SECTION 1: Chapter 148 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition is hereby amended by inserting after Section 26I, the following new section:

Section 26J:  (a) At the time of or prior to agreeing to final pricing for construction of a new dwelling with a buyer, a builder shall provide the buyer with a copy of written materials prepared and promulgated by the Department of Fire Services which detail the benefits of an automatic fire sprinkler system. At the same time, a builder shall provide written materials including the costs associated with the installation and maintenance of an automatic fire sprinkler system. The buyer shall acknowledge receipt of the written materials in writing. Upon request of the buyer, the builder shall, at the buyer's expense, install an automatic fire sprinkler system or other requested fire suppression system.

(b) Upon a finding that any person has willfully violated this section, the person shall pay for the first offense a civil penalty not less than $75, and for each subsequent offense, a civil penalty not less than $150. For purposes of this section, a willful violation occurs when the person committing the violation knew or should have known that the conduct was of the nature prohibited by this section.