This session, Jamie has filed the following pieces of legislation to improve public safety:

An Act Relative to Fire Prevention in Senior Housing: This would update building code laws to require all senior public housing developments to have automatic sprinkler systems – a change that could save lives in the event of a fire.  In 2008, a resident of the town of Lunenburg died in a fire that occurred in senior housing that was not installed with a sprinkler system.

An Act Punishing Assault and Battery By Means of a Bodily Substance Upon Correctional Facility Employees: This law would make it a criminal offense to attack a correctional facility employee with a bodily substance, including but not limited to blood, feces, urine, and saliva.

An Act to Clarify Penalties for Violations Occurring While Driving with a Hardship License: This bill, filed at the request of Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone, addresses difficulties with the legal status of hardship licenses issued by the RMV.  The RMV issues hardship licenses to individuals who have had their license revoked for OUI/DUI offenses or for habitual traffic offences.  The hardship license allows the offender to lawfully operate for an identical 12 hour period each day to get to school, work, or medical appointments.   In 2007, the state Appeals Court ruled on a case dealing with a repeat drunk driver finding that a so-called “hardship license” (that had been issued while a regular license had been suspended) amounted to a new license.  The ruling found that even if the individual is in violation of the terms of the hardship license, that individual cannot be charged with operating after suspension.  This bill will clarify this area of the law.

An Act to Establish a State Emergency Response Fund: This bill establishes a fund within the treasury to be used at the discretion of the Director of MEMA for emergency relief to cities and towns for expenditures related to the preparation for and response to an emergency or declared disaster.  The fund exists to make low-interest or no-interest loans to local governments for emergency public works project and to make sure the cities and towns are reimbursed rapidly in the wake of a declared disaster for unforeseen expenditures.