Sen. Robyn Kennedy

Maddy summaryThis bill authorizes the town of Boylston to hire a police Lieutenant for a contract term of up to three years. It allows the town's Select Board to create an employment agreement for this position under the same rules and limits that apply to other municipal employees. The legislation specifically overrides previous state laws and local by-laws that might have restricted such a hiring arrangement.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a special commission to evaluate Massachusetts' refugee resettlement infrastructure and develop strategies for better long-term integration. The commission will include at least 19 members representing government agencies, refugee service organizations, employers, and individuals with lived experience as refugees. Its primary tasks involve investigating current service gaps, analyzing funding needs, and reviewing how state policies affect refugee access to housing, healthcare, education, and employment. Within one year of starting, the commission must submit its findings and any recommended laws or regulations to the governor and the state legislature.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Massachusetts law to create a formal process for nursing facility residents to request waivers of financial penalties known as periods of ineligibility. It establishes a rebuttable presumption that individuals qualify for these waivers if they can prove they lack resources for basic needs, have made reasonable efforts to recover transferred funds, and have no cheaper care options available. The legislation also ensures that a facility does not need to explicitly plan to discharge a resident for nonpayment for the waiver to be considered. Finally, the state health division is required to write new regulations outlining how these hardship requests will be evaluated and appealed.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a special commission to investigate and study homelessness among women in Massachusetts. The commission will be composed of elected officials, state agency representatives, and community experts, including individuals with lived experience of homelessness. Its main tasks are to assess community needs and provide recommendations on preventing homelessness, improving shelter conditions, expanding permanent housing options, and ensuring women have access to necessary health and social services. The commission is required to submit its final report and findings to state legislative and housing committees by July 31, 2023.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a new Special Commission on Oral Health within the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to study the state's oral disease burden and identify gaps in care. The commission will consist of representatives from government agencies, medical societies, diverse community groups, and dental schools, with the goal of developing a strategic plan to improve access and quality of dental services for all residents. Key tasks include conducting a statewide oral health needs assessment by December 2025, establishing a data surveillance system, and providing recommendations to address disparities and increase provider enrollment in state health programs. The commission is required to submit its final findings and policy suggestions to relevant legislative committees by the end of 2023.

Maddy summaryThis Massachusetts bill requires that social service and home care workers be paid at least 140 percent of the state's minimum wage. To make this possible, the state agency overseeing these programs must adjust the payment rates it gives to service providers to cover the increased labor costs. Before setting these new rates, the agency must hold public hearings to gather input from workers, employers, and community members, and it must investigate current wages and working conditions. The law also grants the agency the power to issue subpoenas to ensure witnesses and records are available during this investigation process.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a statewide network of community-based services and family resource centers designed to support families and children in need of assistance. The Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services would create these centers to help families keep children at home and in their local schools while addressing needs such as mental health care, housing, food, and education. The law requires the use of standardized assessment tools to identify family strengths and needs, along with a data collection system to track service gaps and outcomes. Additionally, the bill mandates that annual reports to the legislature include detailed statistics on the number of families served, program results, and demographic information broken down by race, ethnicity, gender, and age.

Maddy summaryThis Massachusetts bill requires the Department of Children and Families to create a Bias-Free Case Review Team at each Area Office to evaluate emergency child removals. Before these teams review a case, the department must remove specific demographic details, such as race, income, and location, from case files to prevent potential bias in decision-making. The review process focuses on safety factors and family strengths rather than personal characteristics, though certain cultural or religious contexts may still be considered if relevant to the allegations. Additionally, the department must submit an annual report to a joint committee analyzing how the program affects removal rates for Black, Indigenous, and children of color.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Massachusetts law to define the specific roles of school resource officers and limit their involvement in student discipline. It explicitly prohibits these officers from acting as disciplinarians, enforcing school rules, or replacing mental health professionals, restricting their police powers to serious criminal or delinquent conduct that poses substantial harm. Additionally, the legislation requires school superintendents to publicly report detailed data on officer costs, proposed mental health budgets, and specific interactions with students, such as arrests and searches, to ensure transparency. Failure to provide this data could prevent the state from approving the assignment of new school resource officers to a district.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a new Consumer Health Data Act in Massachusetts to protect individuals' personal health information from unauthorized collection and use. It defines "Consumer Health Data" broadly to include medical records, genetic information, biometric data, and even health-related data inferred from other sources like purchase history. The law requires companies to obtain clear, written, opt-in consent from consumers before collecting or sharing this data, explicitly banning consent obtained through pre-checked boxes or general terms of service agreements. Additionally, the bill establishes strict rules for how data can be shared with affiliates and excludes certain categories like employment records and approved scientific research from these protections.