fund requirements.

SECTION 55. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the unexpended balances of all capital accounts which otherwise would revert on June 30, 2013, but which are necessary to fund obligations during fiscal year 2014, are hereby re-authorized; provided, however, this re-authorization shall terminate upon enactment of a capital account extension law.

SECTION 57. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department of housing and community development is directed to expend no less than a total of $150,000 for a one-time community action grant in the town of Holbrook in fiscal year 2013, as appropriated for in item 7004-0099.

SECTION 58. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department of correction is directed to expend no less than a total of $2,000,000 for cities and towns hosting department of correction facilities in fiscal year 2013, as appropriated in item 8900-0001; provided, however, that of the $2,000,000, no city or town hosting a department of correction facility shall receive more than $800,000 and shall not receive less than the amount allocated in item 8900-0001 of section 2 of chapter 68 of the acts of 2011.

SECTION 59. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the funds appropriated in item 4000-0265 of section 2A of chapter 142 of the acts of 2011 shall be again appropriated for the same dollar amount in line item 4000-0265 and shall be distributed and managed in the same manner as designated in section 60 of chapter 118 of the acts of 2012.

SECTION 60. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, on or before March 1, 2014, the executive office of health and human services and the executive for administration and finance shall submit a report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on health care financing detailing the cost savings to the Commonwealth that would result from the implementation of a basic health program pursuant to section 9 of chapter 118E and 42 U.S.C. § 18051.

SECTION 61. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department of transitional assistance shall consider the following when determining a person’s eligibility for Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children, or TAFDC, and Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children, or EAEDC, benefits administered by the department: (1) the financial value of business assets; (2) proof of income or assets of unverified applicants; (3) the assets or income of responsible relatives; (4) and the assets or income of immigration sponsors. The department shall consider the discovery of any undisclosed business assets and undisclosed income or assets of responsible relatives or immigration sponsors as potentially disqualifying. In addition, all self-declarations made on and pursuant to an application for public assistance and any landlord verification and shared housing verification forms shall be signed under the pains and penalties of perjury.

SECTION 62. There is hereby established a special task force on state verification and eligibility consisting of 5 members: the state auditor, or a designee; the attorney general, or a designee; the inspector general, or a designee; the state treasurer and receiver general, or a designee; and the secretary of administration and finance, or a designee, who shall serve as chair of the task force. The task force shall, in consultation with the bureau of program integrity established under section 16V of chapter 6A of the General Laws, work to investigate the following issues: (1) the development of a common eligibility standard to be applied to all agencies of the commonwealth administering public assistance programs; (2) the obstacles to the implementation of a common eligibility standard; (3) the fiscal impacts to the commonwealth of implementing a common eligibility standard; (4) any federal limitations on the implementation of such a standard; and (5) any ancillary impacts to the commonwealth or recipients of public benefits. Subject to appropriation, the task force may hire an independent consultant to conduct research and assist with the development of any recommendations. The task force shall report to the general court the results of its investigation and study, and its recommendations, if any, together with drafts of legislation to carry its recommendations into effect, by filing the same with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives on or before December 31, 2013.

SECTION 63. Notwithstanding any special or general law to the contrary, within 12 months of the effective date of this act, for all cardholders over the age of 18, the department of transitional assistance shall replace all existing electronic benefit transfer cards with cards containing a photograph of the cardholder.

SECTION 64. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, and where federally permissible, the department of transitional assistance and the department of elementary and secondary education shall develop and implement a statewide system to verify school attendance.

SECTION 65. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the director of the bureau for program integrity shall review the management and operations of the department of transitional assistance, including any reports conducted by external consultants, and recommend whether the current organizational structure is effective for ensuring that only those persons who are eligible receive public benefits. In examining the organizational structure, the director shall study and report on whether the department would benefit from additional investigators to work with caseworkers to identify cases of waste or abuse. In particular, the director shall make recommendations regarding whether or not more investigators or a third party contractor is required to analyze and review electronic payment processing information control reports provided by the department’s electronic benefit transfer card vendor including, but not limited to: reports on even dollar transactions, out of state card activity, manual card entry, full SNAP balance withdrawal, and multiple transactions within one hour. The director shall also make recommendations on a standardized filing system for case file organization to be implemented throughout all of the department’s offices. The director shall make a report to the general court on the director’s recommendations by filing the same with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives on or before March 1, 2014.

SECTION 66. The executive office of health and human services shall file an annual report with the clerks of the house of representatives and senate on or before October 31, 2013, detailing the status and effectiveness of the integrated eligibility system and the status and effectiveness of mandatory and suggested data matching efforts outlined in section 16W of chapter 6A of the General Laws, including, but not limited to, data matching efforts with the department of revenue, the department of elementary and secondary education, the department of unemployment assistance, the department of industrial accidents, the registry of motor vehicles, the department of criminal justice information services and the department of corrections. The report shall include the number of people enrolled in each public assistance program pursuant to the implementation of the integrated eligibility system, the number of discrepancies identified by the integrated eligibility system, and the number of people whose benefits were terminated pursuant to discrepancies identified by the integrated eligibility system.

SECTION 66A. Item 0511-0000 of chapter 139 of the acts of 2012 is hereby amended by inserting at the end thereof the following words:— ; provided further, that the secretary is directed to transfer $19,547 to the Essex South Registry of Deeds for unanticipated rent costs.

SECTION 67. The integrated eligibility system, established pursuant to section 4 shall be implemented on or before January 1, 2014, for MassHealth and on or before June 1, 2014, for all other public assistance programs under the executive office of health and human services.

SECTION 68. Sections 10 and 14 shall take effect on or before December 31, 2013.

SECTION 69. Section 13 shall take effect on or before July 1, 2014.

SECTION 70. Subsection (c) of section 26A of chapter 18 of the General Laws, as appearing in section 16, shall take effect on July 1, 2015.

SECTION 71. Subsection (d) of section 26A of chapter 18 of the General Laws, as appearing in section 16, shall take effect on July 1, 2016.

SECTION 72. The seventh paragraph of section 2 of chapter 62B of the General Laws, as amended by section 28 of chapter 194 of the acts of 2011, is hereby amended by striking out the first 2 sentences and inserting in place thereof the following 2 sentences:- Every person, including the United States, the commonwealth or any other state, or any political subdivision or instrumentality of the foregoing, making any payment of lottery or wagering winnings, which are subject to tax under chapter 62 and which are subject to withholding under section 3402(q) of the Internal Revenue Code shall deduct and withhold from such payment an amount equal to 5 per cent of such payment. For the purposes of this chapter and chapter 62C, such payment of winnings shall be treated as if it were wages paid by an employer to an employee.

SECTION 73. Chapter 176D of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after

section 3B the following section:-

Section 3C. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-

“Ambulance service provider”, a person or entity licensed by the department of public health under section 6 of chapter 111C to establish or maintain an ambulance service.

“Emergency ambulance services”, emergency services that an ambulance service provider is authorized to render under its ambulance service license when a condition or situation in which an individual has a need for immediate medical attention, or where the potential for such need is perceived by the individual, a bystander or an emergency medical services provider.

“Insurance policy” and “insurance contract”, a contract of insurance, motor vehicle insurance, indemnity, medical or hospital service, dental or optometric, suretyship or annuity issued, proposed for issuance or intended for issuance by any insurer.

“Insured”, an individual entitled to ambulance services benefits under an insurance policy or insurance contract.

“Insurer”, a person as defined in section 1 of chapter 176D; any health maintenance organization as defined in section 1 of chapter 176G; a non-profit hospital service corporation organized under chapter 176A; any organization as defined in section 1 of chapter 176I that participates in a preferred provider arrangement also as defined in said section 1 of said chapter 176I; any carrier offering a small group health insurance plan under chapter 176J; any company as defined in section 1 chapter 175; any employee benefit trust; any self-insurance plan, and any company certified under section 34A of chapter 90 and authorized to issue a policy of motor vehicle liability insurance under section 113A of chapter 175 that provides insurance for the expense of medical coverage.

(b) Notwithstanding any general or special provision of law to the contrary, in any instance in which an ambulance service provider provides an emergency ambulance service to an insured but is not an ambulance service provider under contract to the insurer maintaining or providing the insured’s insurance policy or insurance contract, the insurer maintaining or providing such insurance policy or insurance contract shall pay the ambulance service provider directly and promptly for the emergency ambulance service rendered to the insured. Such payment shall be made to the ambulance service provider notwithstanding that the insured’s insurance policy or insurance contract contains a prohibition against the insured assigning benefits thereunder so long as the insured executes an assignment of benefits to the ambulance service provider and such payment shall be made to the ambulance service provider in the event an insured is either incapable or unable as a practical matter to execute an assignment of benefits under an insurance policy or insurance contract pursuant to which an assignment of benefits is not prohibited, or in connection with an insurance policy or insurance contract that contains a prohibition against any such assignment of benefits. An ambulance service provider shall not be considered to have been paid for an emergency ambulance service rendered to an insured if the insurer makes payment for the emergency ambulance service to the insured. An ambulance service provider shall have a right of action against an insurer that fails to make a payment to it pursuant to this subsection.

(c) Payment to an ambulance service provider under subsection (b) shall be at a rate equal to the rate established by the municipality where the patient was transported from.

(d) An ambulance service provider receiving payment for an ambulance service in accordance with subsections (b) and (c) shall be deemed to have been paid in full for the ambulance service provided to the insured, and shall have no further right or recourse to further bill the insured for said ambulance service with the exception of coinsurance, co-payments or deductibles for which the insured is responsible under the insured’s insurance policy or insurance contract.

(e) No term or provision of this section 3C shall be construed as limiting or adversely affecting an insured’s right to receive benefits under any insurance policy or insurance contract providing insurance coverage for ambulance services. No term or provision of this section 3C shall create an entitlement on behalf of an insured to coverage for ambulance services if the insured’s insurance policy or insurance contract provides no coverage for ambulance services.

SECTION 74. Paragraph 2 of subsection (c) of section 41 of chapter 209 of the acts of 2012 is hereby amended by striking out “July 1, 2013”, as it appears, and inserting in place thereof the following:- October 31, 2013.

SECTION 75. Subsection (c) of Section 100A of Chapter 32 is hereby amended in line 19 after the word “officer”, by inserting the following: “, any municipal or public emergency medical technician”.

SECTION 76. Section 56A of Chapter 215 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting in line 12, after the word “treasurer” the following:—

; provided, however, that no person shall be responsible for paying any guardian ad litem or reimbursing the Commonwealth for such compensation at an hourly rate in excess of the hourly rate paid to counsel for non-homicide children and family law cases pursuant to section 11 of chapter 211D of the General Laws.

SECTION 77. Section 16 of Chapter 208 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting in line 9, after the word “treasurer” the following:—

SECTION 78. Notwithstanding any special or general law to the contrary, the provisions the sections 76 and 77 shall not take effect until such time as (i) the joint committee on the Judiciary conducts an investigation and study of the subject-matter contained therein; and (ii) legislation necessary to carry out the recommendations in the report has been filed and enacted pursuant to Part 2, Chap. 1, Sec. 1, Art. II of the Constitution.

SECTION 79. Notwithstanding any general or special law or regulation to the contrary, the department of environmental protection shall not adopt or implement any regulations not in existence as of January 1, 2013 that relate to or authorize any dam removal project, including without limitation the regulations proposed by the department to be codified at 310 CMR 10.13(2), unless and until such regulations provide for due consideration of land in agricultural or aquacultural use that may be affected by such dam removal.

SECTION 80: The Secretary of Administration and Finance and the Secretary of Health and Human Services are hereby authorized and directed establish a commission to evaluate the feasibility of contracting for recycling durable medical equipment purchased and issued by the Commonwealth through any and all of its medical assistance programs.

Said evaluation shall include but not be limited to a request for qualifications and/or proposals for entities capable of developing, implementing and operating a system of recycling whereby an inventory of such equipment is developed and managed so as to maximize the quality of service delivery to equipment recipients and to minimize costs and losses attributable to waste, fraud and/or abuse.

The Commission will consist of the Secretaries of Administration & Finance and Health & Human Services or their designee, a representative of the medical manufacturing industry, a representative from a Massachusetts hospital, a patient advocate, a representative from the insurance industry, a Senator appointed by the Senate President, a Senator appointed by the Senate Minority leader, a House member appointed by the Speaker, and a House member appointed by the House Minority Leader.

The Commission shall report the findings of said evaluation, together with cost estimates for the operation of a recycling program, estimates of the savings it would generate, estimates for recycling and legislative recommendations, no later than February 1, 2014.