HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 6222        FILED ON: 6/10/2026

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

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Steven S. Howitt

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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 relative to state agency phones.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 6222        FILED ON: 6/10/2026

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 relative to state agency phones.

 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. Chapter 7 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting the following section:-

 “Section 4U. (a) For the purpose of this section, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:

 “Agency”, any executive office, department, board, commission, bureau, division, authority, or other office of the commonwealth.

 “State-owned phone”, any telephone, mobile device, or other telecommunications device owned, leased, operated, or paid for by the commonwealth or an agency thereof.

 (b) Any agency employee making an outbound telephone call to a member of the public using a state-owned phone shall ensure that the call is transmitted with a visible and returnable telephone number.

 (c) No agency shall knowingly place an outbound telephone call to a member of the public using a blocked, restricted, unavailable, anonymous, or otherwise concealed telephone number except where required by law, court order, or for the purposes of public safety, criminal investigation, or protection of confidential information.

 (d) Each agency shall take reasonable steps to ensure that telephone systems under its control are configured to comply with this section.

 (e) The executive office of administration and finance may promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement this section.

 (f) This act shall take effect 180 days after the effective date of this act.