HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3788        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2520

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Jon Santiago

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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 addressing disparities in gun violence and mortality.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3788        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2520

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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

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An Act relative to addressing disparities in gun violence and mortality.

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. (a) There shall be a multi-agency illicit firearms task force, the purpose of which shall include, but not be limited to, coordinating efforts to combat illicit firearm distribution, sales, and possession. The task force shall seek to foster compliance with the state’s firearms laws and ensure appropriate public health and public safety protections. The task force shall support, coordinate, and conduct targeted investigations and enforcement actions against persons distributing and possessing illicit firearms. The task force shall be co-chaired by the attorney general or a designee and the colonel of the state police or a designee and shall also consist of: the secretary of public safety and security or a designee; the commissioner of public health or a designee; a representative of the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association; one municipal chief of police appointed by the governor; and one representative of a major city patrolmen's association appointed by the governor.

(b) The task force shall:

(i) accept referrals of potential investigative interest from state and municipal law enforcement, other state and municipal agencies and the general public;

(ii) facilitate timely information sharing among state and municipal agencies in order to advise or refer matters of potential investigative interest;

(iii) identify where illicit firearms distribution, sales and possession is most prevalent and target

task force members’ investigative and enforcement resources, including through the formation of joint investigative and enforcement teams;

(iv) assess existing investigative and enforcement methods in the commonwealth and in other

jurisdictions in order to develop and recommend strategies to improve such methods;

(v) solicit the cooperation and participation of other relevant enforcement agencies, including federal law enforcement and investigative bodies and establish procedures for referring cases to prosecuting authorities as appropriate; and

(vi) provide reports of affirmative investigative findings to the appropriate federal, state and municipal law enforcement agencies.

(c) The task force shall meet at times and places to be determined by the co-chairs and may

establish working groups, meetings, forums or any other activity deemed necessary to carry out

its mandate. At the discretion of the co-chairs, the Task Force may invite participation from other non-voting, non-members, including federal agencies. Due to the sensitive, investigative nature of the task force’s work, meetings of the task force shall not be subject to chapter 30A, and all materials other than the Task Force’s annual report required by subsection (d) shall not, unless otherwise determined by the co-chairs be considered a public record as defined by clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4.

(d) The task force shall submit a report not later than March 1 of each year on the results of its

findings, activities and recommendations from the preceding year with the clerks of the senate

and house of representatives, the chairs of the senate and house committees on ways and means, the chairs of the joint committee on public safety and homeland security, and the chairs of the joint committee on public health. The annual report shall include, but not be limited to: (i) a description of the task force’s efforts and activities during the previous year; (ii) identification of

any administrative or legal barriers, including any barriers to multi-agency action or enforcement

efforts; and (iii) proposed legislative or regulatory changes necessary to strengthen operations

and enforcement efforts and reduce or eliminate any impediments to such efforts.

SECTION 2. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the commissioner of public health shall declare a public health emergency pursuant to section 2A of chapter 17 of the General Laws regarding gun violence in the commonwealth.

SECTION 3. There shall be a special commission to review current laws, regulations and policies to reduce gun violence and mortality within the commonwealth. The commission shall consist of 15 members: 1 of whom shall be the attorney general or a designee, who shall serve as chair; 1 of whom shall be the secretary of public safety and security or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the colonel of the state police or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the commissioner of public health or a designee; 1 of whom shall be appointed by the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association; 1 of whom shall be appointed by the Massachusetts Coalition of Police Inc.; 1 of whom shall be appointed by the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association Incorporated; 1 of whom shall be appointed by the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Gun Violence Prevention; 1 of whom shall be appointed by the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence; 1 of whom shall be the director of the division of violence and injury prevention at the department of public health; 1 of whom shall be appointed by Roca, Inc.;  1 of whom shall be appointed by the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute; 1 of whom shall be appointed by the Northeastern University Center on Crime and Community Resilience; and 2 of whom shall be appointed by the governor, both of whom shall have been significantly impacted by gun violence.

The commission shall examine current laws, regulations, policies and programs that could be amended to reduce the impact, whether directly or indirectly, of gun violence and mortality in the commonwealth. In making such findings, the commission shall recommend amendments to state law and programming to reduce or eliminate racial and ethnic inequities.

The commission shall file the results of its review, together with all potential changes to law, regulation, policy, or programming, whether recommended or not, that commission deems to have a likelihood to reduce gun violence in the commonwealth and the negative downstream impacts thereof, by filing the same with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate who shall forward a copy of the study to the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on public safety and homeland security and the joint committee on public health not later than April 1, 2022.