SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1834        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1003

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Adam Gomez

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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 protecting all persons with a criminal history from discrimination.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1834        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1003

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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

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An Act protecting all persons with a criminal history from discrimination.

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 1 of Chapter 151B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following subsection beginning on line 178 after subsection 23:-

24. “Criminal History” shall be defined as “information collected by criminal justice agencies on individuals consisting of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, indictments, informations, or other formal criminal charges, and any disposition arising therefrom, sentencing, correction supervision, and release. The term does not include identification information such as fingerprint records to the extent that such information does not indicate involvement of the individual in the criminal justice system. The term includes those records of a State or locality sealed pursuant to law if such records are accessible by State and local criminal justice agencies for the purpose of conducting background checks.”

SECTION 2. Section 3 of chapter 151B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “identity,”, in lines 17 and 64, in each instance, the following words:- “criminal history,”.

SECTION 3. Section 4 of said chapter 151B is hereby amended by inserting after the word “identity,”, in lines 3, 187, 202, 210, 221, 230, 264, 291, 298, 309, 359, 367, 377, 477, 488, 493, 500, 633, 644, 655, 821, 831 in each instance, the following words:- “criminal history,”.

SECTION 4. Section 2 of chapter 151C of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “race,”, in lines 5 and 18, in each instance, the following words:- “criminal history,”.

SECTION 5. Section 2A of said chapter 151C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “race,”, in lines 5, 9, and 15, in each instance, the following words:- “criminal history,”.

SECTION 6. Section 92A of chapter 272 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “identity,”, in line 10, the following words:- “criminal history,”.

SECTION 7. Section 98 of said chapter 272, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “identity,”, in line 3, the following words:- “criminal history,”.