An Act to return DOC and Parole to Health and Human Services

HD 1757 creates a special commission to study transferring Massachusetts' Department of Correction (DOC) and Parole Board from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. The bill cites historical context (DOC was under Health and Human Services before 1991), current issues like 70% of DOC's budget going to labor instead of rehabilitation programs, and reports of unmet mental health care standards. The commission will examine legal implications, potential impacts on services and recidivism, fiscal effects, and practices in other states. It must hold public hearings and submit a report with recommendations by December 2026, but the bill itself does not enact the transfer - it only authorizes the study.