Sen. Anne M. Gobi

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Massachusetts hate crime laws to include offenses motivated by bias against police officers. Specifically, it changes the legal definition so that crimes targeting individuals based on their actual or perceived employment as a police officer are treated as hate crimes. The change directly affects how prosecutors charge offenders and how courts classify incidents involving police personnel. By adding this category, the legislation ensures that attacks on law enforcement driven by prejudice receive the same legal weight as other hate crimes.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates the administrative review board for the Underground Storage Tank Petroleum Cleanup Fund by modifying the list of eligible organizations. It requires the board to include the American Petroleum Institute or its successor, as well as the New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association and the New England Service Station and Automotive Repair Association or their successors. The primary change ensures that these industry groups can continue to participate in the fund's oversight even if their names change. This adjustment affects the composition of the review board responsible for managing the cleanup fund.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows Massachusetts veterans who participated in early atomic weapon testing to obtain free distinctive license plates or emblems for their personal vehicles. To qualify, veterans must provide satisfactory proof of their participation, and the plates are limited to one private passenger car or motorcycle per person. The law also permits the surviving spouse of a deceased veteran to keep these special plates or emblems by paying a standard registration fee plus a $20 annual fee until they remarry or cancel the registration.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Massachusetts law to create a formal process for drivers and passengers who accidentally hit an animal on the road to legally retrieve and use the animal for food. It requires these individuals to immediately report the incident to law enforcement and transport the carcass within 24 hours to a state office to receive a free permit and an official seal. The legislation allows the meat to be donated to approved organizations like food pantries and soup kitchens for distribution to people facing food insecurity, while prohibiting the sale or trade of the animal. Additionally, the bill defines specific terms such as "salvageable animal" and outlines procedures for disposing of animals that are inedible or when no eligible person is involved in the collision.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Massachusetts law to allow licensed raw milk farmers to sell unpasteurized milk directly to consumers outside of their farms, provided a direct contractual relationship exists between the farmer and the buyer. The legislation permits delivery to individual homes or specific receiving sites, while allowing community-supported agriculture programs to operate under similar rules as long as the milk is kept separate from general retail items. Additionally, the bill authorizes farmers to sell raw milk at farm stands even if those locations are not immediately adjacent to the dairy operation. To support these changes, the Department of Agricultural Resources is tasked with creating new regulations covering the handling, storage, and transportation of raw milk, including the allowance of non-mechanical refrigeration methods.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates Massachusetts library laws to ensure that publishers offering digital books and audiobooks to the public must also make them available to libraries on fair terms. It requires these licenses to be accessible to all library types, including public, school, academic, and tribal libraries, without restricting the number of licenses a library can buy on the same day as the general public. The law defines specific rules for these licenses, such as limits on simultaneous users, loan periods, and digital security measures, while prohibiting restrictions on how many copies a library can purchase. Publishers who fail to comply with these requirements could face penalties under state unfair trade practice laws. Ultimately, the legislation aims to modernize how libraries access digital content to better serve their communities.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a new chapter in Massachusetts law to clarify who has the authority to decide how a deceased person's remains are handled. It creates a legal hierarchy where an individual can designate a specific person to control their funeral arrangements through a sworn affidavit, which takes precedence over family members. The law also allows people to make these choices via pre-need funeral contracts, provided those contracts cannot be easily cancelled or changed unless authorized by a designated person or due to insufficient funds. If no specific designation is made, the right to direct disposition follows a set order starting with a surviving spouse, then children, parents, siblings, and grandparents, with rules to resolve disagreements among family members.

Maddy summaryThis bill expands Massachusetts' Good Samaritan law to protect individuals who drive private vehicles to provide emergency care without charging a fee. It shields these volunteers from legal liability for mistakes made during their efforts, except in cases of gross negligence or intentional misconduct. The change directly affects private citizens who wish to assist others in medical emergencies by offering them legal protection while they transport and help the injured.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Massachusetts family law to replace the term "visitation" with "parenting time" and establishes a default rule that parents share decision-making responsibility for their children until a court or agreement states otherwise. It requires judges to include a written parenting plan in all divorce and custody orders, which must outline how parents will share major decisions and living arrangements based on the child's best interests. The legislation defines specific categories for decision-making and residential responsibility, clarifying that shared living time is only designated as such if a child spends at least one-third of their time with each parent without creating a legal presumption for equal time. Courts are instructed to consider factors such as the child's relationship with each parent, the child's reasonable wishes if old enough, and each parent's ability to communicate and cooperate when determining these responsibilities.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends the Massachusetts Tourism Trust Fund to require that grants given to regional tourism councils be distributed by September 1 of the fiscal year they are allocated. The law directly affects regional tourism councils in the state by setting a specific deadline for receiving their funding. This change aims to ensure that these councils receive their allocated money in a timely manner to support local tourism initiatives. The provision does not create new funding but rather establishes a schedule for the release of existing funds.