This policy informs you of the information that we collect from you at this site, what we do with it, to whom it may be disseminated, and how you can access it. Based on this information, you can make an informed decision about whether and how to use this site.
Scope of this Policy
This privacy policy applies only to the use of this website. As you navigate this website, you may see links that, when clicked, will take you to other websites operated by other state agencies and, in certain rare instances, websites that are external to the Massachusetts state government. These other websites have individual privacy policies tailored to the interactions available through those sites. We strongly suggest that you read the privacy policies for each website that you visit through any link appearing on this site.
The General Court website attempts to protect your privacy to the maximum extent possible. However, users should be aware that the General Court may, at its discretion, share any information provided via its website with third parties. If you choose to provide us with personal information by completing the “Contact Us” form, creating a customized MyLegislature page, submitting a Service Request/Reservation form or even simply by sending us an email, we may use that information to respond to your message or to help us get you the information or services you requested. Submitting your personal information is voluntary and is not required to access information on the General Court website. The information you provide to us via this website may be retained for an indefinite period of time, is not encrypted and may be shared with third parties without notice or consent.
Information you submit through this site may also be subject to disclosure by subpoena or other lawful request for information. The General Court may not inform you of such disclosures.
Please think carefully and make an informed decision about whether to share personally identifiable information, such as dates of birth and social security numbers, through this site.
Information Voluntarily Provided by You
This site collects information that you voluntarily provide through this website including email messages you choose to send to the General Court, contact forms you submit through the Contact Us feature, information you provide through the Service Request/Reservation Form, and log-in and other information you use to customize your MyLegislature page.
Any email messages, contact forms and other customizations that you create through this site will contain personally identifiable information including, but not limited to your email address and any other information you choose to provide to help us answer your inquiry.
Information Automatically Collected and Stored by this Site
The General Court site uses temporary “session cookies” to create an enhanced visitor experience. For example, the General Court uses session cookies to support the MyLegislature features, which that allow users to view lists of the bills, hearings and legislators they are following and further customize their MyLegislature settings. These cookies are stored only in memory and are deleted when the user's browser is shut down.
The General Court site also uses “persistent cookies.” The purpose of persistent cookies is to collect and aggregate data regarding the site’s visitor activity, which allows us to continuously evaluate and improve our website services. For example the General Court site uses “persistent cookies” to support the “Keep Me Logged In” option on the MyLegislature page. You may elect to disable the persistent cookies. Please be advised, however, that disabling the persistent cookies may affect your ability to view or interact with certain features of this website.
This site also collects and stores your “Internet Protocol (IP) address” (which does not identify you as an individual) indefinitely, as well as information about the date and time of your visit, whether a file you have requested exists, and how many "bytes" of information were transmitted to you over the Web from this site. We use this data to assess the frequency of visits to this site and the popularity of its various pages and functions.
In addition, we may use third-party analytics tools to collect information about use of this site. These tools collect information such as how often users visit this site, what pages they visit when they do so, and what other sites they used prior to coming to this site. We use the information we get from these tools only to improve this site. The analytics tools we use collect only the IP address assigned to you on the date you visit this site, rather than your name or other identifying information. We do not combine the information collected through the use of the analytics tools with personally identifiable information. Although the analytics tools plant a persistent cookie on your web browser to identify you as a unique user the next time you visit this site, the cookie cannot be used by anyone but the third-party analytics provider. The analytics provider’s ability to use and share information collected by the analytics tools about your visits to this site is restricted by their terms of use. You can prevent the analytics provider from recognizing you on return visits to this site by disabling cookies on your browser.
Dissemination of Your Personally Identifiable Information
We do not sell any personally identifiable information collected through this website or submitted to the General Court through the use of this website’s personal customization features, such as MyLegislature. However, once you voluntarily submit personally identifiable information through this website, the General Court may, at its discretion, share your information with third parties. In addition, the information that you voluntarily submit will also be disclosed to General Court employees or officials, or those under contract with the General Court, who have a "need to know" your information for the purposes of fulfilling their job responsibilities and responding to your requests.
Links to external Sites and Applications
This site may contain links to applications and web sites that are provided, supported and monitored by entities not related to the Massachusetts General Court. These external entities may use their own proprietary technology for the purposes of streaming video, instant message-type communication, message sharing, and various integrations to common social media platforms. This may include, but not necessarily be limited to, entities such as YouTube and Twitter.
For more information on the privacy policy for these external entities, please visit:
YouTube
Twitter
Security
The General Court website is encrypted and uses industry standard security measures to ensure that information provided by you, including your personally identifiable information, is not lost, misused, altered, or unintentionally destroyed. We also use software to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage.
This website is monitored to ensure its proper operation, to verify the functioning of applicable security features and for related purposes. Anyone using this website expressly consents to such monitoring.
While we strive to ensure that information submitted through this site is protected, the General Court cannot guarantee the security of any data submitted via its website. Please do not send sensitive data, such as your Social Security number, bank account information or credit card information, through the General Court website.
Policy Changes
This policy reflects the General Court’s current practices, but is subject to change without notice. The General Court will update this policy as new services and features are added or other changes are made to the website. Please check this policy regularly.
Contact Information
For questions about your privacy while using the General Court website, please contact webmaster@MaLegislature.gov.
Definitions
Cookies are files that a website can place on your computer. A cookie file contains unique information that the issuing website can use to store data such as your user name or email address track webpages you have visited, record the date when you last looked at a specific webpage, or to identify your session at a particular website, for example. A cookie file allows the website to recognize you as you click through pages on the site and when you later revisit the site. A website can use cookies to "remember" your preferences, and to record your browsing behavior on the Web. Although you can prevent websites from placing cookies on your computer by using your browser’s preference menu, disabling cookies may affect your ability to view or interact with some websites.
An “Internet Protocol Address” or “IP Address” is a series of numbers that identifies each computer and machine connected to the Internet. An IP address enables a server on a computer network to send you the file that you have requested on the Internet. The IP address disclosed to us generally identifies the computer or device from which you are accessing the Internet, or a server owned by your Internet Service Provider. Because it is machine-specific, rather than person-specific, an IP address is not, in and of itself, personally identifiable information.
“Personally Identifiable Information” is any information that could reasonably be used to identify you, including your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, Social Security number, birth date, bank account information, credit card information, or any additional information provided by you or any combination of information that could be used to identify you.
Terms of Use
Users Agree to These Terms. This document contains terms of use for the General Court website. By using the General Court website you agree to these terms and conditions. In addition, you should also review the General Court website privacy policy to learn about information collected by the General Court website, what that information is used for, and how it may be shared with others, including third parties.
Images and Copyright
No photograph or video on this website may be downloaded, reproduced or otherwise used without the written consent of the General Court. To request permission to use a photograph or video, please contact the General Court at webmaster@MaLegislature.gov.
With respect to material copyrighted by the General Court, including the design, layout, and other features of this website, the General Court forbids any copying or use other than "fair use" under the Copyright Act. "Fair use" includes activities such as comment, news reporting, criticism, teaching, research, tweets and retweets, youtube video channel references and other related activities. In addition, please be advised that the General Court makes use of materials (including, but not limited to, photographs) copyrighted by third parties, which also cannot be copied or used for use other than "fair use" without permission of the copyright owner. If you want to make use other than "fair use" of any copyrighted information on this website, you must seek permission directly from the copyright owner.
The General Court makes no warranty that the materials contained within this website are free from copyright claims, or other restrictions or limitations on free use or display. The General Court disclaims any liability for the improper or incorrect use of information obtained from this website.
The General Court website respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask users of our website to do the same. In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and other applicable law, we have adopted a policy of terminating, in appropriate circumstances and at our sole discretion, users, subscribers, or account holders on our website who are deemed to be repeat infringers. We may also, at our sole discretion, limit access to our website and/or terminate the accounts of any users who infringe any intellectual property rights of others, whether or not there is any repeat infringement.
Certain images and collateral that are used throughout this site have been provided and made available for use under the Creative Commons set of copyright licenses and tools. These tools allow the material to be available to the public for free and legal use under the terms of Creative Common’s copyright licenses. For more information on these policies, please visit https://creativecommons.org/policies.
If you believe that any material on this website infringes upon any copyright which you own or control, or that any link on this website directs users to another website that contains material that infringes upon any copyright which you own or control, you may file a notification of such infringement with our Designated Agent as set forth below. Notifications of claimed copyright infringement must be sent to the General Court site’s Designated Agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement. Our Designated Agent may be reached by emailing webmaster@MaLegislature.gov.
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The General Court provides this information as a public service and while we endeavor to keep the data accurate and current to the best of our ability, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of General Court. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, the General Court takes no responsibility for and will not be liable for the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
The information and content on this website are for informational purposes only and do not constitute and should not be construed as legal, financial, professional, or any other type of advice or counsel. You should contact an appropriate advisor with respect to any particular issue or problem.
Web Accessibility Policy
The General Court is committed to achieving meaningful accessibility to this website for all users, including users with disabilities.
This website has been developed using the Commonwealth’s Enterprise Web Accessibility Standards, which are designed to meet the needs of our citizens with disabilities. The Commonwealth enterprise standards are generally based on standards used by the federal government for technology accessibility for people with disabilities and web content accessibility guidelines developed by the World Wide Web Consortium. From time to time, there may be new features and additions added to the web site that are less accessible than content in other areas of the site. We view accessibility as a high priority and will continuously strive to maintain a high level of accessibility throughout our web site.
If the format of any material on this website prevents you from accessing the information, please contact us for assistance. In order to respond in a manner most helpful to you, please note the nature of your accessibility concern, the format in which you prefer to receive material, the webpage address of the requested material and the best way to contact you.
We welcome any questions about this Web site's accessibility, as well as your suggestions for improving it. To send questions and comments, please contact the State House ADA Coordinator, Carl Richardson at carl.richardson@state.ma.us.
or
ADA Coordinator
State House - Room 1
Boston, MA 02133 or
(617) 727-1100 Ext. 35502