This bill allows for animals owned, possessed, leased, kept or held to be included in abuse prevention orders.  In doing so, courts may order defendants in domestic violence cases to refrain from abusing, taking, harming, or otherwise disposing of an animal.

2.      An Act Relative to the Creation of Family Justice Centers

This bill would allow for plaintiffs in domestic violence cases to commence action in either the court having venue over their residence or in the court located nearest a Family Justice Center within that county.  For the purpose of this bill a Family Justice Center is defined as a center solely dedicated to service delivery for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. 

3.      An Act Relative to the Teaching of Teen Dating Violence in the Public Schools

This bill directs all school districts in the Commonwealth to implement a teen dating violence policy and discipline code in their public schools. These policies would define the issue of teen dating violence, teach educators and students to recognize warning signs, identify issues of confidentiality and safety, and provide technical and legal guidelines for school-based interventions.

EDUCATION

4.      An Act constituting a state university system (H.1185)

This bill would make our state’s public higher education system more competative by allowing State Colleges the option to become State Universities.  It would also allow for new programs such as doctoral degrees.   State Universities and new degree programs would attract more in-state and out-of-state students to attend school here and remain in Massachusetts after graduation.

5.      An Act creating a commission to regulate commercialism in the public schools (H.487)

This bill establishes and regulates the membership and operation of a special, unpaid commission within the board of education pertaining to commercialism in the public schools and directs said commission to develop guidelines and standards for the use of commercial ventures in public schools, including, but not limited to advertising and marketing.

ELECTION LAWS

6.      An Act Relative To Early Elections (H. 675)

This legislation directs election officials to permit voters to cast their ballots 15 days before the election date in the main or branch office of the supervisor.   Requires early voters to provide identification and complete a form.

7.      An Act to secure the right of blind and visually impaired people to vote under the same conditions of privacy and independence as sighted people (H.0676)

Voting technology and systems which allow the voter to access and select information solely through a visual means are a barrier to access by individuals who are blind or visually impaired, thereby discouraging them from exercising the right to vote. This bill would ensure the privacy and independence for blind and visually impaired voters through both visual and non-visual means. This would allow these individuals to cast a secret ballot and independently verify their vote.

ENVIRONMENT

8.      An Act establishing a special commission on community farming

This bill creates a special commission to investigate and to make recommendations regarding action steps to promote community farming, enhance the state’s agricultural economy, improve the health of the citizens of Massachusetts by promoting fresh and locally-produced food and expanding their availability through community farms, promote environmental sustainability in the food system, help protect farmland and encourage the growth of community farming

FINANCIAL SERVICES

9.      An Act Relative To The List of Legal Investments Prepared By The Commissioner Of Banks (H. 994)

This bill would delete the outdated petitioning process for state chartered credit unions to add permissible investments to the Legal List.  Currently, this process requires ten credit unions to petition the Massachusetts Credit Union Share Insurance Corporation, who then in turn petitions the Commissioner of Banks for approval.  Under this bill, credit unions could petition the Commissioner of Banks directly. 

Amends provisions relative to unfair or deceptive insurance practices to include requiring an injured person to submit to physical examination by licensed a practitioner, selected by the insurer, with unreasonable frequency (no more than one each six months).  Also requires said examinations to be conducted in an accessible location from the injured person’s residence.

11.  An Act promoting responsible investment and the prevention of genocide (H. 3810)

Prohibits the Commonwealth from entering into a trade agreement with ANY country where genocide is occurring – not just in the Sudan – but anywhere in world as determined by the state or federal government.  The bill would also provide financial investment incentives to countries who acknowledge past occurrences of genocide within its borders, including:

(1) Designating priority trading partner status to encourage increased trade with the Commonwealth, and

(2) Granting special investment consideration to countries that have acted to rectify prior acts of genocide in their respective countries.

Health and Human Services

12.  An Act relative to sufficient services within the department of mental retardation (H. 106)

This bill directs the Department of Mental Retardation (Department of Developmental Disability Services as of July 1, 2009) to develop a three-year plan to address all individuals waiting for community-based services, including residential, transportation, family and day-time support.

13.  An act relative to dementia special care units in long term care settings (H. 616)

The bill instructs the Department of Public Health to implement regulations requiring quality standards for Alzheimer's special care units in nursing homes. Staffing levels, safety measures, therapeutic activities, training requirements, and facilities' physical layouts would all be subject to DPH-promulgated regulations.

14.  An Act Relative to Nursing Homes (H. 615)

This bill would require nursing homes to discuss and document communications with new residents regarding advanced directives for end-of-life care issues within two weeks of admission.  This bill proposes a simple solution for a growing number of individuals and families across the Commonwealth.  The increased use of advanced directives for nursing home patients allows individuals the benefit of dictating their own end-of-life wishes.

PUBLIC HEALTH

Refiled Bills

15.  An Act Relative to Patient Health Care Costs (H. 1148)

The bill requires health care facilities to establish self-pay patient programs and provide information on the self-pay program, and provides a venue for billing disputes.

16.  An Act Relative to Cancer Screenings for Municipal Employees (H. 2151)

This bill would permit state and municipal employees up to four hours of paid leave per year for the purpose of undergoing pre-cancer screening.  These hours would be in addition to employees’ sick, personal, and vacation time.

17.  An Act Relative to the Treatment of Hemophilia (H. 2155)

This bill would no longer permit MassHealth to require prior authorization for any anti-hemophilic factor drugs prescribed for the treatment of hemophilia and related blood disorders.

18.  An Act Providing for the Prevention of Influenza in Health Care Workers and High Risk Persons (H. 2158)

This bill requires any physician, nurse, or health care worker, who is employed in a health care setting or who provides health care to persons at high risk for influenza to receive an annual flu shoot.

Persons are exempted for any of the following conditions:

(1) medical or religious reasons;

(2) if such individual refuses the vaccine after being fully informed of the health risks of not being immunized; or

(3) due to supply availability

Elder Care facilities would also be required to offer and, upon consent, administer flu shots to their clients.

19.  An Act Relative to Health Care Providers and First Responder Education (H. 2162)

This bill outlines continuing education and training requirements for healthcare providers, and for healthcare facilities that receive 50% or more of their operating budget from the state, to provide counseling and care of persons diagnosed with HIV or AIDS and on implementation of infection control and worker safety.

20.  An Act Relative to Pneumococcal Disease (H. 2169)

This legislation would require all children to present certification from a physician that the child has been immunized against pneumococcal vaccine before gaining admittance to a day care center or other early child education and care settings.

However, an exception would be allowed for children whose parents object to pneumococcal vaccination on religious grounds or if the child’s physician submits in writing that the procedure would result in an increased risk to the child’s health due to an existing condition.

21.  An Act to Increase the Presence of Dental Hygienists on Board of Registration in Dentistry (H. 2180)

This bill augments the number of board members from 9 to 12. The three additionally members shall be licensed to practice as a dental hygienist and will bring the total number of dental hygienists on the board to three.

22.  An Act Requiring Automatic External Defibrillators in Health and Wellness Facilities (H. 3888)

This bill expands the 2006 Public Access to Defibrillation law that required all health clubs and fitness centers to have AEDs on-site and to have staff trained in their use to include fitness and wellness centers operated by charitable organizations. 

The bill also explicitly states that charitable organizations will not be held liable for any reasonable use or non-use of an AED by an employee or guest. 

This bill was filed on behalf of the YMCA of Massachusetts and the American Heart Association.

23.  An Act Relative to Mutual Aid for Local Public Health (H. 4116)

This bill streamlines the process of a municipality being able to lend and receive the aid they need in a time of localized health emergency to ensure the highest protection of the public’s health and continuation of essential services.

24. An Act Relative to Healthy Cosmetics  (H.4347)

This bill provides for new reporting and regulation of products that are used on a daily basis by millions of consumers in Massachusetts by requiring manufactures of cosmetics to report to the state about the use of “unsafe” ingredients. 

One year after enactment, those products that contain “unsafe” ingredients would no longer be available for sale in Massachusetts.

25.  An Act Relative to Mandatory Reporting of Overdoses (H.4563)

This bill requires physicians attending or treating persons with injuries from opiate, illegal or illicit drug overdoses, report the de-identified information to the Commissioner of Public Health in such a manner determined appropriate by the department.

26.  An Act to Promote Physical Activity and Education in Public Schools

This legislation addresses the physical activity requirements mandated by the Department of Education.  The bill would require a minimum of 120 hours of combined physical education and physically active lunch or recess periods per school year.  The Department of Education shall require a minimum of 50 hours of nutrition and wellness programs in public schools each year to address the nutrition and lifestyle habits needed for healthy development. 

27.  An Act relative to the public health impact of commercialism in schools (H.489)

This bill grants authority to the department of education to promulgate regulations to bar any advertising on school grounds, buildings, or school property during the school day.  It also directs the commissioner of public health to convene a study to assess the impact of advertising and marketing on behavioral risk factors. 

28.  An Act to improve training opportunities for health care workers (H.1805)

This bill establishes a fund to provide grants to eligible organizations, i.e. long-term care facilities, hospitals, and community health centers, to support the training and retraining of health care employees to address changes in the health workforce. 

29.  An Act relative to foods containing artificial trans fats (H.4346)

This bill directs the department of public health to promulgate regulations to enforce a state-wide ban of the use of artificial trans fat in prepared food in restaurants.  It allows extra time for restaurants to remove artificial trans fat from their recipes that use oils or shortenings for dough and cake batter.

30.  An Act regarding wholesale licensure and prescription medication integrity (H.2153)

This bill requires wholesale distributors that engage in the distribution of prescription drugs to obtain licenses from their state licensing authority, regulates the distribution process for out of state wholesale providers, and requires the provision of pedigree papers of drugs outside the normal distribution channels to ensure authenticity of the prescription drugs. 

31.  An Act relating to internet prescription consumer protection (H.2160)

This bill regulates the operation of Internet pharmacies, as well as the disclosure of information by internet pharmacies on their websites, in order to better protect consumers of online pharmacies. 

32.  An Act relative to school nutrition (H.4376)

This bill addresses nutritional standards in Massachusetts elementary and secondary schools.  Specifically, it would establish higher standards for the sale of specific food and drinks in schools. 

33.  An Act to prevent prescription fraud (H.2173)

This bill would require individuals licensed to prescribe controlled substances use tamper-proof prescription pads or an electronic system in order to prescribe said substances.  This would be in line with the recent CMS regulations requiring tamper proof technology to be used for prescriptions in order to be reimbursed.

34.  An Act relative to air quality in schools and public buildings (H.2181)

This bill establishes a new chapter within the MGLs specifically to address indoor air quality in public buildings in Massachusetts.  It establishes a new division within the department of public health, the Division of Indoor Environments, in order to promulgate regulations and establish standards with which building owners will be required to be in compliance. 

35.  An Act to develop a pilot program for unused prescription medication disposal (H.2182)

This bill establishes a task force to investigate and study the disposal of unused medication.  It also directs the task force to develop a pilot program for the safe disposal of unused medications. 

36.  An Act relative to a transfusion related acute lung injury registry (H.2183)

This bill would require hospitals and other health care facilities that perform blood transfusions to report to the department of public health all fatal and nonfatal incidents of Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI).  This data would be maintained in a registry to collect incidence of TRALI in Massachusetts.

37.  An Act to prohibit drug switching payments (H.4520)

This bill would prohibit insurance companies and other carriers from using specific incentive payments as an inducement to change a prescription for a drug or medical product to another drug or product. 

38.  An Act relative to manufacturers’ coupons and rebates (H.1147)

This bill allows for health care providers to provide to patients discounts, rebates or other reductions in price on prescription drugs, whether a direct discount or through a coupon rebate.

39.  An Act relative to elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities (H.2161)

This bill directs the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to conduct a study to investigate the impact of the social determinants of health, including employment, education, health care, housing, recreation, financial lending, racism and discrimination.  The results of this study are to be used to promulgate regulations to reduce the incidence of such racial and ethnic health disparities.

New Bills

40.  An Act Establishing a Health Care Electronic Prescribing Tax Credit

This bill provides a tax credit to health care providers to reduce the costs incurred when purchasing technology and updated infrastructure necessary to adopt and utilize electronic prescribing capabilities.

41.  An Act to Improve MassHealth

This bill would change the auto assignment process within MassHealth for enrollees who do not affirmatively select a managed care option.

The bill changes the process so that individuals would be automatically assigned into a Medicaid MCO rather than to the PCC program.

42.  An Act Improving the Insurance Partnership Program

This bill would change eligibility in the Insurance Partnership Program by expanding the population who may access. The bill:

·         Changes the eligibility standards so that the IPP is accessible to individuals between 301% and 400% FPL;

·         Increases the subsidy for individual coverage from $400 to $600 and for family coverage from $1,000 to $1,500, and;

·         Removes the requirement that the individual not have access to coverage for previous 6 months.

43.  An Act Relative to Pandemic and Disaster Preparation and Response in the Commonwealth

This bill aims to prepare the Commonwealth for a possible pandemic flu or state of emergency and to ensure a quick and efficient response to such an emergency.

It authorizes the DPH Commissioner to direct and cooperate with the appropriate local public health authority to issue an order when there is reasonable cause to believe that a disease or condition dangerous to the public health exists or if there is an immediate risk of an outbreak and certain measures must be taken.  The bill also provides for liability protections for health care workers and volunteers who provide care during such an emergency.

44.  An Act Relative to Physician Services Provided by Physician Assistants

This bill requires that services routinely provided by a physician and already covered by a health plan be reimbursed by those same health insurance plans if they are delivered by a physician assistant in Massachusetts who is licensed to provide those services under state law.

45.  An Act Promoting Better Health in Public Schools through Improved Contracting with Farms in the Commonwealth

This bill amends current state purchasing laws to increase opportunities for local farmers to sell to schools, and to state colleges and universities.

It creates an incentive for large urban school districts to use products from Massachusetts farmers by increasing the maximum no-bid contract amount from $25,000 to $50,000.

The bill also creates an incentive for state colleges and universities to use products from Massachusetts farmers by adding colleges and universities to the local agricultural preference statute.

46.  An Act Regulating Pharmacy Audits

This bill would establish reasonable regulations governing the procedures Pharmacy Benefit Managers use to audit pharmacies. 

The bill also requires that the Pharmacy Benefit Managers notify plan sponsors of money collected as a result of an audit so that the Pharmacy Benefit Managers will not have a financial incentive to audit pharmacies.

47.  An Act Requiring the Public Reporting of Potentially Preventable Hospital Readmissions

This bill will mandate the public reporting of Potentially Preventable Readmissions by health care facilities through a similar process used for the reporting of serious reportable events and hospital –acquired infections adopted in Chapter 305 of the Acts of 2008.

“Potentially Preventable Readmissions” is defined as an admission to an acute care facility that follows a prior acute care admission within a specific time interval to be defined by the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy that is:

(1) clinically related to a prior admission;

(2) potentially preventable, if there was a reasonable expectation that it could have been prevented by one or more of the following:

(a) the provision of quality care in the initial hospitalization,

(b) adequate discharge planning,

(c) adequate post-discharge follow up, or

(d) improved coordination between inpatient and outpatient health care teams.

48.  An Act to Promote Healthy Transportation Planning

This bill seeks to improve access for all residents to public and affordable exercise through requiring local and regional planning to incorporate plans for pedestrians and cyclists, among other things.  It requires that all regional and municipal general plans identify in their circulation or transportation element how that jurisdiction will provide for the routine accommodation for all users of the transportation network including pedestrians, bicyclists, users of public transportation, seniors, people with disabilities, and motorists. The bill will also direct a state office of planning to develop guidelines for these circulation / transportation elements in local and regional plans.

49.  An Act Relative to the Marketing and Distribution of Tobacco Products

This bill updates our tobacco control policies.  Specifically, it:

·         prohibits the sale or marketing of flavored tobacco products;

·         prohibits the sale or marketing of reduced-risk cigarettes, cigarettes that use the terms “light,” “mild,” or “low” on labels or in advertising;

·         bans the distribution of free tobacco products;

·         bans the distribution of tobacco products through vending machines;

·         bans the sale or marketing of tobacco products that are packaged as “little cigars,” and ;

·         bans the sale of “blunt wraps”.

50.  An Act Establishing an Employee Wellness Program Tax Credit

This bill would provide a tax credit to businesses that provide wellness program to their employees.  The Department of Public Health would be tasked with certifying wellness programs to ensure that companies are offering appropriate programs to their employees.

51.  An Act to passively enroll dual eligibles into a Senior Care Options program

This bill would passively enroll dual (Medicare and Medicaid) eligible seniors to a Senior Care Options program, only in areas where two or more Senior Care Option program vendors were available.  Seniors would be afforded a 90 day opt out period, where they would be able to withdraw from the program if unhappy with the benefits provided. 

PUBLIC SAFETY

52.  An Act Relative to DNA Samples                       

This bill requires that all convicted felons punishable by imprisonment shall submit a DNA sample within 90 days of their conviction.  The results of their sample will become part of a state DNA database which will also be used for cross referencing with both state and national crime database files.

53.  An Act Relative to Improving the Sex Offender Registry in the Commonwealth, “Joanne and Alyssa Act”

This bill is named after Joanne and Alyssa Presti, a Woburn mother and daughter who were brutally murdered in January 2004 by a convicted sex offender who had been temporarily living in their neighborhood. This is a comprehensive bill that serves to strengthen the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry by including unannounced visits, counseling, electronic monitoring, random drug-testing, polygraph testing and other aspects of intensive supervision.

Public Service

54.  An Act Relative to the liability expenses for fire fighter and police officers injured in the line of duty (H. 2616)

Police officers and firefighters face significant risks on our behalf each and every day. This bill, would entitle police officers and firefighters to reimbursement for medical expenses incurred as a result of injuries suffered in the line of duty, something not guaranteed in the current system. This bill ensures that all reimbursement payments equal the normal and reasonable rates paid by health insurance carriers.