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S 2102

Relates to authorizing the village of Lewiston to reduce the speed limit to 25 miles per hour on Center Street

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Rob Ortt

Requires release after 75 years of archives from MA institutions serving IDD/mental-health residents; boosts transparency but raises privacy and cost concerns.

REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION
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Bill Summary · S 2102

Summary — S.2102 (Massachusetts)

Title: An Act relating to public access to historical records

Main purpose

S.2102 would amend Massachusetts’ public-records law to require that records held by the Secretary of the Commonwealth (state secretary) that were accessioned from state institutions serving people with intellectual or developmental disabilities or mental-health conditions be made open to public inspection and copying once 75 years have passed since the record’s creation.

Key provision (text)

  • Amend Section 7 of Chapter 66 of the General Laws by adding the sentence: "All records in the custody of the state secretary accessioned from state institutions for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities or mental health conditions in the commonwealth shall be open to public inspection and available for copying after the expiration of seventy-five years from creation of the record."

Who would be affected

  • Primary: researchers, historians, genealogists, journalists, and members of the public seeking historical records relating to individuals who were residents/clients of state institutions for intellectual/developmental disabilities or mental-health care.
  • State agencies: the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s records management and archives units would need to identify, process, and provide access to these accessioned records.
  • Individuals and families: descendants or relatives seeking information about ancestors; also potential privacy concerns for former residents and their families.
  • Advocacy and oversight organizations concerned with institutional history and rights abuses.

Potential impacts and considerations

  • Increases public access and transparency regarding historical institutional records, facilitating research into institutional practices, patient histories, and historical accountability.
  • Raises confidentiality and privacy issues: many records may contain sensitive personal health and identifying information. Implementation would likely require processes for review, possible redaction, or procedures to balance access with privacy and applicable health-record confidentiality laws (e.g., state protections, HIPAA-related considerations where relevant).
  • Administrative workload and cost: inventorying, processing, redacting (if required), and providing access may require staffing, archival work, and possibly funding.
  • Fixed time horizon: the bill establishes a uniform 75-year cutoff measured from record creation for public access.

Procedural / timeline notes (from provided materials)

  • Filed as Senate Docket No. 1458 (filed 01/16/2025) in the 194th General Court (2025–2026); presented by Senators Michael J. Barrett and Joanne M. Comerford.
  • The source material shows multiple committee referrals and entries (including referral to State Administration and Regulatory Oversight and a hearing scheduled 06/24/2025). A committee reported favorably and referred the bill to Senate Ways & Means on 07/07/2025.
  • The provided legislative record contains inconsistent entries (other committee referrals and sponsor listings inconsistent with the Massachusetts filing). The authoritative bill text above is from the Massachusetts Senate docket.

Related / prior measures

  • Related or prior-session bills referenced in the source: S.1212, S.289, S.3192, S.693; companion/related House measure A.4316; Senate docket SD 1458 noted as replacement of prior matter.

If you want, I can:
- Draft a short memo describing likely privacy/redaction approaches and statutory conflicts to consider; or
- Produce suggested legislative language to add procedural safeguards (e.g., redaction standards, notice, or petition processes).

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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