SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1867        FILED ON: 2/18/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1547

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Harriette L. Chandler

_________________

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 traffic stops and racial profiling.

_______________

PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1867        FILED ON: 2/18/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1547

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

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

_______________

An Act relative to traffic stops and racial profiling.

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 Task Force on Traffic Stops and Racial Profiling.

(b)  The task force shall consist of the following members or a designee: The House and Senate Chairs of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, who shall serve as co-chairs, and members to be appointed by the co-chairs, 1 of whom shall be the Secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security or their designee, 1 of whom shall be the Secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation or their designee, 1 of whom shall be a police officer working for a municipality in the Commonwealth, 1 of whom shall be a police office employed by the Massachusetts State Police, 1 of whom shall be the Colonel of the State Police or their designee, 1 of whom shall be the President of the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers, Inc. or their designee, 1 of whom shall be the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union or their designee, 1 of whom shall be the President of the NAACP New England Area Conference (NEAC) or their designee, 1 of whom shall represent academic institutions and have specific expertise in the area of law enforcement, 1 of whom shall represent academic institutions and have specific expertise in the area of racial discrimination or profiling, 1 of whom shall be the executive director of Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston or their designee, 1 of whom shall be the executive director of Livable Streets or their designee, and 1 of whom shall be the executive director of AAA Northeast, or their designee.

(c)The task force shall:

(1)Compile demographic data on traffic stops and analyze demographic trends in traffic enforcement, escalation, and resulting criminal penalties. 

(2)Examine ways to reduce the occurrence of unequal enforcement of traffic violations, including but not limited to assessment of procedures in place in other states and other countries for the enforcement of traffic laws.

(3)Review data from the Registry of Motor Vehicles regarding the incidence of license suspension caused by failure to pay a traffic fine and make recommendations as to how to reduce or eliminate license suspension caused by failure to pay a fine.

(4)Review income-based fines as implemented in other states and countries and recommend what, if any, income-based system would be appropriate for Massachusetts.

(5)Recommend policies that would lead to more equitable enforcement of traffic laws, reduce traffic stops, reduce escalation of traffic stops, and reduce criminal incidents resulting from traffic stops.

(6)Work directly with policymakers, police departments, and any others the task force deems appropriate to inform their recommendation.

(7)Review the provisions created by Section 2 of this act and make recommendations as to how to proceed with automated enforcement and whether it should be expanded to additional traffic citations.

(8)Review traffic crimes for which there is a criminal penalty and make recommendations as to whether they should remain criminal or be reduced to a civil penalty.

(9)Make recommendations as to whether speed, red light cameras or other forms of automated enforcement should be in use in the state of Massachusetts and if so, under what circumstances.

(10)Make recommendations as to privacy protections that should be put in place in order to implement their recommendations while protecting the privacy and security of the people of Massachusetts.

(11)Review and seek to determine by surveys and other means whether traffic violations and vehicle malfunction citations issued by law enforcement officers are more or less of a deterrent  for such violations than those issued through the mail and not by law enforcement officers in hand.

(d)The Task Force shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations on or before June 31, 2022 to the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives.

SECTION 2. Section 7A of Chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting at the end, the following paragraph:-

The provisions of this section shall be enforced by law enforcement agencies only when an operator of a motor vehicle has been stopped for a violation of the motor vehicle laws or some other offense. The Register of Motor Vehicles shall develop and adopt a system for remote assessment of traffic citations. The provisions of this section may be enforced by law enforcement agencies through the use of the remote system created by this section.

SECTION 3. Section 9 of Chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting at the end, the following paragraph:-

The provisions of this section shall be enforced by law enforcement agencies only when an operator of a motor vehicle has been stopped for a violation of the motor vehicle laws or some other offense. The provisions of this section may be enforced by law enforcement agencies through the use of the remote system created by section 7A of this chapter.