SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2429        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1112

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Michael O. Moore

_________________

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 improving protections relative to domestic violence.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

 

Michael O. Moore

Second Worcester

 

Susan L. Moran

Plymouth and Barnstable

3/1/2021

Carol A. Doherty

3rd Bristol

3/1/2021

Tami L. Gouveia

14th Middlesex

6/9/2021

Diana DiZoglio

First Essex

6/9/2021

Joan B. Lovely

Second Essex

1/11/2022


SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2429        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1112

By Mr. Moore, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1112) of Michael O. Moore, Susan L. Moran and Carol A. Doherty for legislation to improve protections relative to domestic violence.  The Judiciary.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

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

_______________

 

An Act improving protections relative to domestic violence.

 

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. For the purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:

“Coercive control,” a pattern of threatening, humiliating, or intimidating actions, which may include assaults, or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten an individual. “Coercive control” includes a pattern of behavior that seeks to take away the individual’s liberty or freedom and strip away the individual’s sense of self, including bodily integrity and human rights, whereby the “coercive control” is designed to make an individual dependent by isolating them from support, exploiting them, depriving them of independence, and regulating their everyday behavior including:

(i) Isolating the individual from friends and family or other sources of support;

(ii) Controlling, regulating, or monitoring the individual’s activities, communications, movements, finances, economic resources, or access to resources;

(iii) Name-calling, degradation, and demeaning the individual frequently;

(iv) Threatening to harm or kill the individual or a child or relative of the individual;

(v) Threatening to publish information or make false reports to the police or the authorities;

(vi) Damaging property or household goods; and

(vii) Forcing the individual to take part in criminal activity or child abuse.

“Technological abuse”, behavior intended to harm, threaten, intimidate, control, stalk, harass, impersonate, or monitor another person, except as otherwise permitted by law, that occurs via the Internet, social networking sites, computers, mobile devices, cellular telephones, apps, location tracking devices, instant messages, text messages, or other forms of technology.

(b) The definition of “abuse” in section 1 of chapter 209A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after subsection (c) the following 2 subsections:-

(d) coercive control,

(e) technological abuse.

SECTION 2. The fourth sentence of section 63 of chapter 277, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “sections” the following words:- 13A, 13M.