HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 421        FILED ON: 1/21/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 757

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Alan Silvia

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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 protecting elders from bullying.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 421        FILED ON: 1/21/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 757

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 628 OF 2019-2020.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

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

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An Act protecting elders from bullying.

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 14 of chapter 19A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Abuse” the following definition:-

“Bullying”, an act of intimidation or harassment that causes a reasonable person to fear for his or her physical safety or property and may consist of physical actions, cyberbullying, oral, written, or electronic communication, or retaliation for reporting such acts.

SECTION 2. Subsection (a) of section 15 of said chapter 19A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “aging”, in line 6, the following words:- , housing authority employee.

SECTION 3. Said subsection (a) of said section 15 of said chapter 19A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “abuse”, in line 10, the following words:- or bullying.

SECTION 4. Subsection (b) of said section 15 of said chapter 19A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “abused”, in line 20, the following words:- or bullied.

SECTION 5. Subsection (c) of said section 15 of said chapter 19A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “abuse”, in line 30, the following words:- or bullying.

SECTION 6. Subsection (d) of said section 15  of said chapter 19A, as so  appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “abuse”, in lines 34, 38 and 41, in each instance, the following words:- or bullying.

SECTION 7. Subsection (e) of said section 15 of said chapter 19A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “abuse”, in lines 50 and 56,  in each instance, the following words:- or bullying.

SECTION 8. Said section 15 of said chapter 19A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following subsection:-

(g) If the department or its designated agency receives a report of abuse or bullying pursuant to this section and the elderly person who is the subject of the report is a recipient of state or federal rental housing assistance, including but not limited to a tenant of a housing authority as defined in section 1 of chapter 121B or a tenant of publically-assisted housing as defined in section 1 of chapter 40T, the department or designated agency shall submit a copy of such report to the department of housing and community development.  The department of housing and community development shall maintain a central database of all reports and the tenant and housing unit or units involved in each report. The department of housing and community development shall send quarterly reports, as follows, to each:

(i) housing authority, of the reports submitted pursuant to this section involving a tenant who resides in a unit that the housing authority  owns or administers or administers the rental housing assistance for;

(ii) administering agency under contract to the department of housing and community development to administer a rental voucher program, of the reports submitted pursuant to this section involving a tenant who resides in a unit that the agency administers the rental housing assistance for; and

(iii) manager of publically-assisted housing as defined in section 1 of chapter 40T, of the reports submitted pursuant to this section involving a tenant who resides in a unit under their management. 

SECTION 9. Subsection (a) of section 16 of said chapter 19A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “abused”, in line 3, the following words:- or bullied.

SECTION 10. Subsection (b) of said section 16 of said chapter 19A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “abuse”, in lines 13 and 14, in each instance, the following words:- or bullying.

SECTION 11. Subsection (c) of said section 16 of said chapter 19A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “abuse”, in line 41, the following words:- or bullying.

SECTION 12. Clause (1) of section 17 of said chapter 19A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “abuse” the following words:- or bullying.

SECTION 13. Subsection (a) of section 18 of said chapter 19A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “abuse”, in lines 13, 24 and 26, in each instance, the following words:- or bullying.

SECTION 14. Subsection (b) of said section 18 of said chapter 19A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “abused”, in line 40, the following words:- or bullied.

SECTION 15. Subsection (a) of section 20 of said chapter 19A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “abuse”, in line 3, the following words:- or bullying.

SECTION 16. Said subsection (a) of said section 20 of said chapter 19A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “abused”, in line 21, the following words:-or bullied.

SECTION 17. Subsection (b) of said section 20 of said chapter 19A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “abuse”, in line 39, the following words:- or bullying.

SECTION 18. Said subsection (b) of said section 20 of said chapter 19A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “abused”, in line 52, the following words:-or bullied.

SECTION 19. Section 23 of said chapter 19A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “abuse”, in line 72, the following words:- or bullying.

SECTION 20. Section 24 of said chapter 19A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “abuse”, in line 11, the following words:- and bullying.