New England Public Radio

Senate Leaders Unveil Anti-Addiction Proposal

Massachusetts Senate leaders are calling for new, sweeping anti-addiction measures.

The legislation would hit the opiate addiction crisis at multiple stages — from prescription to treatment.

“This is a bold move, we know that,” says Senate President Therese Murray. “We have to break the cycle of addiction before it breaks us.”

Among the proposed rules, all doctors would get training in prescription monitoring before they could renew their license. Pharmacists would have to substitute safer painkillers for opiates that can be easily abused. The public health commissioner could order pharmacy products off the shelves if they start showing up in synthetic drug recipes.

“However, I want to assure the people of Massachusetts that we are not here to stop people with chronic pain or who need end of life care to get the drugs and treatment they need to lead comfortable and productive lives,” Murray adds.

Another part of the plan targets insurers — they could no longer demand prior authorization before an addict gets into detox or clinical treatment. Murray says the full Senate is expected to take up the bill on Tuesday.

The State House News Service contributed to this story.

DeLeo, Murray: Head of Mass. DCF Needs To Go

The leaders of the Massachusetts House and Senate are calling for the head of the state’s Department of Children and Families to resign.

Speaker Robert DeLeo called a last-minute press conference, following the death of a 2-week old from Fitchburg whose family was being monitored by DCF. In another recent case, the agency misplaced a fax from Grafton police concerning a 4-week old who later died.

He demanded Commissioner Olga Roche leave office. 

“I am angered to see this continuing to happen,” DeLeo told reporters. “It shows to me complete mismanagement on behalf of DCF. We have to take strong action. We can’t wait until the end of the year. We can’t wait for a new governor.”

Shortly after DeLeo’s comments, Senate President Therese Murray sent out a statement saying Roche should resign and someone should be brought in who can turn the agency around.

Two dozen other lawmakers previously called for Roche’s resignation following the disappearance of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver, who was recently found dead.

There has been no comment from Roche. And Governor Deval Patrick would not say whether or not he will ask Roche to step down. In the past, he has supported the commissioner with varying levels of enthusiasm.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

‘Gamesmanship’ Leads To Embarrassing Delay For Mass. Minimum Wage Bill

Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s minimum wage bill was scheduled to be released Thursday, but it’s hit a roadblock.

Deleo’s minimum wage bill has suffered an embarrassing delay. The House committee which was preparing the bill missed a deadline by one day. And now the Senate won’t grant an extension.

Robert Hedlund, a Republican on the committee says he’s seen this kind of thing before.

“Just some gamesmanship right now between the House and the Senate on this issue,” says Hedlund.

Senate President Therese Murray has been leading the charge on a minimum wage hike. She put it on the fast track in her chamber. The Senate approved an $11 minimum wage last year, and passed business-friendly changes to the unemployment insurance system in February.

The House has not acted on the Senate bills, instead deciding in recent weeks to start from scratch.

The top Democrat on that House committee, Tom Conroy, blames the Senate for the delay. He calls the move “insider, petty politics at its worst.” But state Sen. Dan Wolf points out the house has had months to act.

Leaders in both chambers are now considering their next steps for the minimum wage and unemployment insurance proposals.

State House News Service and New England Public Radio’s Sam Hudzik contributed to this report.

With Unusual Speed For Legislation, Bill Banning ‘Upskirting’ Becomes Law

Updated at 1:14 p.m.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill banning the practice of secretly taking photographs up the skirts of women in public. That’s according to a statement Friday morning from the governor’s office.

State House and Senate lawmakers passed the legislation on Thursday. That action came one day after the state Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a man who took cellphone photos up the skirts of women riding the Boston subway did not violate the law.

Senate President Therese Murray says she was stunned and disappointed by the ruling.

“Women and children should be able to go to public places without feeling that they are not protected by the law. So this will at least bring us up to speed now but what technology comes in the future, we’ll need to stay on top of.”

The legislation would make taking the photographs a misdemeanor. Distributing them would be a felony.

While some bills languish for years on Beacon Hill, staffers worked furiously to craft this measure while lawmakers pushed it through without a public hearing.

“I don’t know if we could move much faster than this in the Legislature!” says House Speaker Robert Deleo.

The governor commented on the issue during a visit to Belchertown on Thursday morning.

“[The ruling] means we’re going to have to change the law, I think,” Patrick said. “Judges don’t have the job of interpreting the law the way they wish it was, but rather the way it is.”

New England Public Radio’s Henry Epp and Sam Hudzik contributed.

Quick Reaction From Lawmakers After Mass. High Court Ruling On ‘Upskirt’ Photos

House Speaker Robert DeLeo on Wednesday afternoon said he would immediately begin work to update state law in response to a Supreme Judicial Court ruling that found that the state’s “Peeping Tom” law could not be applied to “upskirt” photos taken secretly of women who are clothed.

Bills to address the issue have been pending before the Judiciary Committee since they were filed in January 2013.

“The ruling of the Supreme Judicial Court is contrary to the spirit of the current law. The House will begin work on updating our statutes to conform with today’s technology immediately,” DeLeo said in a short statement issued by his office.

The high court on Wednesday dismissed the state’s case against Michael Robertson, who was accused of using his cell phone to take upskirt photographs of women on the MBTA’s Green Line. The court ruled that the women involved in the case were not nude or partially nude, as defined by law, and did not have an expectation of privacy from photographs on a public train.

The bills awaiting action in committee would seek to address the gap in law by adding “whether naked or covered by undergarments” to the legal definition of “nude or partially nude.”

The current law prohibiting the covert photographing or videotaping of a person without their knowledge who is nude or partially nude and in a “place or circumstance” where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy carries a penalty of up to 2 ½ years in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.

Calling Massachusetts “better than this,” Senate President Therese Murray also said she would speak to members during a Democratic caucus on Thursday about updating the law.

“I am stunned and disappointed. We have fought too hard and too long for women’s rights to take the step backward that they did today. I am in disbelief that the courts would come to this kind of decision and outraged at what it means for women’s privacy and public safety in the Commonwealth,” Murray said in a statement.

Early Voting Proposal Moves Forward in MA Legislature

In a hasty joint meeting of the state legislature Wednesday, a proposal that would amend the Massachusetts constitution to allow early voting and unrestricted absentee ballots in the state inched forward.

Senate President Therese Murray quickly took the vote and advanced the measure to a third reading. 

A third reading is a crucial step to implementing new voting laws, Murray says. The proposal would allow state residents to cast ballots up to ten days ahead of an election and allow anyone to cast an absentee ballot. But the proposal still must pass the legislature twice in the next two years, before it’s sent to voters for approval. The legislature did not act Wednesday on another proposed amendment that would set up a process to fill a lieutenant governor vacancy.