HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1520        FILED ON: 1/16/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3573

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Ruth B. Balser and Liz Miranda

_________________

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 civil rights and safety of all Massachusetts residents.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Ruth B. Balser

12th Middlesex

1/16/2019

Liz Miranda

5th Suffolk

1/18/2019

James B. Eldridge

Middlesex and Worcester

1/16/2019

Michael J. Moran

18th Suffolk

1/17/2019

Carolyn C. Dykema

8th Middlesex

1/23/2019

William J. Driscoll, Jr.

7th Norfolk

1/17/2019

Louis L. Kafka

8th Norfolk

1/28/2019

Jason M. Lewis

Fifth Middlesex

1/23/2019

Carlos González

10th Hampden

1/23/2019

Thomas M. Stanley

9th Middlesex

1/23/2019

Dylan A. Fernandes

Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket

1/23/2019

Smitty Pignatelli

4th Berkshire

1/25/2019

David Paul Linsky

5th Middlesex

1/24/2019

Jennifer E. Benson

37th Middlesex

1/29/2019

Sonia Chang-Diaz

Second Suffolk

1/24/2019

Aaron Vega

5th Hampden

1/24/2019

John J. Lawn, Jr.

10th Middlesex

1/25/2019

David M. Rogers

24th Middlesex

1/25/2019

Sarah K. Peake

4th Barnstable

1/29/2019

Tami L. Gouveia

14th Middlesex

1/18/2019

Lindsay N. Sabadosa

1st Hampshire

1/17/2019

Denise Provost

27th Middlesex

1/22/2019

Christine P. Barber

34th Middlesex

1/25/2019

José F. Tosado

9th Hampden

1/25/2019

Jack Patrick Lewis

7th Middlesex

1/22/2019

Kevin G. Honan

17th Suffolk

1/29/2019

Harriette L. Chandler

First Worcester

1/25/2019

Mike Connolly

26th Middlesex

1/22/2019

Tommy Vitolo

15th Norfolk

1/27/2019

Sean Garballey

23rd Middlesex

1/27/2019

Tram T. Nguyen

18th Essex

1/27/2019

Mary S. Keefe

15th Worcester

1/28/2019

Jonathan Hecht

29th Middlesex

1/28/2019

Steven Ultrino

33rd Middlesex

1/28/2019

Adrian C. Madaro

1st Suffolk

1/28/2019

Maria Duaime Robinson

6th Middlesex

1/22/2019

Peter Capano

11th Essex

1/29/2019

James J. O'Day

14th Worcester

1/30/2019

Carmine Lawrence Gentile

13th Middlesex

1/29/2019

Christina A. Minicucci

14th Essex

1/29/2019

Michael J. Barrett

Third Middlesex

1/29/2019

Gerard J. Cassidy

9th Plymouth

1/29/2019

Frank A. Moran

17th Essex

1/29/2019

Natalie M. Blais

1st Franklin

1/29/2019

Jay D. Livingstone

8th Suffolk

1/29/2019

Denise C. Garlick

13th Norfolk

1/29/2019

Kay Khan

11th Middlesex

1/30/2019

Joseph A. Boncore

First Suffolk and Middlesex

1/30/2019

Natalie M. Higgins

4th Worcester

1/30/2019

Edward F. Coppinger

10th Suffolk

1/30/2019

Bud L. Williams

11th Hampden

1/30/2019

Michelle M. DuBois

10th Plymouth

1/30/2019

Marcos A. Devers

16th Essex

1/30/2019

Daniel J. Ryan

2nd Suffolk

1/30/2019

Patricia D. Jehlen

Second Middlesex

1/30/2019

Paul McMurtry

11th Norfolk

1/30/2019

Russell E. Holmes

6th Suffolk

1/30/2019

Paul R. Feeney

Bristol and Norfolk

1/30/2019

Elizabeth A. Malia

11th Suffolk

1/30/2019

Sal N. DiDomenico

Middlesex and Suffolk

1/30/2019

Brendan P. Crighton

Third Essex

1/30/2019

Daniel J. Hunt

13th Suffolk

1/30/2019

Rady Mom

18th Middlesex

1/31/2019

John J. Mahoney

13th Worcester

1/31/2019

Tricia Farley-Bouvier

3rd Berkshire

1/31/2019

Mindy Domb

3rd Hampshire

1/31/2019

Marjorie C. Decker

25th Middlesex

1/31/2019

Daniel R. Cullinane

12th Suffolk

1/31/2019

Antonio F. D. Cabral

13th Bristol

1/31/2019

Daniel Cahill

10th Essex

1/31/2019

Joan Meschino

3rd Plymouth

1/31/2019

David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf

17th Worcester

1/31/2019

Nika C. Elugardo

15th Suffolk

1/31/2019

Paul F. Tucker

7th Essex

2/1/2019

Daniel R. Carey

2nd Hampshire

2/1/2019

Andres X. Vargas

3rd Essex

2/1/2019

Lori A. Ehrlich

8th Essex

2/1/2019

Jon Santiago

9th Suffolk

2/1/2019

Paul W. Mark

2nd Berkshire

2/1/2019

Michelle L. Ciccolo

15th Middlesex

2/1/2019

Rebecca L. Rausch

Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex

2/1/2019

William C. Galvin

6th Norfolk

2/1/2019

John H. Rogers

12th Norfolk

2/1/2019

James K. Hawkins

2nd Bristol

2/1/2019

Julian Cyr

Cape and Islands

2/1/2019


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1520        FILED ON: 1/16/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3573

By Representatives Balser of Newton and Miranda of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3573) of Ruth B. Balser, Liz Miranda and others relative to introductory and in-service training programs of law enforcement agencies in the Commonwealth.  Public Safety and Homeland Security.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

_______________

 

An Act to protect the civil rights and safety of all Massachusetts residents.

 

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. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Safe Communities Act”

SECTION 2. Chapter 147 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 62 the following section:-

Section 63. Updates to Law Enforcement Procedures

(a) Definitions

As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

“Law enforcement agency”, any state, municipal, college or university police department, sheriff’s department, correctional facility, prosecutorial office, court, probation office, or program of one or more of the foregoing entities, or any other non-federal entity in the commonwealth charged with the enforcement of laws or the custody of detained persons.

“Immigration enforcement”, any and all efforts to investigate, enforce, or assist in investigating or enforcing any federal immigration law. Such purposes do not include verification of an applicant’s eligibility for state or federal programs or services.

“United States Department of Homeland Security” or “DHS”, the United States Department of Homeland Security and its component agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, Customs and Border Protection, and any other federal agency charged with enforcing immigration laws.

(b) Community relations with law enforcement agencies

Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, no officer or employee of a law enforcement agency, while acting under color of law, shall question persons, including victims and witnesses of crimes, about their immigration status unless state or federal law requires the inquiry, provided that judges and magistrates may make such inquiries as are necessary to adjudicate matters within their jurisdictions.

(c) Due process protections

Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, an interview, including any informal questioning, between an agent of the United States Department of Homeland Security or state or local law enforcement agent and a person in the custody of a law enforcement agency conducted for immigration enforcement purposes shall take place only if the person in custody gives informed consent by signing a written consent form provided by the law enforcement agency. The consent form shall explain that: (i) the interview is for immigration enforcement or deportation purposes; (ii) any information provided at the interview can be used against the person; (iii) the person may decline to sign any documents that are presented during the interview; and (iv) the person may choose to decline the interview or to be interviewed only with an attorney present, at the person’s own expense. The consent form shall provide a checkbox or other means to indicate if an interview has taken place, and if so, if an attorney was present. The consent form shall be available in English and other languages commonly spoken in Massachusetts. The law enforcement agency shall make best efforts to provide a consent form that is in a language that the person understands, and to provide oral interpretation if needed, in order to obtain the person’s informed consent for the interview. The office of the attorney general shall prepare the consent form and make it available to law enforcement agencies, and may work with interested not-for-profit organizations to prepare translations of the form.

Any and all records relating to the granting of these interviews or questioning shall be public records as defined in paragraph 26 of section 7 of chapter 4, provided that names, addresses, phone numbers and other personal identifying information shall not be a public record. These records include the signed consent forms obtained before the interviews, and information about whether the interview or questioning was conducted in the presence of an attorney.

(d) The preceding subsections (b) and (c) shall not apply to interviews or questioning of persons who are held in Massachusetts correctional facilities under an Inter-Governmental Service Agreement with the United States Department of Homeland Security, provided, however, that persons who are booked into a correctional facility under such an agreement shall be advised at the booking that the person (i) has the right to seek legal counsel from an immigration attorney at their own expense; (ii) may choose to decline to speak with a DHS agent or to speak with the DHS agent only with an attorney present; and (iii) may decline to sign any documents presented by a DHS agent.

(e) Guidelines for reporting release information

Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, no officer or employee of a law enforcement agency shall notify the United States Department of Homeland Security, including in response to a request on federal form I-247A or I-247-N or any other formal or informal request, about the pending or imminent release, from state or local custody, of a person who is being released for any reason other than the end of a sentence of incarceration for a criminal conviction; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall prohibit or restrain any state or local agency from sending to, or receiving from, any local, state, or federal agency, information regarding citizenship or immigration status.

If a law enforcement agency receives a request for notification from the United States Department of Homeland Security regarding a person in its custody, including a request for notification under to federal form I-247A or I-247N, the law enforcement agency shall provide the person with a copy of the form and copies of any other documentation pertaining to the person’s case that is presented to the law enforcement agency by the United States Department of Homeland Security.

(f) Implementation and training

Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, all law enforcement agencies in the commonwealth shall, within 12 months of passage of this act, incorporate information and guidance regarding this section into their regular introductory and in-service training programs. An individual may file a complaint for a violation of this section with the corresponding department or agency and with the attorney general’s civil rights division, which shall compile an annual report summarizing the complaints and may investigate where appropriate.  If a law enforcement agency receives a complaint or report about a violation of this section, the agency shall investigate and take appropriate disciplinary or other action with respect to the relevant officer or officers. A complaint and the annual report made under this subsection shall be public records as defined in paragraph 26 of section 7 of chapter 4, provided that personal identifying information shall not be a public record.

SECTION 3. Chapter 126 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 39 the following section:-

Section 40. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, no officer or employee of the department of corrections, the state police, any sheriff’s department, or any city or town police department shall perform the functions of an immigration officer, whether pursuant to 8 U.S.C. section 1357(g) or any other law, regulation, or policy, whether formal or informal. Any agreements in existence at the time of the passage of the law that are inconsistent with this section are null and void. Any entity of the commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof that is a party to such an agreement on the date of the passage of this act shall, within 90 days, inform the other party or parties that the contract is null and void under Massachusetts law. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the department of correction or a house of correction from entering into an Inter-Governmental Service Agreement with the United States Department of Homeland Security in which persons in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody are housed at the house of correction and the United States Department of Homeland Security pays a daily fee for each person detained there.