An Act to assist the investigation of serious crimes

HD 3999 amends Massachusetts law to clarify definitions used in criminal investigations. It redefines "transmitted communication" to explicitly include modern digital communications (like smartphone texts, data, and images) while excluding tone-only pagers and financial transaction data. The bill also expands the list of "designated offenses" to include homicide, violent crimes, drug violations, firearm crimes, and human trafficking, along with accessories and conspirators. These changes directly affect law enforcement agencies investigating these specific serious crimes under the updated legal framework.