Amendment ID: S2529-56-R1

Redraft Amendment 56

Professional Protections

Ms. Rausch and Messrs. Payano, Oliveira and Fernandes move to amend the bill by inserting after section X the following sections: -

SECTION AA. Clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended in subclause (o) by striking out, in line 243, the words “the home address, personal email address and home telephone number of” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- the residential or home-based office address, personal email address and home, home-based office or personal mobile telephone number of an elected official, or.

SECTION BB. Section 5 of chapter 53 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 4, the word “residences” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- municipalities of residence.

SECTION CC. Section 6 of said chapter 53, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 17, the word “addresses” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- municipalities of residence.

SECTION DD. Section 8 of said chapter 53, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking the first eight words in line 3 and inserting in place thereof the following words:- their municipality of residence; provided, however, that the secretary shall through alternate means collect each candidate’s residential address, with street and number, if any, which shall be maintained by the secretary in accordance with clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4.

SECTION EE. Section 34 of said chapter 53, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the last nine words in the fifth paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following words:- their municipality of residence; provided, however, that the secretary shall through alternate means collect each candidate’s residential address, with street and number, if any, which shall be maintained by the secretary in accordance with clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4.

SECTION FF. Section 45 of said chapter 53, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 2 and 3, the words “his residence, with street and number thereof, if any” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- their municipality of residence.

SECTION GG. Section 106 of said chapter 53, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the last eight words in the fourth sentence and inserting in place thereof the following words:- precinct or ward, or both, as applicable, of the candidate’s residence.

SECTION HH. Section 41 of chapter 54 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 official edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 6 and 7, the words “he resides, with the name of the street and the number, if any, of his residence” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- the candidate resides.

SECTION II. Said section 41 of said chapter 54, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the third sentence and inserting in place thereof the following words:- To the name of each candidate for a county office shall be added the name of the city or town where the candidate resides. To the name of each candidate for city or town office shall be added the ward or precinct where the candidate resides, or both ward and precinct, as applicable.

SECTION JJ. Said section 41 of said chapter 54, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 28-30, the words “the name of the street on which they reside, with their street number, if any, and”.

SECTION KK. Section 41A of said chapter 54, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 4, the words “and addresses”.

SECTION LL. Section 42 of said chapter 54, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 34, the words “address” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- municipality of residence.

SECTION MM. Said section 42 of said chapter 54, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 41 and 44, the word “addresses” each time it appears and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- municipalities of residence.

SECTION NN. Section 49 of said chapter 54, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 3, the word “residences” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- municipalities of residence.

SECTION OO. Section 50 of said chapter 54, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 2, the word “residences” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- wards or precincts of residence, or both, as applicable.

SECTION PP. Section 51 of said chapter 54, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 3, the word “residences” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- wards or precincts of residence, or both, as applicable.

SECTION QQ. Section 77 of said chapter 54, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding, in line 8, before the word “residence” the following words:- municipality of.

SECTION RR. Section 78 of said chapter 54, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding, in line 19, before the word “residence” the following words:- municipality and state of.

SECTION SS. Section 78A of said chapter 54, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 4, the word “addresses” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- municipalities of residence.

SECTION TT. Said section 78A of said chapter 54, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 5, the word “addresses” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- municipalities and states of residence.

SECTION UU. Section 10B of chapter 66 of the General Laws, as amended by chapter 135 of the acts of 2024, is hereby amended by striking out the first 15 words of the second paragraph and inserting in place the following words:- The residential or home-based office address, personal email address and home, home-based office or personal mobile telephone number of an elected official, or law enforcement, judicial, prosecutorial, public defense.

SECTION VV. Said section 10B of said chapter 66, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting, in line 23, after the word “an” the following word:- applicable.

SECTION WW. Said chapter 66, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting the following section:-

Section 10C. (a) For purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

“Elected official”, any person who has been duly elected to a public office and is currently serving in that position, has been elected to public office but has not yet begun their term, or has formerly held public office.

“Family member”, a spouse, intended spouse, child, parent, sibling, or other person living in the same residence as a protected person.

“Judicial officer”, any person who serves as a clerk, clerk-magistrate, assistant clerk, or other individual serving in a role that helps facilitate judicial processes.

“Personal information”, any of the following elements, whether or not in combination with another listed element: home address, home telephone number, mobile telephone number, direct telephone number to a judicial officer’s private chambers, personal e-mail address, social security number, federal tax identification number, checking and savings account numbers, credit or debit card numbers, birth or marital records, property tax records, and identities of children under the age of 18.

“Protected person”, an elected official, political candidate or candidates for public office, judge, judicial officer, law enforcement personnel, public prosecutors, public defenders, and state licensed professionals whose work subjects them to elevated safety risk.

(b) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, including but not limited to section 10 of this chapter, a department, office, commission, committee, council, board, division, bureau, institution, authority, and other entity of the commonwealth or its political subdivisions shall not make public or otherwise produce or provide the personal information of a protected person or their family members, except as necessary for the protected person’s employment or as required by law enforcement, state or federal investigatory authority, judicial order or process, or other government action within the color of law.

(c) A protected person whose personal information is made public as a result of a violation of this section may bring an action seeking real or declaratory relief, or both, in any court of competent jurisdiction. A prevailing plaintiff may be awarded treble damages. A prevailing plaintiff shall be awarded costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees.

(d) The attorney general may promulgate regulations to implement this section.

SECTION XX. Chapter 265 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting the following section:

Section 37A. Intentional, willful, wanton, knowing, or grossly negligent publication, production, or provision of personal information in violation of section 10C of chapter 66 shall be punished by a fine of not more than $50,000 or imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than two and one-half years, or both.

SECTION YY. Not later than August 31, 2025, the secretary of the commonwealth, municipal clerks, and other offices and agencies that hold personal information of protected persons, as those terms are defined in section 10C of chapter 66 of the General Laws, shall conduct a review of materials previously published online and remove any such prior publications. Not later than September 15, 2025, review and removal efforts shall be documented in reports by each custodial entity, which reports shall be submitted to the chairs of the joint committee on advanced information technology, the internet and cybersecurity, the chairs of the joint committee on election laws, the chairs of the joint committee on municipalities and regional government, the chairs of the joint committee on state administration and regulatory oversight, the chair of the senate committee on personnel and administration, and the chair of the house committee on human resources and employee engagement. The reports shall be exempt pursuant to subclause (a) of clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4 of the General Laws.