FILED ON: 3/7/2016

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2168

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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

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An Act updating terminology and investigative practices related to the protection of persons with a disability.

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 19 of chapter 19B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 126, 139, 280 and 281, 305, 384, 390 and 391, and in lines 394 and 395, the words “disabled persons protection commission” and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- commission for the protection of persons with disabilities.

SECTION 1A. Chapter 19C of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the title and inserting in place thereof the following title:- COMMISSION FOR THE PROTECTION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.

SECTION 1B.  Section 1 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 4, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 2. Said section 1 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 9, the words “disabled person’s”.

SECTION 3. Said section 1 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 10, the words “a disabled person’s health or welfare” and inserting in place there of the following words:- the health and welfare of a person with a disability.

SECTION 4. Said section 1 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 11, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 4A. Said section 1 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 13, the words “disabled persons protection commission” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- commission for the protection of persons with disabilities.

SECTION 5. Said section 1 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the definitions of “Disabled person”, “General counsel” and “Mandated reporter” and inserting in place thereof the following 2 definitions:- 

“Mandated reporter”, any physician, medical intern, hospital personnel engaged in the examination, care or treatment of persons, medical examiner, dentist, psychologist, nurse, chiropractor, podiatrist, osteopath, public or private school teacher, educational administrator, guidance or family counselor, day care worker, probation officer, social worker, foster parent, police officer, firefighter, paramedic, emergency medical technician or person employed by a state agency as defined by this chapter or employed by a private agency providing services to a person with a disability who, in that person’s professional capacity shall have reasonable cause to believe that a person with a disability is suffering from a reportable condition.

“Person with a disability”, a person between the ages of 18 to 59, inclusive, who is a person with an intellectual or developmental disability as defined by section 1 of chapter 123B or who is otherwise mentally or physically disabled and as a result of that mental or physical disability is wholly or partially dependent on others to meet that person’s daily living needs; provided, however, that the term “person with a disability” shall replace the term “disabled person” without changing the meaning.

SECTION 6. Said section 1 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 38 and 40, the words “disabled person or persons” and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 7. Said section 1 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 41, the words “disabled persons” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- persons with a disability.

SECTION 8. Said section 1 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the definition of “State agency” and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-

“State agency”, any agency of the commonwealth that provides services or treatment to persons with a disability, including a private entity providing such services or treatment pursuant to a contract, license or agreement with an agency of the commonwealth.

SECTION 9. Section 2 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out in line 2, the first time it appears, the words “disabled persons” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- persons with a disability.

SECTION 9A. Said section 2 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 2 and 3, the words “disabled persons protection commission” and inserting in place thereof the following words: - commission for the protection of persons with disabilities.

SECTION 9B Said section 2 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 5, the words “disabled persons” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- persons with a disability.

SECTION 10. Section 3 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 20 and 21, the words “disabled persons” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- persons with a disability.

SECTION 11. Said section 3 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 22, the word “other”.

SECTION 12.  Said section 3 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 28 and 29, the words “disabled persons” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- persons with a disability.

SECTION 13. Said section 3 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 32, the words “sixty-six and sixty-six A;” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- 66 and 66A; except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all records containing personal data which are created, collected, used, maintained or disseminated pursuant to this chapter shall not be public records and shall be governed by chapter 66A.

SECTION 14. Section 4 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 1, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- person with a disability, and subject to the commission’s authority to conduct its own investigation.

SECTION 15. Said section 4 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (b) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(b) For the purpose of providing protective services, immediately refer any such reports, which allege the existence of an imminent risk of serious injury to any person with a disability or which allege the occurrence of abuse of a person with a disability whose caretaker is a state agency, to the department within the executive office of health and human services which has jurisdiction over the disability manifested by the person with a disability. As determined and assigned by the commission, either the commission or that agency, subject to the oversight of the commission, shall investigate such abuse as provided in section 5. In a case where a commission investigation is being conducted, the state agency shall take reasonable steps to avoid unnecessary, unwarranted or counterproductive duplication between an internal investigation or inquiry by the agency and the commission’s investigation, by utilizing the commission’s investigation in lieu of an internal investigation conducted by the agency.

SECTION 16. Subsection (c) of said section 4 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

For the purpose of providing protective services, immediately refer any such reports which allege the existence of imminent risk of serious injury to any person with a disability or which allege the occurrence of abuse of a person with a disability whose caretaker is not a state agency, to the department within the executive office of health and human services which the commission determines, based on the person’s disability, would most likely either provide services or treatment to the person with a disability or license an entity to provide or contract with or enter into an agreement to provide services or treatment to the person with a disability. As determined and assigned by the commission, either the commission or the agency, subject to the oversight of the commission, shall investigate such abuse as provided in section 5.

SECTION 17. Said section 4 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 35, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 18. Said section 4 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 42, the word “commissioners” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- commission.

SECTION 19. Said section 4 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “of”, in line 56, the third time it appears, the following words:- licensed or.

SECTION 20. Said section 4 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 58, the word “department’s” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- agency’s.

SECTION 21. Section 5 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 1, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 22. Said section 5 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “designated”, in line 2, the following words:- and assigned.

SECTION 23. Said section 5 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 2 to 4, inclusive, the words “ , the general counsel, or a department within the executive office of health and human services”.

SECTION 24. Said section 5 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 7 and 8, the words “counsel or department of mental health or department of public health” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- department of mental health, department of developmental services or the Massachusetts rehabilitation commission.

SECTION 25. Said section 5 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 9, the words “disabled person’s health or safety” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- health or safety of a person with a disability.

SECTION 26. Said section 5 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 12, the words “disabled person’s residence and day program” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- residence and day program of a person with a disability.

SECTION 27. Said section 5 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 13, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 28. Said section 5 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 17 to 19, inclusive, the words “to the general counsel and to the department of mental health and the department of public health” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- and to the department of mental health, department of developmental services or the Massachusetts rehabilitation commission, as appropriate.

SECTION 29. Said section 5 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 33, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 30. Said section 5 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 46 and 47, the words “the general counsel, the department of mental health and the department of public health” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- and to the department of mental health, department of developmental services or the Massachusetts rehabilitation commission, as appropriate,.

SECTION 31. Said section 5 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 50, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 32. Said section 5 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 52, the words “, the general counsel”.

SECTION 33. Said section 5 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 63, 73, 75, 77 and 78, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 34. Section 6 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

The commission, acting through state agencies within the executive office of health and human services designated by the commission for the purpose of providing protective services to prevent further abuse in cases investigated pursuant to this chapter and subject to the oversight of the commission, shall:-

SECTION 35. Said section 6 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 10 and 15, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 36. Section 7 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 1 and 2, the words “the general counsel, the department of mental health or the department of public health,” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- the department of mental health, the department of developmental services or the Massachusetts rehabilitation commission.

SECTION 37. Said section 7 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 4, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 38.  Said section 7 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 5 and 6, the words “, counsel or department” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- or agency.

SECTION 39.  Said section 7 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 6 and 7, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 40.  Said section 7 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 9, the words “, counsel or department” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- or agency.

SECTION 41. Said section 7 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 12, 13, 16, 17 and 18, 20, 21, 22, 29, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 42.  Said section 7 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 33 and 34, the words “, counsel or department” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- or agency.

SECTION 43.  Said section 7 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 35, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 44.  Said section 7 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 37, the words “, counsel or department” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- or agency.

SECTION 45. Said section 7 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 39 and 40, 46, 47 and 48, 59 and 61, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 46.  Said section 7 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 62, the words “, counsel or department” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- or agency.

SECTION 47. Said section 7 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 65, 67 and 68, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 48. Section 8 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 2, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 49. Said section 8 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 6, the words “disabled persons” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- persons with a disability.

SECTION 50. Section 10 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 7, 13, 19 and 29, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 51.  Section 11 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 6, the words “, the general counsel”.

SECTION 52. Said section 11 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 9, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 53. Section 13 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 1, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 54. Said section 13 of chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “with”, in line 3, the following words: - or licensed by.

SECTION 55. Said section 13 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 8, the words “disabled person” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- person with a disability.

SECTION 56. Section 220 of chapter 111 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 20 to 21, the words “disabled persons protection commission” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- commission for the protection of persons with disabilities.