This bill simply extends the protection of the F.D.C.P.A (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USCS § 1692c), to protect Massachusetts consumers against aggressive telephone calls from creditors the same way they are currently protected against such phone calls from collection agencies. Consumers who are being harassed by creditors would be able to send a Cease and Desist letter to the creditor, just as they may to a collection agency. The creditor will still be free to send written offers of settlement, threats to file suit, and other promises or threats of remedies which that creditor usually seeks against a debtor in the same circumstances as the alleged debtor in question.

This legislation would update existing law to call for the certification of floor finishers, to protect both workers and public safety. It was filed after a fatal fire in Somerville.

Between 2000 and 2003 the number of excluded students1 in Massachusetts schools increased by more than 26%. While this number includes both suspended and expelled students, an increase in students who have been permanently removed from public schools has also been observed since the mid 1990s. This has left many children without alternative education services, such as psychological and/or educational evaluations, alternative educational settings and community service programs. Senate Bill 322- An Act Relative to the Continuation of Educational Services, would address this problem by requiring school districts to provide alternative educational services to all excluded students.

This legislation would make enrollment projections more equitable for both public and charter schools by holding them each to the same guidelines.
Statewide, charter schools enrolled 798 fewer students in FY06 than had been projected- which amounts to $7.2 million in state aid that public schools were forced to forgo with the expectation that it would be diverted to cover charter school students. For public schools, it is often the reverse that is true. In many districts public schools end up with more students- and less money- than they had anticipated.
Currently, charter schools use projected enrollment, while public school funding is based on previous year’s enrollment. This results in a reduction in Ch. 70 funds for public schools in the first quarter to pay charter schools for students they never enrolled. When- and if- adjustments are made in preceding quarters, the public school district has already formulated its budget, hired its teachers and set its class sizes. The current language provides a strong incentive for charter schools to put forward inflated and unrealistic enrollment projections. This proposed language would correct this inequity and bring charter school enrollment practices into line with those of the public schools.

This legislation would allow students who transition into a district after October 1 to be factored into the student census for purposes of calculating the Foundation Budget and, consequently, state financial aid to the school district. State aid to Massachusetts cities and towns should more accurately reflect district demographics by creating provisions to fund expenses related to transitory student enrollment. The transient student population has been largely ignored in terms of resources and a recent comparison of MCAS scores demonstrates a correlation between the transient statistics and students' achievement: the higher the transience, the lower the stability and the lower the standardized test scores. This indicates that these students require additional support from the receiving district than their counterparts who are permanent residents.

The MA Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing drafted this bill, based on proposals by deaf people and advocates for deaf children. It sets forth a Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children’s Bill of Rights, which requires standards for providing quality education to deaf and hard of hearing students in the Commonwealth.

For new school constructions, buildings built according to LEED Silver standards will be reimbursed by the School Building Authority by an additional 10%. All buildings constructed by the Commonwealth to be used for state purposes shall be built to LEED Silver standards. All new homes that are larger than 5,000 sq. feet (single family) or 7,500 sq. feet (two-family) shall be built to LEED Silver standards.

This legislation aims to update the animal control laws, which are out-dated, not uniform, and largely based on the county system. Among other things, it would update fees and fines, require training for animal control officers, and improve the dangerous dog law.

Would require all insurers to devote at least ninety percent of their total annual Massachusetts-associated revenues on health services for its policyholders.

Would require all insurers of at least 50,000 people to devote at least ninety percent of their total annual Massachusetts-associated revenues on health services for its policyholders and insurers of 25,000 to 50,000 people to devote eighty five percent of their total annual Massachusetts-associated revenues on health services for its policyholders. Seeks to reduce the proportion of premiums spent on administration and advertising.

This bill gives faculty members the right to be present when the trustees discuss granting them tenure. Additionally, the trustees are authorized to hold executive sessions in order to consider honorary degrees.

The program requires a sex offender to be subject to mandatory treatment, random drug tests, unscheduled visits and restrictions on where they can go. The Framingham program, which has been recognized by the Department of Justice as a national model, has supervised 84 sex offenders, with a zero recidivism rate. This bill would expand the Parole Board’s intensive parole program for sex offenders in Framingham.

The program requires a sex offender to be subject to mandatory treatment, random drug tests, unscheduled visits and restrictions on where they can go. The Framingham program, which has been recognized by the Department of Justice as a national model, has supervised over 100 sex offenders, with a zero recidivism rate. This bill would expand that successful program.

This legislation requires for victims, to be notified by the prosecutor, in a timely manner, of all court proceedings related to the offense committed against the victim, by certified mail sent to the last known address of the victim as well as by a telephone call. The victim or witness shall thereafter maintain with the prosecutor a current telephone number and address.

A legislative change was made several years ago to extend from 10 to 30 days the frequency with which pre-trial detainees must report back to court. While this reduced backlogs for the courts, it increased the number of “bed days” for pre-trial detainees, resulting in increased overcrowding in pre-trial detention facilities. A compromise of 20 days would reduce the number of pre-trial detainees in the system, without undue stress on the pre-trial detention facilities or court systems.

This bill would allow an individual who separates from a full-time job to access unemployment benefits currently denied them if/when they must look for part-time work in the interim in order to care for a family member. These individuals would be eligible for benefits provided that he or she restricts his or her work search to part-time work for good cause. No individual who is otherwise eligible for benefits shall be considered ineligible solely because the individual seeks part-time work.

Studies have shown that women are paid less than their male counterparts in comparable jobs. This bill would further define the term “comparable” in order to get a better assessment of this situation. Thus, this bill would amend the general laws by delineating four objective characteristics to consider: skill, effort, responsibility, and work conditions in helping to define “comparable work”.

This bill will make employees eligible for 12 weeks of job-protected, paid leave to recover from serious illness or injury, to care for a seriously ill or injured family member, or to care for a newborn, newly adopted, or foster child. The employee will be eligible for temporary disability benefits equal to 66 percent of his or her salary, plus a $25 per week allowance. Benefits will be funded through employer contributions to the new fund. Costs are estimated at $2 a week per worker. A similar bill was passed in California.

Under a recent change in the unemployment law, workers who have completed a work assignment for a temporary agency are assumed to have quit (and thus would not qualify for UI) unless they can prove they sought another assignment from the agency. This bill will repeal the change to the unemployment law, allowing workers to qualify for unemployment as long as they have not refused an offer for suitable work.

Nearly half of the private sector employees in the Commonwealth do not get a single paid sick day and among low-wage workers the percentage is much higher. Employees reporting to work while sick, or while a child or elderly parent is sick, cost employees, employers, and society. This legislation would provide 7 paid sick days per year for any illness, injury or health condition that requires staying home, or professional medical care, as well as attending routine medical appointments. This benefit would be available for an employee’s use, or for an employees to care for his/her child, spouse, parent, or parent of spouse.

Nearly half of the private sector employees in the Commonwealth do not get a single paid sick day and among low-wage workers the percentage is much higher. Employees reporting to work while sick, or while a child or elderly parent is sick, cost employees, employers, and society. This legislation would provide 7 paid sick days per year for any illness, injury or health condition that requires staying home, or professional medical care, as well as attending routine medical appointments. This benefit would be available for an employee’s use, or for an employees to care for his/her child, spouse, parent, or parent of spouse. It would accrue at the rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked.

This bill will create more fairness in the workplace by improving working conditions for public employees in part-time and contingent jobs. Three key elements of this are: equal pay for part-time and contingent workers doing the same work as permanent employees regardless of employment status, preventing discrimination in benefits against workers in part-time and other contingent jobs by requiring comparable benefits, and requiring the state to set standards for state service contractors employing workers in part-time and other contingent jobs.

This legislation would require that psychiatric patients be provided with access to the outdoors by adding as a sixth right- the right to daily fresh air- to the Five Fundamental Rights for Psychiatric Inpatients which already exists in the law. Currently the 5 fundamental rights include: telephone access, access to mail, receiving visitors, a humane environment and access to an attorney. This would require that all patients receiving services from the Department of Mental Health or any facility licensed by the Department be afforded this additional right.
At least four states (Alaska, New Jersey, Oregon and Wyoming) address on some level the issue of access to the outdoors for patients in mental health facilities. However, many hospitals do not permit psychiatric patients permission to experience the outdoors

This bill would make possession of less than an ounce of marihuana a civil (rather than a criminal) offense, subject to a fine of $100. Filed in response to a ballot question that was overwhelmingly approved by voters in Senator Jehlen’s district, as well in 52 other Massachusetts communities, it could potentially save the Commonwealth millions of dollars.

This legislation would put Massachusetts alongside the increasing number of other states that restrict access to birth records. Only a handful of states (including Massachusetts) continue to have unrestricted access to birth and other vital records. In a time of increasing identity theft, this legislation would restrict the number of people who have access to birth records to the child seeking his or her own birth record; (2) the child’s parent(s), legal guardian, conservator, attorney, or physician; (3) a law enforcement or other investigatory official whose performance of his or her legal duties entitles him or her to the information contained in the birth certificate”, or upon judicial order. It would also restrict access to the examination of records and returns of marriage records, or of copies of such records in the department of public health, shall not be permitted except upon proper judicial order, or upon request of a person seeking his own birth or marriage record, or his attorney, physician, parent, guardian, or conservator.

This legislation is being redrafted. It will address issues such as the disclosure requirements for sellers at the point of sale, inspections, and allow for lead-free certification.

Currently, part-time municipal workers are barred by state law from negotiating for health care benefits. This bill would remove that prohibition, but would not require cities or towns to negotiate or provide such benefits. This is particularly important with the advent of the health insurance mandates.

Currently, teachers who were laid off through no fault of their own because of budget cuts cannot purchase time as credible service in the retirement system. This bill would allow them to purchase that time.

This legislation would allow members of the state retirement system who have completed ten or more years to purchase up to four years of creditable service, plus buyback interest, for time spent on maternity, paternity, or adoption leave; to care for an ill immediate family member; or for an unpaid leave of absence for such purposes

The current COLA base is $12,000, which equates to only a $360 annual COLA adjustment. The value of pensions falls farther and farther behind, due to inflation. PERAC has proposed increasing the COLA base from $12,000 to $16,000 in an attempt to ensure that retirees’ pensions keep up with inflation. The increase would be funded by extending the funding schedule two years. This would increase from $360 to $480 the maximum annual cost of living adjustment.

Currently, employees who leave service with less than 5 years of working time receive no interest on their contributions to the pension fund and employees of 5 to 10 years only receive passbook interest. This bill would provide all public employees of less than 10 years buy-back interest, which is 4.125% or half of the actuarially assumed interest rate of return, on their pension contributions.

This bill allows part-time faculty who teach at one or more state higher education institutions to be eligible for membership in the state retirement system, provided s/he teaches at least two three-credit courses per semester or four three or more credit courses per calendar year.

People 65 years of age and older currently have the option to defer paying their property taxes until such a time when their home is sold or conveyed. Under existing law, this is a local option that is capped at $40,000 for a married couple filing jointly. Unfortunately, many seniors are denied an opportunity to take advantage of this program the qualifying income level is too low. Given the high cost-of-living in Massachusetts, this is unrealistically low and penalizes ‘house rich and cash poor’ seniors living on a fixed income who exceed the current $40,000 threshold. This legislation proposes increasing the local option cap to $65,000

This bill will encourage growth of Massachusetts’ renewable energy economy by supplementing existing income tax credits for renewable energy installations by an additional 15% or $1,000 (whichever is less) above the current incentives, provided that the renewable energy components were manufactured in Massachusetts.

This bill would require private institutions, such as colleges, universities, and hospitals, that employ sworn Campus Police Officers with law enforcement authority to make the non-exempt portions of their crime reports accessible to any person requesting the information. This is already provided by other public institutions in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under the Public Records Law.

Boston and its surrounding neighborhoods are a labyrinth to many. This bill would require the posting of street signs to help demystify the streets of the Commonwealth and in so-doing, make them safer. This issue affects several different areas of the community including travel and tourism and public safety.

Exposed by the Boston Globe Spotlight team, debt collectors use unscrupulous practices to harass and threaten consumers into paying down debt that collection agencies purchase from creditors. Many of these consumers are elderly, victims of identity theft, or victims of mistaken identity. Debt collectors are able to seize cars, harass consumers, and abuse the small claim courts.
This bill seeks to reform debt collection practices, provide more oversight of constables, and increase the amount of property consumers can exempt from collection.

This bill directs the DOE to procure a full and independent review of the effectiveness of charter schools in Massachusetts, to be conducted by a reputable entity not affiliated with charter schools or regular public schools in the Commonwealth. It suspends the DOE's authority to grant new charters until the study and recommendations are completed.