HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2574        FILED ON: 2/18/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1781

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Joseph W. McGonagle, Jr.

_________________

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 the offense of assault and battery upon a transit worker.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Joseph W. McGonagle, Jr.

28th Middlesex

2/18/2021

Tram T. Nguyen

18th Essex

2/19/2021

Jessica Ann Giannino

16th Suffolk

2/19/2021

David Allen Robertson

19th Middlesex

2/19/2021

Jay D. Livingstone

8th Suffolk

2/22/2021

Daniel J. Hunt

13th Suffolk

2/22/2021

Steven Ultrino

33rd Middlesex

2/22/2021

Steven G. Xiarhos

5th Barnstable

2/22/2021

Kathleen R. LaNatra

12th Plymouth

2/22/2021

Adrian C. Madaro

1st Suffolk

2/23/2021

David F. DeCoste

5th Plymouth

2/23/2021

William J. Driscoll, Jr.

7th Norfolk

2/23/2021

Paul J. Donato

35th Middlesex

2/23/2021

Kay Khan

11th Middlesex

2/23/2021

Michael S. Day

31st Middlesex

2/25/2021

Bradley H. Jones, Jr.

20th Middlesex

2/25/2021

Josh S. Cutler

6th Plymouth

2/26/2021

Christina A. Minicucci

14th Essex

2/26/2021

Daniel J. Ryan

2nd Suffolk

2/26/2021

Brian W. Murray

10th Worcester

2/26/2021

Tackey Chan

2nd Norfolk

3/4/2021

David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf

17th Worcester

3/10/2021

Christine P. Barber

34th Middlesex

3/11/2021

Tommy Vitolo

15th Norfolk

3/14/2021

Adam J. Scanlon

14th Bristol

3/15/2021

Maria Duaime Robinson

6th Middlesex

4/1/2021

Walter F. Timilty

Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth

4/15/2021

Natalie M. Higgins

4th Worcester

9/3/2021


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2574        FILED ON: 2/18/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1781

By Mr. McGonagle of Everett, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1781) of Joseph W. McGonagle, Jr., and others relative to the offense of assault and battery upon transit workers.  The Judiciary.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

_______________

 

An Act relative to the offense of assault and battery upon a transit worker.

 

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 265 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 13D ½ the following section:-

Section 13D ¾. (a) For the purposes of this section, “bodily substance” shall mean any human secretion, discharge or emission including, but not limited to, blood, saliva, mucous, semen, urine or feces.

(b) Whoever commits an assault and battery upon a public transit worker when such person is engaged in the performance of his duties at the time of such assault and battery shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than 90 days nor more than 2 1/2 years in a house of correction or by a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000.

An officer authorized to make arrests may arrest any person upon probable cause and without a warrant if the person has committed an offense under this section upon a transit worker when the employee was operating a public transit vehicle and the officer may keep the person in custody during which period the officer shall seek the issuance of a complaint and request a bail determination with all reasonable promptness.

Assault and battery upon a public transit worker shall include acts of expectorating or flinging a bodily substance at or onto a transit worker or of throwing or flinging any unspecified fluid at or onto a transit worker while such person is engaged in the performance of their duties.