Bill
H 4465
Standardizes cross-agency data collection and public, anonymized recidivism data via an API to guide Massachusetts justice-reinvestment policy and oversight.
Status: Reported favorably by the Judiciary Committee; referred to House Ways and Means. Introduced September 11, 2025.
Purpose and intent
- This act aims to clarify and standardize data collection, reporting, and oversight across the Massachusetts criminal justice system to support Justice Reinvestment policies.
- It consolidates and updates data standards for the trial court and multiple criminal justice agencies, improves public accessibility of non-identifiable data, and strengthens annual and quarterly reporting to inform policy decisions.
Key provisions
1) Section 18¾, Chapter 6A — data collection and reporting standards (replacing clauses 12–14)
- (12) Data standards and cross-tracking system
- Agencies covered: trial court, probation service, parole board, EOPSS, Department of Correction, houses of correction, county jails, and district attorneys.
- Required data: includes a unique statewide ID for each person in the criminal justice system; offense, dates/times, location; demographic details (race, ethnicity, gender, age); caregiver status and reproductive health needs; risk/needs assessment scores; participation and completion of evidence-based programs; jail/custody dates and release dates.
- Regulations: secretary must promulgate data submission formats and categories.
- Public access: anonymized cross-agency data must be accessible via an API to allow analysis of electronically available records.
(13) Recidivism data standards
(14) Race and ethnicity data reporting
2) Section 11, Chapter 7D — governance and oversight duties
- The Justice Reinvestment Oversight Board must meet quarterly to review:
- Compliance with data requirements (paras. 12–14)
- Public data availability via portals (anonymous data)
- Data collection policies across racial, ethnic, and gender classifications
- Additionally, the board must review gender-specific risk/needs screening for alignment with evidence-based programs
- Annual reporting: a report on data collection and compliance must be submitted to the clerks of the House and Senate by July 1 each year.
Affected entities and impact
- State agencies: trial court, probation service, parole board, EOPSS, Department of Correction, houses of correction, county jails, and the several district attorneys.
- Oversight and transparency: strengthens the Justice Reinvestment Oversight Board’s role in ensuring consistent data practices and publicly accessible analytics.
- Public policy and research: enabling more robust, data-driven analysis of recidivism, program effectiveness, and racial/ethnic disparities.
Implementation timeline and process
- Regulations: secretary to promulgate data submission formats and categorization standards (and related cross-tracking requirements) as part of Section 18¾.
- Data portal: development of anonymized public API for cross-agency data.
- Meetings and reporting: quarterly board meetings; annual reporting due by July 1 to key legislative clerks.
- No explicit effective date provided in the text; implementation follows passage and regulatory promulgation.
Legislative actions
- 2025-09-11: Reported from the Judiciary Committee; new draft referenced as H1636; bill subsequently reported favorably and referred to House Ways and Means.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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