HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4826        FILED ON: 6/13/2025

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4231

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Marjorie C. Decker

_________________

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 authorizing the city of Cambridge to expand the options available to issue notices of violation for parking enforcement above the limits set forth in M.G.L. C. 90, §20A½ or other applicable state laws.

_______________

PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4826        FILED ON: 6/13/2025

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4231

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

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

_______________

An Act authorizing the city of Cambridge to expand the options available to issue notices of violation for parking enforcement above the limits set forth in M.G.L. C. 90, §20A½ or other applicable state laws.

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

Notwithstanding any other general or special law to the contrary:

SECTION 1. In addition to the manner prescribed in M.G.L. c. 90, §20A½, the City of Cambridge shall be authorized to issue notices of violation of any rule, regulation, order, ordinance or by-law regulating the parking of motor vehicles within the City’s boundaries in the following manner:

In the event that it is not possible or safe to deliver a copy of a notice of violation to the offender at the time and place of the violation by affixing it to the motor vehicle, said copy shall be sent by the officer, by his commanding officer, or by any person so authorized to issue such citations within ten days thereof, exclusive, in either case, of Sundays and holidays, to the address of the registrant of the motor vehicle registered under the laws of this commonwealth, in the records of the registry of motor vehicles, or, in the case of a motor vehicle registered under the laws of another state or country, in the records of the official in such state or country having charge of the registration of such motor vehicle. Such notice mailed by the officer, his commanding officer, or the person so authorized, to the last address of such registrant as appearing as aforesaid, shall be deemed as sufficient notice, and a certificate of the officer or person so mailing such notice that it has been mailed in accordance with this section shall be deemed prima facie evidence thereof and shall be admissible in any judicial or administrative proceeding as to the facts contained therein.

SECTION 2. In addition to the methods prescribed in M.G.L. c. 90, §20A½ and Section 1 of this act, the City of Cambridge may also issue notices of violation through the use of automated license plate readers (ALPR) or similar parking monitoring technologies. Photographs or data of parking violations detected by ALPR or similar systems and transmitted to the parking enforcement officers shall constitute “cognizance of a violation” for purposes of M.G.L. c. 90, §20A ½ and Section 1 of this act.

SECTION 3. Issuance of notices of violation through the use of ALPR readers or similar parking monitoring technologies shall be done in the manner prescribed for the mailing of notices of violation as set forth in Section 1 of this act.

SECTION 4. Issuance of notices of violation through any method under this act shall require the provision of evidence that an alleged violation occurred, in the form of photographs of the violation, monitoring data, or other evidence of the violation from the enforcement officer or the ALPR reader and similar parking monitoring technologies authorized under this act.

SECTION 5. This act shall take full effect upon passage.