An Act relative to legislative witness tampering

This bill creates a new criminal offense in Massachusetts for harassing or intimidating witnesses who are expected to testify before the state legislature or its committees. It defines harassment broadly to include actions like phone calls, emails, and messages that would cause a reasonable person significant emotional distress. The law specifically targets individuals who act with the intent to stop a witness from testifying or to retaliate against them, and it extends protection to the family members of those witnesses. Anyone convicted of this crime could face state prison time, jail time, fines, or a combination of these penalties.