H 1682

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 993  FILED ON: 1/14/2025
 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1682
  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  _________________
  PRESENTED BY:
  Rodney M. Elliott
  _________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
   Court assembled:
   The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
  An Act to prevent assaults on sports officials.
  _______________
  PETITION OF:
NAME:  DISTRICT/ADDRESS:  DATE ADDED:
Rodney M. Elliott  16th Middlesex  1/14/2025
David F. DeCoste  5th Plymouth  1/30/2025
Thomas M. Stanley  9th Middlesex  4/17/2025
Christopher Hendricks  11th Bristol  4/29/2026
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  HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 993  FILED ON: 1/14/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1682
    By Representative Elliott of Lowell, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1682) of
    Rodney M. Elliott and David F. DeCoste for legislation to prevent assaults on sports officials.
    The Judiciary.
  [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
  SEE HOUSE, NO. 1475 OF 2023-2024.]
  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  _______________
  In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
  (2025-2026)
  _______________
    An Act to prevent assaults on sports officials.
  Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
    of the same, as follows:
1Chapter 265 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
2Section 13O. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following term shall, unless the
3 context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meaning:
4"Sports official", any individual who serves as a paid or volunteer referee, umpire or line
5 judge, or who serves in similar capacity but may be known by a different title or name.
6(b) If a person: (i) commits an assault or an assault and battery on a sports official
7 immediately prior to, during or immediately following an interscholastic, intercollegiate or any
8 other organized amateur or professional athletic contest in which the sports official is
9 participating; and (ii) knows or reasonably should know that the sports official engaged in the
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10 performance of their duties, the person shall be punished by a fine of not less than $500 and not
11 more than $5,000, or by imprisonment in a house of correction for not less than 90 days and not
12 more than 21/2 years, or both.
13(c) No person shall require a sports official to remain on the playing surface of an athletic
14 contest after the expiration of any interscholastic, intercollegiate or any other organized amateur
15 or sporting contest. Whoever violates the provisions of this subsection shall be punished by a
16 fine of not more than $200 or by imprisonment for not more than 30 days.
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