SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1931        FILED ON: 11/18/2013

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Joan B.  Lovely

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

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

An Act establishing a public housing bullying and harassment behavior registry.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1931        FILED ON: 11/18/2013

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Thirteen

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An Act establishing a public housing bullying and harassment behavior registry.

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

SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 121B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting thereof the following:—

“Public Housing Bullying and Harassment Behavior Registry”   a centralized statewide computerized registry reporting the number and incidents of bullying and harassment of a resident or residents by another resident or residents living in a facility administered and under the control of a municipal public housing authority, a public housing development, or any other housing facility administered and under the control of the department”.

“Bullying and Harassment Behavior”  a written, verbal or electronic expression or a physical act or gesture or any combination thereof, directed at a resident or residents by another resident or residents living in a facility administered and under the control of a municipal public housing authority, a public housing development, or any other housing facility administered and under the control of the department that: causes physical or emotional harm to a person or damage to the persons property; places a person  in reasonable fear of harm or of damage to property;creates a hostile environment at a place of domicile, and is not limited to acts reasonably perceived as being motivated by any actual or perceived differentiating characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, socioeconomic status, academic status, gender identity, physical appearance, sexual orientation, or mental, physical, developmental, or sensory disability, or by association with a person who has or is perceived to have one or more of these characteristics.

SECTION 2.  chapter 121B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting in place after section 32F thereof the following:—

SECTION 32G.  There shall be established within the department a centralized statewide computerized system to be known as the Public Housing Bullying and Harassment Registry, herein known as the Registry.  The Registry shall document the number of incidents of bullying and harassment reported by a resident or residents by another resident or residents living in a facility administered and under the control of a municipal public housing authority, a public housing development, or any other housing facility administered and under the control of the department to the management unit of the facility.

The department shall issue an annual report on or before January 31 of each year on its findings describing and analyzing the data collected from the registry on the prevalence and incidents of harassment and bullying of a resident or residents by another resident or residents living in a facility administered and under the control of a municipal public housing authority, a public housing development, or any other housing facility administered and under the control of the department. 

The department shall establish rules and regulations for the collection, dissemination, and reporting of the incidents of bullying and harassment in public housing facilities in the commonwealth to identify problem facilities and to evaluate the safety of residents living in a facility administered and under the control of a municipal public housing authority, a public housing development, or any other housing facility administered and under the control of the department.