Amendment #18 to H4200

Statewide Housing Court

Mr. Kaufman of Lexington moves to amend the bill by inserting after section 50 the following sections:

"SECTION 51. Section 1 of chapter 185C of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- The housing court department, established in section 1 of chapter 211B, shall be composed of:

(i) a western division consisting of the municipalities in Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties;

(ii) a central division consisting of the municipalities in Worcester county and the municipalities of Ashland, Framingham, Hudson, Holliston, Hopkinton, Marlborough, Natick, Sudbury, Wayland and Sherborn;

(iii) a northeastern division consisting of the municipalities in Essex county and the municipalities of Acton, Ashby, Ayer, Bedford, Billerica, Boxborough, Burlington, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Concord, Dracut, Dunstable, Everett, Groton, Lexington, Lincoln, Littleton, Lowell, Malden, Maynard, Melrose, North Reading, Pepperell, Reading, Shirley, Stoneham, Stow, Tewksbury, Townsend, Tyngsborough, Wakefield, Waltham, Watertown, Westford, Weston, Wilmington, Winchester and Woburn and the jurisdiction known as Devens established in chapter 498 of the acts of 1993;

(iv) a southeastern division consisting of the municipalities in Barnstable, Bristol, County of Dukes and Nantucket counties and the municipalities of Carver, Duxbury, Halifax, Hanson, Hanover, Hingham, Hull, Kingston, Lakeville, Marion, Marshfield, Mattapoisett, Middleborough, Norwell, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Rochester, Rockland, Scituate and Wareham;

(v) a metro south division consisting of the municipalities in Norfolk county, except Brookline, and the municipalities of Abington, Bridgewater, Brockton, East Bridgewater, West Bridgewater and Whitman; and (vi) an eastern division consisting of the municipalities in Suffolk county and the municipalities of Arlington, Belmont, Brookline, Cambridge, Medford, Newton and Somerville.

SECTION 52. Section 4 of said chapter 185C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the second, third, fourth and fifth paragraphs and inserting in place thereof the following 5 paragraphs:-

The eastern division of the housing court department shall hold at least 1 sitting each week in Suffolk county and at least 1 sitting each week in Middlesex county. The court, with the consent of the chief justice of the trial court, shall also sit in any other courthouse facilities as the chief justice of the housing court department may consider expedient or convenient.

The central division of the housing court department shall hold at least 1 sitting each week in the city of Worcester, at least 1 sitting each week in Middlesex county, at least 1 sitting each week in northern Worcester county and at least 1 sitting each week in southern Worcester county. The court, with the consent of the chief justice of the trial court, shall also sit in any other courthouse facilities as the chief justice of the housing court department may consider expedient or convenient.

The northeastern division of the housing court department shall hold at least 2 sittings each week in Essex county and at least 2 sittings each week in Middlesex county. The court, with the consent of the chief justice of the trial court, shall also sit in any other courthouse facilities as the chief justice of the housing court department may consider expedient or convenient.

The southeastern division of the housing court department shall hold at least 3 sittings each week in Bristol county, at least 1 sitting each week in Plymouth county and at least 1 sitting each week in Barnstable county. The court, with the consent of the chief justice of the trial court, shall also sit in such other courthouse facilities as the chief justice of the housing court department may consider expedient or convenient.

The metro south division of the housing court department shall hold at least 1 sitting each week in Norfolk county and at least 1 sitting each week in Plymouth county. The court, with the consent of the chief justice of the trial court, shall also sit in any other courthouse facilities as the chief justice of the housing court department may consider expedient or convenient.

SECTION 53. Section 8 of said chapter 185C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- There shall be 2 justices appointed for the western division, 2 justices appointed for the central division, 2 justices appointed for the northeastern division, 2 justices appointed for the metro south division, 2 justices appointed for the southeastern division, 2 justices appointed for the eastern division and 3 circuit justices who shall sit in any of the divisions as determined by the chief justice of the housing court department."

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #18 to H4200

Statewide Housing Court