Relates to the duty of a vehicular assailant to support a surviving child

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Andrew Gounardes and 3 co-sponsors

Renames all probation references to Massachusetts Probation Service across state laws; a technical, administrative update with minimal impact on duties or powers.

REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

Summary — S.1705 (194th Gen. Court, 2025)

Title on file: "An Act concerning the Massachusetts Probation Service"
Primary sponsor: Sen. Patricia D. Jehlen (Second Middlesex)
Status (per provided docket): Referred to Judiciary; hearing scheduled 06/26/2025

Note on inconsistency: The header you provided ("Relates to the duty of a vehicular assailant to support a surviving child") does not match the bill text. The actual bill text is an organizational/technical measure renaming probation references to the "Massachusetts Probation Service." This summary is based on the bill text.

Purpose and intent

The bill’s stated purpose is to standardize statutory terminology by replacing multiple references to various probation-related entities (e.g., “office of probation,” “department of probation,” “commissioner of probation,” “board of probation,” “probation department,” etc.) with the unified designation “Massachusetts Probation Service.” The change appears intended to clarify the agency name used throughout the General Laws.

Key provisions

Systematically amends numerous sections across the General Laws (including chapters 6, 6A, 22, 27, 30, 32, 90, 94C, 119A, 140, 208, 209, and others as the text continues) by replacing existing probation-related terms with the phrase “Massachusetts Probation Service.”

Replaces references to individual officer titles (e.g., “commissioner of probation”) or local/departmental structures with the single institutional name.

The draft provided is a straight textual substitution; it does not add, remove, or alter substantive powers, duties, penalties, funding, or processes assigned elsewhere in law.

Who is affected

State-level entities: the probation function and any state offices, departments, or records that currently use the older names.

Judiciary and courts that interact with probation statutes and forms.

Local probation departments and probation officers (administrative references, paperwork, directives).

Attorneys, probation supervisors, law enforcement, and agencies that cite or rely on affected statutory language.

State legislative drafters, legal publishers, case management systems, and administrative rules that will require updates to reflect the new terminology.

Practical impact and implementation

Substantive effects: Minimal — the bill is administrative/technical and does not change underlying statutory duties or authority.

Administrative effects: Requires updating statutory cross-references, regulations, forms, agency signage/letterhead, IT systems, training materials, grant documents, and interagency agreements to reflect the new name.

Transitional risk: If any statutory or regulatory text not covered by this bill continues to use old terminology, discrepancies could cause temporary confusion; comprehensive review is advisable.

Procedural / timeline notes

Filed (docket) Jan. 15, 2025; introduced by Sen. Jehlen.

According to the provided legislative actions, the bill has been referred to the Judiciary Committee and a hearing was scheduled for 06/26/2025.

The bill text does not specify an effective date; absent a provision, changes would typically take effect upon enactment.

If you want, I can:
- Produce a redline showing the specific sections changed (based on the full text), or
- Identify additional statutory sections that cite “probation” terms to ensure the substitution is comprehensive.