HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4026        FILED ON: 1/17/2025

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Tricia Farley-Bouvier

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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 relating to threats of suicide while in court custody (Stavri’s Law).

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4026        FILED ON: 1/17/2025

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

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 relating to threats of suicide while in court custody (Stavri’s Law).

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. This act shall be known as “Stavri’s Law”.

SECTION 2. Section 36A of chapter 123 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby stricken and replaced with the following:

All reports of examinations made to a court pursuant to sections one to eighteen, inclusive, section forty–seven and forty–eight shall be private except in the discretion of the court. All petitions for commitment, notices, orders of commitment and other commitment papers used in proceedings under sections one to eighteen and section thirty–five shall be private except in the discretion of the court. Each court shall keep a private docket of the cases of persons coming before it believed to be mentally ill, including proceedings under section thirty–five; provided that nothing in this section shall prevent public inspection of any complaints or indictments in a criminal case, or prevent any notation in the ordinary docket of criminal cases concerning commitment proceedings under sections one to eighteen against a defendant in a criminal case. Notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph, any person who is the subject of an examination or a commitment proceeding, or his counsel, may inspect all reports and papers filed with the court in a pending proceeding, and the prosecutor in a criminal case may inspect all reports and papers concerning commitment proceedings that are filed with the court in a pending case.

Notwithstanding this section, a court shall, pursuant to section 35 and section 36C, transmit information contained in court records to the department of criminal justice information services to provide: (i) licensing authorities as defined under section 121 of chapter 140; provided, however, that information shared under this clause shall be information required or permitted to be considered under state or federal law to conduct background checks for firearm sales or licensing; (ii) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; provided, however, that the information shared under this clause shall be information required or permitted under federal law to be included in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System maintained to conduct background checks for firearms sales or licensing; provided further, that the court shall not transmit information solely because a person seeks voluntary treatment or is involuntarily hospitalized for assessment or evaluation; and (iii) law enforcement agencies with notice that the individual has been the subject of a Section 35 proceeding, the date(s) of said proceeding(s) and whether an order of commitment issued to assist law enforcement agencies in assessing the risk of suicide in custody. Information transmitted to the department of criminal justice information services pursuant to this section and said sections 35 and 36C shall not be considered public records pursuant to section 10 of chapter 66 and clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4. If the information required to be transmitted under clause (i) of this paragraph relates to a person who currently holds a license, card or permit issued under sections 122, 122B, 129B, 131 or 131F of chapter 140, such information shall be disseminated automatically to the relevant licensing authority through the Criminal Justice Information System for each commitment that is ordered as soon as the information is available.