Dear Conference Committee Members,
I am writing today as the chair of the Issues Committee and Secretary of the Board of Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide grassroots progressive advocacy
We urge you to the inclusion of the following provisions in a final bill, We would specifically note that without strengthening the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act and limiting qualified immunity, most other reforms in the bill will fail to deliver on their promise. If our legal system continues to allow police officers to violate the basic constitutional rights of Massachusetts residents, especially those who are Black or Brown, with impunity, then little if any “reform” will have taken place.
From the SENATE Bill:
(1) Section 10, which enables victims of police abuse to seek redress in the courts
(2) Sections 34-40, which require transparency and public decision-making about local police acquisition of military equipment such as tanks, grenade launchers, and armored vehicles
(3) Section 37, which establishes a Justice Workforce Reinvestment Fund
(4) Section 49, which prohibits schools from transmitting to law enforcement personal information about students or their family members
(5) Section 50, which permits school superintendents to determine whether or not police should be assigned to local schools.
(6) Section 52, which bans racial and other profiling, requires data collection for all stops, frisks, and searches with, analysis, reporting, and accountability if the data demonstrates profiling
(7) Sections 59-61, which clarify that individuals petitioning for expungement may do so for more than one record and creates a limited, rather than indefinite, lookback period for expungement eligibility.
(8) Language in Section 55 – 2(f) that requires police to plan for de-escalation in advance of protests or gatherings
From the HOUSE bill:
(1) Section 2, which clarifies that law enforcement misconduct records are public records
(2) Section 25, which restricts government use of facial surveillance
(3) Section 78, which establishes reasonable safeguards around the use of no-knock warrants
(4) The definition of “choke hold” in Section 29
Sincerely,
Jonathan Cohn
Chair, Issues Committee
Secretary, Board
Progressive Massachusetts
