HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1008        FILED ON: 1/14/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1255

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Michael S. Day

_________________

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

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

An Act to protect the privacy of 911 callers.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Michael S. Day

31st Middlesex

1/14/2015

Colleen M. Garry

36th Middlesex

9/16/2019

Brian M. Ashe

2nd Hampden

9/16/2019

Michael O. Moore

Second Worcester

9/16/2019

Joseph W. McGonagle, Jr.

28th Middlesex

9/16/2019

Marjorie C. Decker

25th Middlesex

9/16/2019

Jason M. Lewis

Fifth Middlesex

9/16/2019

Carmine L. Gentile

13th Middlesex

9/16/2019

James R. Miceli

19th Middlesex

9/16/2019

Timothy R. Whelan

1st Barnstable

9/16/2019

Timothy J. Toomey, Jr.

26th Middlesex

9/16/2019

David K. Muradian, Jr.

9th Worcester

9/16/2019


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1008        FILED ON: 1/14/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1255

By Mr. Day of Stoneham, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1255) of Michael S. Day and others relative to audio recordings and written transcripts of phone calls made to the 911 emergency system.  The Judiciary.

 

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 1458 OF 2013-2014.]

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

_______________

 

An Act to protect the privacy of 911 callers.

 

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. Chapter 6A of the Massachusetts General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following section:-

Section 18M. The audio recording of a call placed to a 911 system for the purpose of requesting service from a law enforcement, fire, or medical agency is private data on individuals with respect to the individual making the call, except that a written transcript of the audio recording is public. A transcript shall be prepared upon request. The person requesting the transcript shall pay the actual cost of transcribing the call, in addition to any other applicable costs for transcript preparation. The audio recording may be disseminated to law enforcement agencies for investigative purposes. The audio recording may be used for public safety and emergency medical services training purposes.

The release of the audio recording of a 911 telephone call without the express written consent of the caller or the caller’s legal representative shall be prohibited, except pursuant to a court order finding that the right of the public to the release of the recording outweighs the privacy interests of the individual who made the 911 call or any person involved in the facts or circumstances relating to the 911 call. This section shall not apply to law enforcement personnel conducting an investigation where the 911 telephone call is or may be relevant to the investigation.