HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4040        FILED ON: 1/17/2025

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2692

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Daniel J. Ryan

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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 implementing the recommendations of the Walsh-Kennedy Commission Report.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4040        FILED ON: 1/17/2025

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2692

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 1484 OF 2023-2024.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)

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An Act implementing the recommendations of the Walsh-Kennedy Commission Report.

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. Notwithstanding and general or special law to the contrary, all certifications and training programs for cutting, welding, and hot works processes shall be performed using the existing National Fire Protection Association program or an equivalent program that includes a thorough and accessible electronic database that can be used to check a worker's status, multi-lingual in-class offerings, identity integrity safeguards, in-person original training, and subsequent annual continued education program either online or in person. 

SECTION 2. Section 1 of Chapter 148 of the Massachusetts General Laws is hereby amended by inserting at the end thereof the following:  ""Criminal Negligence", Repeated, reckless, and knowing failure to comply with the regulations contained in this chapter, and failure to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a result would occur from said failure. The risk must be of such nature and degree that failure to perceive it constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in this situation."

SECTION 3. Section 34B of chapter 148 of the Massachusetts General Laws is hereby amended by striking out the section in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following:  "SECTION 34B. Any person who wantonly or recklessly violates the state building code or state fire code and thereby causes serious bodily injury to any person shall be punished by a fine of not more than $250,000 or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years or in a house of correction for not more than 21/2 years, or both. Any person who wantonly or recklessly violates the state building code or state fire code and thereby causes death to any person shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500,000 and/or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 7 years or in a house of correction for not more than 5 years, or both.  Any person found to have acted in accordance with the definition of criminal negligence in section 1 of this chapter may be determined to be criminally liable for damage or death stemming from repeated and reckless non-compliance with requirements set forth in this chapter.  For purposes of this section, ''serious bodily injury'' shall mean bodily injury that results in a permanent disfigurement, loss or impairment of a bodily function, limb or organ, or a substantial risk of death. SECTION 4. Section 34 of Chapter 148 is hereby amended by striking out the section in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following:  "Section 34. Except as otherwise provided, any person violating any provision of this chapter shall be liable to a fine of one hundred dollars, or, in case of a continuing offence after notice of such violation, to a fine of not more than one hundred dollars for every day during which the violation continues, unless said violation pertains to cutting, welding, or hot works processes. In the event of any person violating regulations regarding cutting, welding, or hot works processes, said person shall be liable to the following punishments:  First offense: a fine of not more than $1,000 Second offense: a fine of not more than $2,000 and/or imprisonment in the house of correction for up to a year, provided that the Judge shall have the authority to take into account the size of the project on which the violation occurred and levy additional fines if the total cost said project is such that the fine is inadequate to deter continued offenses. Third and continuing offenses: a fine of not more than .025% of the total project value, or $10,000, whichever is greater, and/or imprisonment in the house of correction for up to 3 years."  SECTION 5. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Department of Fire Safety shall, in consultation with the Department of Professional Licensure, or any other executive agency or department it deems necessary, establish a system of public notification and recording of non-compliance with regulations and statues pertaining to cutting, welding, and hot works processes. Said system may include: quarterly publications, an online database, an automated notification system to alert property owners, and/or communication with insurance companies.