HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1474        FILED ON: 1/18/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2412

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Erika Uyterhoeven

_________________

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 to increase oversight of the Massachusetts State Police through stringent budget accounting and regulation of overtime reporting.

_______________

PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1474        FILED ON: 1/18/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2412

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 2534 OF 2021-2022.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

_______________

An Act to increase oversight of the Massachusetts State Police through stringent budget accounting and regulation of overtime reporting.

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 17 of chapter 22C of the Massachusetts General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after the first sentence, inclusive,  the following:-

This statement shall include an itemized list of projected expenses, including but not limited to: labor costs, pension and employee benefit costs, equipment costs, weapons purchases, fuel purchases, vehicle purchases, and all other expenditures that arise from being included under “Department of State Police and Related Programs” Direct Appropriations 8100-1001, as well as any budget item where the requested expense is greater than $50,000 in a given fiscal year.

SECTION 2. Section 18 of said chapter 22C is hereby amended by striking the first paragraph, inclusive, and inserting in place thereof the following :-

The colonel may, in the event of any public emergency, or of any unusual demand for the services of members of the state police serving in any bureau of the department, or whenever he deems it in the public interest, require such members to work additional hours of duty and prevent such members from taking time off when entitled thereto, or at the time assigned therefor; provided, however, that such members shall be compensated for any additional work in accordance with the provision of section thirty C of chapter one hundred and forty-nine. All allocations of overtime shall be subject to review by the  Office of the Inspector General for supervision. The colonel shall furnish copies of all employee overtime reports to the Office of the Inspector General annually, not after January 31st for the previous year’s reports, beginning January 31, 2026. Additionally, any employee of the Department of State Police who is found by a supervisor or other employee, by a preponderance of the evidence, to have falsified, fraudulently submitted, or otherwise purposely misrepresented information on any documents pertaining to overtime payment for hours worked shall be suspended from the Department of State Police until an investigation is conducted by the Office of the Inspector General. If the employee is found to have falsified any overtime documentation, they shall be terminated from the Department of State Police, effective immediately and suffer a loss of pension. Any employee of the Department of State Police, having previously been found by said Department to have falsified overtime payment reports, shall be immediately terminated, barred from future employment with the Department of State Police, and suffer a loss of pension.