Rep. Russell Holmes

Maddy summaryThis bill requires health insurance plans in Massachusetts to cover specific breast cancer screening and diagnostic tests, such as digital breast tomosynthesis and breast MRI, on the same terms as standard mammograms. It directly affects employees of the state, Medicaid beneficiaries, and individuals with private insurance policies by mandating equal coverage and prohibiting higher out-of-pocket costs for these advanced tests. The legislation also creates an exception for high-deductible health plans to maintain their tax-advantaged status, provided they still cover preventive care as defined by federal guidelines. By amending state laws governing the Group Insurance Commission, Medicaid, and private insurance, the bill aims to expand access to early detection tools for breast cancer.

By Representative Kearney of Scituate, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3069) of Patrick Joseph Kearney and others relative to allowing legislative employees to unionize. State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.

Maddy summaryThis bill aims to increase police transparency by mandating that law enforcement agencies publicly report detailed data on officer demographics, hiring practices, and traffic stop statistics. It requires agencies to publish information on recruitment efforts for officers of color and the reasons why officers leave the force. Additionally, the legislation establishes a permanent task force to audit government agencies for compliance with diversity goals, which mandate that staff reflect the racial and gender makeup of the state population. The bill also updates training requirements to include implicit bias education and scenarios based on current criminal data, while ensuring officers are trained to use non-lethal force before resorting to physical force. Finally, it restricts the types of offenses recorded in certain police reports to only those involving murder.

Maddy summaryThis bill modifies Massachusetts law to allow individuals held in pre-trial detention to earn sentence reduction credits for their good behavior, even before they are convicted. Under the new rules, these credits accumulate while the person is waiting for trial but can only be applied to shorten their prison sentence once they are found guilty and sentenced. The bill also specifies that these accumulated credits will expire when the person is released from custody related to the original charges and cannot be used to reduce time served in future incarcerations.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends the Massachusetts General Laws to expand the legal definition of a "prostituted person" for the purposes of the state's sex trafficking statute. The change directly affects individuals currently involved in sex work by including them under the protections of the law if they are victims of sexual servitude, sex trafficking, or specific forms of prostitution involving fees, necessities, minors, or street solicitation. By broadening this definition, the legislation ensures that a wider range of people engaged in the sex trade can access existing legal remedies and support services designed for trafficking victims. The bill does not alter criminal penalties but rather clarifies who qualifies for the state's victim assistance framework.

Maddy summaryThis bill reforming juvenile offender law in Massachusetts primarily affects young people charged with serious crimes, specifically murder. It raises the age of criminal responsibility for murder from 18 to 19, meaning individuals who commit murder between ages 16 and 19 will face adult sentencing but retain a right to parole based on their maturity and rehabilitation. Additionally, the legislation mandates that youths aged 14 to 16 accused of murder be tried in juvenile court rather than adult court, while ensuring they are held in separate facilities from adult prisoners until their 18th birthday. The bill also requires that these youthful offenders have access to educational and treatment programs regardless of their crime or sentence length, and it establishes procedures to pause legal proceedings if a juvenile's ability to understand the trial process is questioned.

Maddy summaryThis bill aims to reduce mass incarceration by expanding parole eligibility for certain prisoners currently serving life sentences in Massachusetts. It removes specific exclusions that previously barred individuals with multiple life sentences or those convicted of first-degree murder as minors from applying for parole. Under the new rules, prisoners serving multiple life sentences would become eligible for parole 25 years after their most recent conviction began, and courts would be required to set a minimum prison term of 25 years for first-degree murder cases. Additionally, the legislation adjusts the minimum parole term for juveniles who commit murder before their 18th birthday, ensuring they are not automatically excluded from future parole consideration.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Massachusetts law to prohibit law enforcement from using deception during interrogations of juveniles. It defines deception as sharing false information or unauthorized promises of leniency and establishes a legal presumption that any statement made by a juvenile under these deceptive conditions is involuntary and inadmissible in court. The law also extends this protection to any evidence derived from such statements, making them inadmissible as well. Prosecutors can only introduce these statements if they prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the juvenile's words were voluntary and not influenced by deception.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires covered employers in Massachusetts to submit detailed wage data reports alongside their existing annual reports to the state secretary. The state secretary will then compile this information and publish aggregate wage statistics on the executive office of labor and workforce development website, organized by industry and released annually by June 1. While the bill mandates the collection and public release of these aggregate statistics, it explicitly excludes the individual wage data reports from being considered public records, thereby protecting specific employer information from public disclosure.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows pharmacists in Massachusetts to dispense up to a 30-day supply of insulin without a doctor's immediate authorization during emergency situations where a patient cannot quickly reach their provider. The law defines an emergency as a time when obtaining standard authorization is not readily available and requires pharmacists to use their professional judgment to determine if the medication is essential to prevent harm. To prevent abuse, the bill restricts pharmacists from providing this emergency supply to the same patient more than once within any six-month period. Additionally, the legislation updates several state laws to explicitly include insulin as an item that can be dispensed under these emergency conditions.