HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 743        FILED ON: 1/14/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2121

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Stephen L. DiNatale

_________________

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 relative to hidden compartments.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Stephen L. DiNatale

3rd Worcester

1/14/2015

Jennifer L. Flanagan

Worcester and Middlesex

1/16/2015

Dennis A. Rosa

4th Worcester

1/16/2015

Sheila C. Harrington

1st Middlesex

1/16/2015

Brian M. Ashe

2nd Hampden

2/1/2015

Thomas J. Calter

12th Plymouth

2/3/2015

James J. Dwyer

30th Middlesex

1/20/2015

John V. Fernandes

10th Worcester

2/4/2015

Steven S. Howitt

4th Bristol

1/26/2015

Angelo J. Puppolo, Jr.

12th Hampden

2/4/2015

Chris Walsh

6th Middlesex

2/4/2015

Timothy R. Whelan

1st Barnstable

1/21/2015

Jonathan D. Zlotnik

2nd Worcester

1/21/2015


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 743        FILED ON: 1/14/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2121

By Mr. DiNatale of Fitchburg, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2121) of Stephen L. DiNatale and others relative to the penalties for the use or manufacture of hidden compartments for the purpose of transporting or distributing controlled substances.  Public Safety and Homeland Security.

 

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 3240 OF 2013-2014.]

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

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

_______________

 

An Act relative to hidden compartments.

 

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

Chapter 94C of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 32K the following section:

Section 32L: Hidden compartment in conveyance; construction, possession or use in distribution of controlled substances and paraphernalia; penalties.

(a)  Definition: As used in this section, the term “hidden compartment” shall be defined as any after-market hidden or secret compartment that is operated electronically, mechanically, or manually and has been installed in or attached to a conveyance including any aircraft, vehicle, or vessel, or any factory-designed void in such a conveyance that has been modified, altered, or changed to function as a hidden compartment.

b)  Any person who possesses, uses, or controls a conveyance containing a hidden compartment with the intent to secrete, store, or transport (i) any controlled substances which have been manufactured, delivered, distributed, dispensed or acquired in violation of this chapter, (ii) any materials, products, and equipment of any kind used or intended for use, in the manufacturing, compounding, processing, delivering, dispensing, distributing, importing, or exporting of any controlled substance in violation of this chapter, (iii) any drug paraphernalia, (iv) any moneys, negotiable instruments, securities, or other things of value furnished or intended to be furnished by any person in exchange for a controlled substance in violation of this chapter, all proceeds traceable to such an exchange, including currency and any other thing of value, and all moneys, negotiable instruments, and securities used or intended to be used to facilitate any violation of the provisions of section thirty-two, thirty-two A, thirty-two B, thirty-two C, thirty-two D, thirty-two E, thirty-two F, thirty-two G, thirty-two I, thirty-two J, or forty of this chapter, and (v) firearms, ammunition, or other weapons, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than 3 years and not more than 5 years, or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years.  No sentence imposed under the provisions of this section shall be less than a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 2 years.  The penalty for a second or subsequent offense shall be imprisonment in the state prison for not less than 5 and not more than 10 years after a second offense.

(c)  Any person who designs, constructs, builds, alters or fabricates a hidden compartment intended for the use in or attached to a conveyance, or installs in or attaches a hidden compartment to a conveyance with the intent to secrete, store, or transport any of the items listed in subsection (b) shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than 3 years and not more than 5 years, or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years.  No sentence imposed under the provisions of this section shall be less than a mandatory minimum tern of imprisonment of 2 years.  The penalty for a second or subsequent offense shall be imprisonment in the state prison for not less than 5 and not more than 10 years after a second offense. 

(d)  Forfeiture: Any conveyance containing a hidden compartment, as well as the contents of the hidden compartment, shall be subject to seizure by any city, town, or state police department and subject to the provisions of Section 47 of this chapter.  Proof that a conveyance contains a hidden compartment as defined in this section shall be prima facie evidence that the conveyance was used intended for use in and for the business of unlawfully manufacturing, dispensing, or distributing controlled substances.

Removal of the hidden compartment from the conveyance, or the promise to do so, shall not be the basis for a defense to forfeiture of the conveyance under Section 47 of this chapter and shall not be the basis for the court to release the conveyance to the owner.