SENATE DOCKET, NO. 215        FILED ON: 1/25/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 449

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Sonia Chang-Diaz

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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 central registry of voters.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 215        FILED ON: 1/25/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 449

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 391 OF 2019-2020.]

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 central registry of voters.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Section 47C of chapter 51 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the last sentence of paragraph 1 and inserting in place therof the following sentences:-

The names and addresses contained in said central registry shall not be a matter of public record, provided however, that the names and addresses, dates of registration, voting history, and dates of birth shall be made available to the jury commissioner and adjutant general at no cost; they shall be made available to state party committees, statewide candidate committees, and state ballot question committees at a fair and reasonable cost, set by the secretary of state, not to exceed the cost of printing or preparing computer readable documents, and further they shall be made available to organizations with Internal Revenue Service status of 501 (c)(3), 501 (c)(4), 501(c)5, and 527s, and Political Action Committees (or PACs), for a fee of $1000, entitling the receiving organization to use of the information for purposes of civic engagement, public policy advocacy, and political advocacy. The secretary of state may deny requests for this information to any receiving organization that has had a history of using the abovementioned data for purposes other than those permitted in this section. In the event of a data request denial, the secretary of state shall provide a written explanation of the denial to the requesting organization.