SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2391        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1050

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Adam Gomez

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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 the composition of the victim and witness assistance board.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2391        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1050

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 the composition of the victim and witness assistance board.

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 4 of chapter 258B, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking the first paragraph in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

There is hereby established a victim and witness assistance board, to consist of seven members who shall serve without compensation. Notwithstanding any provision of section 6 of chapter 268A to the contrary, the board shall consist of: the attorney general or their designee who shall be chair, two district attorneys who shall be appointed by the governor, and four members of the public, of whom three shall be victims including at least one representing an underserved community. Members of the public shall be appointed by the governor, and victim members shall be appointed from a list of eligible nominations provided by the executive director of the Massachusetts Office of Victim Assistance. Members of the board shall be selected from diverse ethnic, racial, religious, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic, and geographical backgrounds from throughout the commonwealth. All members shall serve for a term of three years and until their successor is duly appointed and qualified, except that any person appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve only for the unexpired term. Any member of the board shall be eligible for reappointment. 

SECTION 2. As used in Section 1 the following words shall, unless the context states otherwise, have the following meanings:-

“Underserved Community” shall include, but not be limited to, a community disproportionately impacted by high rates of violence and crime and populations underserved due to racial and ethnic identity. 

“Members of the public” shall not include any current local, state, or federal elected official.

SECTION 3. Said Section 4 of chapter 258B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking the word “four” in the second paragraph and inserting in place thereof the word “six”.