Senate targets police interactions with blue envelope bill

The Senate passed three perennial bills Thursday comparatively early in the session giving their sponsors hope that they will conclusively cross the finish line this time around Senators unanimously approved bills to strike from state laws outdated and offensive language referring to people with disabilities S removing statutes criminalizing certain sex acts and blasphemy S and creating a activity to improve interactions between police and autistic drivers S I want to acknowledge that it s taken years to get to this point and just say that this is an example of the importance of persistence revealed Sen Pat Jehlen who has sponsored the Senate version of the bill to remove offensive language regarding people with disabilities for over a decade She commented the first version of the bill drafted years ago removed sections of state law that used the word handicapped Every year researchers unveiled more and more instances of offensive language slurs and out-of-date terminology for people with disabilities to be stricken from state statute causing delays The bill passed approved on Thursday would change instances of outdated language mostly by inserting people with disabilities This bill represents a essential step forward not only in how we talk about disability but in how we affirm the value and dignity of every person across this commonwealth declared Sen Robyn Kennedy co-chair of the Committee on Children Families and Persons with Disabilities These words have remained in our legal code for far too long words that no longer reflect our values or our understanding of disability This bill replaces those terms with modern person-first language that centers respect humanity and inclusion Melissa Reilly a longtime aide in Sen Jamie Eldridge s office and advocate for people with disabilities and Down syndrome like herself came to watch the session She left her job in the State House earlier this year when her family moved to Connecticut but she had been a passionate advocate for this bill for a decade Every senator who spoke about the bill thanked Reilly for her work As chair of Rules Committee even after we put the bill out in and I would still hear from Melissa Reilly almost every day saying where s the bill And I would say well explain that we did it And she d say I don t care where s the law There s a big difference between a bill and a law and Melissa made it clear she was looking for a law not a bill explained Sen Mark Montigny Senators also adopted a Sen Cindy Creem amendment to change language in state laws from hearing impaired to deaf and hard of hearing Creem disclosed a constituent had brought the issue to her attention The language in our statutes should reflect the rich tradition and diversity of deaf and hard of hearing group not falsely imply that the population is somehow damaged or less than perfect Creem explained Senators took up another bill to update statutes by striking so-called archaic laws The U S Supreme Court ruled anti-sodomy laws unconstitutional in and Massachusetts has legally recognized same-sex marriage since but sections of state law still feature discriminatory restrictions on sexual interactions between consenting adults Massachusetts still has laws on its books that could send a person to prison for sodomy or unnatural acts as well as for using the Holy Name of God in a curse The courts have deemed these laws basically irrelevant but Senate Democrats commented Thursday that their continued presence in state statute could be a threat to the LGBTQ society and other Bay Staters Massachusetts is the only state in New England that has not removed anti-sodomy laws from its books We re living in turbulent times revealed Sen Julian Cyr A barrage of federal action in just the last seven months the reversal of Roe v Wade coupled with a surge of anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ bill across the country underscores the imperative for vigilance in defense of rights and liberties This statute is not just cosmetic It s about reaffirming Massachusetts commitment to personal liberty and to equality in an era of escalating threats to the most of sacred of our rights The Sen William Brownsberger bill would also remove the term common nightwalker from state laws which he commented has been used specifically to target trans women walking at night to prosecute or grab off the streets The Senate also adopted a Sen Sal DiDomenico amendment to strike language in statute that related to petit treason which shocked both DiDomenico and Sen Bruce Tarr to discover was still in Massachusetts state law Petit treason is a crime of killing one s superior namely an enslaved person killing their enslaver a wife killing her husband or a clergyman killing their superior DiDomenico announced There are two individuals that were convicted of petit treason in the commonwealth in if you can believe that we saw that this law has been in existence since in our state and it happened in Charlestown where I represent in contemporary times DiDomenico declared There were two enslaved people who could no longer endure their enslaver s severe cruelty Each was convicted and sentenced to death Mark was the first person who was hanged publicly while Phyllis the second person was burned to death Petit treason is archaic and was primarily used for discriminatory purposes and it should be stricken from the general laws Tarr called it offensive inappropriate and to say that it is outdated is an understatement Lastly the Senate took up a Sen Jo Comerford bill to codify a blue envelope operation in Massachusetts law to improve interactions between police and autistic drivers Under it participating drivers could choose to place copies of their license registration and insurance cards inside a blue envelope which acts as a visual cue for police and other masses safety officers during stressful and potentially dangerous traffic stops The envelope would notify police that the driver is autistic and provide guidance for how to handle certain behaviors such as stimming Drivers can also share exigency contact information on the envelope The Massachusetts State Police began a voluntary initiative modeled after the provision last year even though the bill was not made law Comerford reported she was grateful to the State Police for beginning the undertaking but it was still fundamental to codify the operation in statute It is critical that we codify this into law so our state statute says this is a protection that will be lasting Comerford mentioned Senators also adopted an amendment from Sen Michael Moore to mandate training once every five years for police officers on safe interactions with autistic people This training would make sure they really get the training so they can recognize specific of the characteristics of someone who may have a developmental disability and being able to recognize those characteristics to work with them We did a lot of that work in police adjustment making sure that police interact appropriately hopefully with the general community Every demographic should be treated fairly and appropriately Moore commented The bills are now in the House s hands The House passed a version of the disability language bill last session The archaic languages and blue envelope bills died in House Options and Means