Lawful Citizens Imprisonment Act (H.4139) on the Move Again

On February 26, 2024, the Massachusetts House of Representatives held an informal session with only a handful of members present. During the session, the House voted to not concur (support) the language passed by the Senate (S.2584). This was an expected move as the House Judiciary Chair Michael Day and Speaker Mariano would likely fight for the most egregious of the two bills; the worst of two evils. 

The House then appointed Reps. Day of Stoneham, Gonzalez of Springfield, and McKenna of Webster to a conference committee to work out the details of the final bill with the Senate, should they appoint conferees as well. 

If the conference committee is fully established, all work will be done in secret. Traditionally no one outside of the committee members is allowed to sit in or even listen to the deliberations. They will have until the end of “formal sessions” on July 31, 2024 to complete their task and offer a final bill for an up or down vote for the House and Senate, with no further debate or hearings, even if the bill is drastically changed.

The Senate will likely appoint its members to the committee later this week. 

GOAL will keep our members appraised of any updates.