HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2704        FILED ON: 1/19/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2688

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Jonathan D. Zlotnik

_________________

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 law enforcement officer benefit equity.

_______________

PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2704        FILED ON: 1/19/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2688

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

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

_______________

An Act relative to law enforcement officer benefit equity.

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 7 of chapter 4 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following new paragraph:-

"Sixtieth:", "Police officer", "policeman", or "permanent member of a police force", shall include without limitation, any police officer or port officer appointed by the University of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, Massachusetts Port Authority, and campuses of the state universities and community colleges.

SECTION 2. Section 111f of chapter 41 of the General Laws, is hereby amended by inserting after the words:- "General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport, and members of the Massachusetts military reservation fire department, for the purposes of this section the Massachusetts Port Authority and Massachusetts military reservation shall be fire districts," the following:- "The provisions of this section shall also apply in all aspects to any University of Massachusetts police officer, Executive Office of Environmental Affairs police officer, Massachusetts Port Authority port officer, state university or community college police officer and supervisors of said police or port officers who shall include sergeants, lieutenants, captains, assistant chiefs, deputy chiefs, and chiefs; ".

SECTION 3. Section 94 of chapter 32, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the words "Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority," the following words:- "or of the police force of the University of Massachusetts, or of the police force of the Massachusetts Port Authority, or of the police force of the state universities or community colleges, or of the police force of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs".

SECTION 4. Section 5 of chapter 467 Acts of 2004 so appearing, is hereby further amended in Line X by adding after the words "state or community college", the following words: - "or the University of Massachusetts".

SECTION 5. Section 32 of chapter 32, as appearing in the 2016 Official edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 253, the words “University of Massachusetts police;".

SECTION 6. Section 3 of said chapter 32, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting in the description of Group 4 in paragraph (g) of subdivision (2) after the words "chief of security for the University of Massachusetts medical school or supervisory agent", in lines 322 through 324, the following words:- “employees of the University of Massachusetts who are employed as police officers and supervisors of said employees who shall include sergeants, lieutenants, captains, assistant chiefs, deputy chiefs, and chiefs; employees of the Massachusetts Port Authority who are employed as port officers and supervisors of said employees who shall include port sergeants, lieutenants, captains, assistant chiefs, deputy chiefs, and chiefs; employees of the state universities and community colleges who are employed as campus police officers and supervisors of said employees who shall include sergeants, lieutenants, captains, assistant chiefs, deputy chiefs, and chiefs; ".

SECTION 7. The first paragraph of section 32A of chapter 75, as so appearing is hereby Amended, by striking out the second sentence and inserting in the place thereof the following sentence:- "The trustees shall appoint as police officers persons employed by the university who throughout university properties shall have the powers of police officers, except as to service of civil process".

SECTION 8. The second paragraph of section 32A of chapter 75, as so appearing is hereby amended by striking the second paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following words:-

"Police officers appointed by the trustees of the University of Massachusetts, in connection with the operation of any part of the university, throughout university properties including but not limited to upon lands, roads or properties owned, leased, occupied, sublet, or affiliated with the University of Massachusetts, and throughout any and all such roadways contiguous to said university property to and from all points and locales, may perform police duties under the commanding officer or the person in charge of such campus. While performing such duties within those limits, the police officers shall have the same authority, immunities and privileges as duly appointed and qualified police officers acting elsewhere in the Commonwealth. Every officer who receives an appointment to a position on a full-time basis in which that person may exercise police powers for any of the campuses of the University of Massachusetts, shall, prior to be certified pursuant to chapter 6E".

SECTION 9. Section 32 of chapter 75, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding third section by inserting the following words:- "Section 32C. While participating in the University of Massachusetts police cadet program, a UMass police cadet shall not be subject to or entitled to the benefits of any retirement or pension law, nor shall any deduction be made from a UMass police cadet's compensation for the purpose thereof; provided, however, that a UMass police cadet who successfully completes the UMass police cadet program and is appointed to the University of Massachusetts police department pursuant to Section 32A of chapter 75 or is enlisted as a state police officer, or is appointed as a police officer in the Office of Law Enforcement within the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, Massachusetts Port Authority, or becomes an employee, as defined in section 1 of chapter 32, or is appointed as a municipal police officer, shall have any University of Massachusetts police cadet service considered as creditable service, as defined in said section 1 of said chapter 32, for purposes of retirement if the UMass police cadet pays into the annuity savings fund of the retirement system in 1 sum or installments, upon such terms and conditions as the board may prescribe, not later than 1 year after appointment as described above, such amount as the retirement board determines equal to that which the UMass police cadet would have paid had the UMass police cadet been a member of the retirement system during the period of employment as a University of Massachusetts police cadet, together with buyback interest.