PAX Centurion - January / February 2015

Page 20 • PAX CENTURION • January/February 2015 617-989-BPPA (2772) W e enter the NewYear with many changes on Beacon Hill. We have new Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Gover- nor Karen Polito. The new Senate President is Stanley Rosenberg of Amherst, who has selected Senator Karen Spilka of Ashland as Chairwoman of Ways and Means. Senator Harriette Chandler of Worcester is the new Senate Majority Leader. Senate President Rosenberg also named Senators Cynthia Creem of New- ton, Brian Joyce of Milton, and Mark Montigny of New Bedford as assistant Majority Leaders. We look forward to having a positive working relationship with all of our elected officials as we enter this new legislative session. I’m happy to report that as of January 16 th , there were three “Bills” filed that were of great importance to the member of The BPPA, Boston EMS, and police officers across the Common- wealth: Bill HD3286, formerly known as Bill H.4529, was described as “AnAct relative to retired Boston Police Officers”. This is the new version of the bill that was filed last year. Bill HD3286 was filed once again by Rep- resentative Daniel Hunt of Dorchester and already has received the approval of Boston Mayor MartyWalsh and The Boston City Council. The new law would allow the Police Commissioner of the City of Boston to appoint retired Boston Police Officers as “Special Police Officers,” in order to perform police de- tails or any imperative duties during the course of police detail work. We hope this will move swiftly through the legislative process. Bill HD3284, the second bill, is referred to as “An act relative to public safety and public health worker protections” (infectious disease transmitted by bodily fluid). This legislation was filed by Representative Nick Collins of Dorchester on the behalf of the BPPA and Boston EMS. The bill applies to any first respond- er, police officer, fire fighter, emergency medical technician, correc- tions officer, ambulance operator or attendant who, while acting in his/her professional capacity, attends, assists, or transports a person to a health care facility and has an “unprotected exposure capable of transmitting an infectious disease dangerous to the public health.” This would ultimately allow the court to issue an order compelling the testing of a patients’ blood or bodily fluid for infectious disease. The third draft of legislation, Bill HD2678, is known as “AnAct Heard on the Hill: Lawrence A. Calderone, BPPA Legislative Agent Welcome to 2015!! Relative to Impeding the Flow of Traffic on a PublicWay.” It calls for a fine ranging from $500 to a maximum of $5,000. In addition to the fine or without the fine, the offender may face imprisonment for up to one year for “intentionally and without lawful authority” impeding or interfering with traffic on a public street or highway. If convicted, subsequent offenses would be met with fines of $2,500 to $10,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year. The bill further stipulates that if the action results in substantial bodily injury to anyone, the fine for the first conviction is $5,000 to $10,000 and imprisonment up to two years. If it results in someone’s death, there would be a jail term of 2½ to 5 years. Anyone found guilty of violating the provisions of the law, if it were enacted by the legislature, would also be required to make restitution to responding public-safety agencies and pri- vate emergency services agencies. We will continue to follow these important pieces of legislation as they proceed through the legislative process. On another note, I’d like to take a moment to thank all the citizens of Boston, family members, and friends who braved the cold rainy weather in January to show their support for the Boston Police Officers inWest Roxbury and through- out the City of Boston. Special thanks go out to Kristian Loewen, wife of Police Officer Mark Loewen (E5) for or- ganizing the first “pro-police rally” in Boston. What started out as just some friends getting together with their kids at Starbucks with pro-police signs, turned out more than 200 supporters of Boston Police Officers on that cold rainy night. It ignited pro-police rallies throughout the city over the next couple of weeks. There were large events in both Dorchester and South Boston with hundreds of people coming out and showing their support for the Police Officers of Boston. Words cannot express the thanks I have for each and every person that took time out of their busy lives to hold a sign and support the officers that protect them every day. It truly means a lot to each and every police officer on the street to know that their citizens care. Thank you and be safe!