Senate GOP Caucus Calls for Judiciary Oversight Hearings to Review OUI Laws

I have joined with my Senate Republican Caucus members in calling for legislative oversight hearings to review the state’s OUI laws, following recent media reports of repeat offenders being granted lenient sentences.

Six years ago, the Massachusetts Legislature passed Melanie’s Law to get repeat drunk drivers off the Commonwealth’s roads. Despite the positive steps forward, a Spotlight Team investigation by the Boston Globe earlier this month found that more than 80 percent of drunk driving defendants in Massachusetts who go before a judge rather than a jury are acquitted of the charges.

In light of these reports, the Caucus has sent a hand-delivered letter to the co-chairs of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, asking for one or more oversight hearings to be convened to examine the adequacy of the state’s existing laws for dealing with driving while under the influence.

In our letter, the Caucus cites several recent examples of some of the most blatant repeat offenders, including:

• Patrick Henry of Franklin, who was arraigned on November 28th on charges of driving while under the influence of alcohol, the 11th such time he was arrested for this offense;

• Albert Diaz of East Boston, who was arrested on November 23rd and charged with drunk driving for the 8th time, and whose license was revoked in 2004; and

• Howard Stockbridge of Taunton, who was arrested on November 7th for operating under the influence after five prior charges and for driving without a license, which had been suspended in 2008 for 10 years.

Last year, the National Transportation Safety Board singled out Massachusetts as one of ten states doing the least to combat repeat drunken driving offenses.

Our letter notes: “Our failure to keep repeat drunk drivers off the road is being exacerbated by the judiciary’s reluctance to convict those who are charged with the crime of driving while under the influence. We certainly believe strongly that every criminal defendant is entitled to their day in court and the assumption of innocence until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. An acquittal rate of 80 per cent for bench trials of those accused with driving while under the influence, however, is cause for deep and persistent concern, especially in light of the conviction rate in other states. Unfortunately, this leniency puts Massachusetts in the unenviable position of earning recognition for such a lenient rate, and more seriously, puts the public at a greater risk of danger.”

Attached below is a copy of the Senate Republican Caucus’ letter to the Judiciary Committee co-chairs.

Senate GOP Caucus OUI Oversight Letter to Judiciary Committee

A North Reading Thanksgiving

Once again this year I had the honor of co-hosting the annual Thanksgiving Dinner for North Reading Seniors with House Minority Leader Brad Jones and his wife Linda. The event was a tremendous opportunity for hundreds of members of the community to gather in the spirit of thanks and appreciation. Posted below are a couple photos from the dinner.

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we gather with our families and friends on Thanksgiving, let us not forget the many Americans who are serving our country overseas and spending the holidays thousands of miles away from their loved ones. It is due to their sacrifices, and the sacrifices of those who served before them, that we as Americans continue to enjoy our many freedoms and live in a country that remains a beacon of hope to the rest of the world. Let us also take the time to reflect on the importance in our own lives of helping others and rededicate ourselves to doing so in the future. May you all have a very safe, healthy and happy Thanksgiving!

Cold Fusion Inventor Comes to Boston

Andrea Rossi, an engineer who has captured the attention of the scientific world with two successful tests of his “E-Cat” cold fusion reactor, arrived at the State House on Tuesday morning for two days of meetings with government officials and representatives of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Massachusetts and Northeastern University.

Mr. Rossi’s reactor, if successfully proven and developed, has the potential to change the way the world deals with energy, and I’m pleased that he’s willing to discuss basing its production in Massachusetts.

Rossi’s E-Cat reactor, which has thus far been developed and tested in the Italian city of Bologna, is intended to produce large amounts of energy from a reaction between nickel and hydrogen. The reaction produces heat which then heats water to produce steam, from which electricity can be generated. Importantly, the process creates little to no radiation, a major problem for the nuclear fission process currently used to produce power in reactors around the world.

The enormous potential of this technology demands that it be addressed by the best scientific minds in the world. Since Massachusetts is the home of some of the best colleges and universities in the world, it makes sense for that process to happen here.

Our institutions of higher learning have been tremendous in their response to this opportunity, and I look forward to working with them.

GOP Amendment to Human Trafficking Bill Creates Electronic Child Enticement Crime

The tough anti-human trafficking bill signed into law yesterday by Governor Deval Patrick contains a first-in-the-nation provision to penalize those who use the internet to entice minors that I filed with my Senate Republican colleagues, Senators Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth), Michael Knapik (R-Westfield) and Richard Ross (R-Wrentham). Created through the amendment the new crime of the “electronic enticement of a child” addresses those who use the internet and other electronic devices to lure children into prostitution and other types of sexual servitude.

The new crime would;
• carry a maximum sentence of 5 years and/or a maximum fine of $2,500 for a first offense;
• carry a minimum sentence of 5 years, eliminate the options of parole, probation, work release, “good time” behavior or any other deduction from the sentence until at least 5 years has been served, and/or a maximum fine of $10,000 for a second and all subsequent convictions.

Human trafficking has not only been happening in our state, it has been evolving to take advantage of modern technology. Now we’re taking action to combat those who would enslave others for profit, and the creation of this specific crime will strike directly at perpetrators who use electronic means to snare victims in a tangled web of servitude.

I was one of six legislators who served on the conference committee that authored the final version of the bill. Among its chief provisions are those that include:

• a penalty between 5 and 20 years in prison and/or a maximum fine of $25,000 for a first offense of human trafficking;
• a requirement that convicted human traffickers register with the sex offender registry;
• the creation of services for victims of trafficking;
• the establishment of an interagency human trafficking task force chaired by the attorney general to further develop and improve current law;
• a provision for child witnesses to testify out of court using video and audio equipment; and
• the creation of a human trafficking trust fund for victims.

Passing this bill into law will move our Commonwealth to the forefront of the fight against the horrors of human trafficking. Now we will have modern and effective tools to confront the people who profit from enslaving others.

I joined with legislative leaders and Governor Patrick yesterday for the signing of the bill, and am thankful to those who played a role in bringing it to fruition. They include Manchester resident Christina Bain, Director of the Program on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Senator Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford), Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth), Attorney General Martha Coakley, and Karen McLaughlin, Director of the Massachusetts Human Trafficking Task Force.

Governor Deval Patrick signs the human trafficking bill into law; from left to right: Representative Elizabeth Malia, Speaker Robert DeLeo, Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, Attorney General Martha Coakley, Senator Mark Montigny, and District Attorney of Suffolk County, Dan Conley.

Senator Bruce Tarr talking with Karen McLaughlin, Director of the Massachusetts Human Trafficking Task Force

Senate Republicans offer alternative Congressional districts map

Today the Senate Republicans filed an alternative Congressional redistricting proposal to comply with the state’s need to reduce its number of Congressional seats from 10 to 9 beginning with the 2012 elections.

The plan was filed as an amendment to House Bill 3798, “An Act Establishing Congressional Districts,” which is expected to be debated later this evening during a formal Senate session. Click here to view images of the map and the actual text of the amendment.

The GOP amendment:

• limits the number of municipalities that would be split between two Congressional districts to only five, compared to the Joint Committee on Redistricting’s original plan to split 10 municipalities;

• assures that no individual precincts will be divided between two different Congressional districts, differing from the Redistricting Committee’s proposed plan to divide individual precincts within eight municipalities;

• creates a new Bristol County district that connects communities with common interests into a single district;

• supports a majority-minority district of voting age individuals based in Boston; and

• makes all other districts more compact and/or contiguous.

Media Alert: On the Air with Jeff Katz

Tomorrow morning I will be talking with Jeff Katz of the Jeff Katz Show on Talk 1200AM Boston to provide an update from Beacon Hill. Possible topics include human trafficking, parole and sentencing reform, expanded gaming, congressional redistricting and pension reform. Please tune in or click here tomorrow morning at approximately 8:05AM to listen to our lively discussion.