HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4711
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, September 5, 2024.
The committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities, to
whom were referred the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 126) of
Brian M. Ashe relative to the rights of deaf children; the petition
(accompanied by bill, House, No. 129) of Donald R. Berthiaume, Jr.,
relative to prohibiting undocumented persons from fostering children; the
petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 131) of Donald R. Berthiaume,
Jr., relative to providing that certain foster care children have the right to
be emancipated from their biological parents; the petition (accompanied
by bill, House, No. 132) of Donald R. Berthiaume, Jr., relative to
background checks for kinship foster care; the petition (accompanied by
bill, House, No. 133) of Donald R. Berthiaume, Jr., relative to the
Department of Children and Families providing official documentation of
child counsel appointments; the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
136) of Daniel Cahill that the Office on Disability conduct a study of the
accessibility to gas pumps and gas stations; the petition (accompanied by
bill, House, No. 137) of Gerard J. Cassidy, Sally P. Kerans and Michelle
M. DuBois for legislation to provide insurance coverage for vision
screening for children; the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 138)
of Gerard J. Cassidy for legislation to further protect persons with
intellectual or developmental disabilities from abuse; the petition
(accompanied by bill, House, No. 139) of Tackey Chan relative to funeral
assistance; the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 140) of Mark J.
Cusack for legislation to support the transition to adult services for
persons with disabilities; the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
142) of Josh S. Cutler and others relative to community living for older
adults and people with disabilities; the petition (accompanied by bill,
House, No. 143) of Michael S. Day for legislation to promote employment
for people with disabilities; the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
154) of Michelle M. DuBois relative to child homelessness; the petition
(accompanied by bill, House, No. 163) of Michael J. Finn and Lindsay N.
Sabadosa relative to establishing a pilot diversion program for individuals
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with developmental and intellectual disabilities; the petition (accompanied
by bill, House, No. 167) of Paul K. Frost relative to providing low interest
loans to families with children suffering from terminal illnesses; the
petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 168) of Paul K. Frost for
legislation to establish a special task force (including members of the
General Court) to review and report on the economic impact of welfare
reform in the Commonwealth; the petition (accompanied by bill, House,
No. 170) of William C. Galvin and Carol A. Doherty relative to licensure
for the use of graduated electronic decelerators to alter behavior of persons
with disabilities; the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 171) of
Sean Garballey, Simon Cataldo and others relative to Department of
Developmental Services rates of payment for workers providing support
and services for individuals with disabilities; the petition (accompanied by
bill, House, No. 176) of Colleen M. Garry that the Department of
Developmental Services consider neuropsychological evaluations of
certain persons with intellectual disabilities; the petition (accompanied by
bill, House, No. 177) of Colleen M. Garry relative to the estimated rate of
inflation for social service programs; the petition (accompanied by bill,
House, No. 180) of Danielle W. Gregoire and others for legislation to
prohibit the use of procedures which cause physical pain or deny a
reasonable humane existence to persons with disabilities; the petition
(accompanied by bill, House, No. 181) of Patricia A. Haddad and others
relative to access to early intervention services for children with prenatal
exposure to opioids; the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 182) of
Natalie M. Higgins, Joan Meschino and Colleen M. Garry that the
Department of Children and Families be authorized to develop a bias-free
case review team to screen proposed emergency child removals; the
petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 183) of Steven S. Howitt and F.
Jay Barrows relative to at-risk children and their proper placement and
establishing a special commission (including members of the General
Court) to make an investigation of such placements; the petition
(accompanied by bill, House, No. 196) of David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf,
Vanna Howard and Colleen M. Garry relative to public accommodations
for individuals with verbal communication impairments; the petition
(accompanied by bill, House, No. 199) of Jack Patrick Lewis, Natalie M.
Higgins and James K. Hawkins that certain retail department stores be
prohibited from dividing the display of certain childcare items into
sections by gender; the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 200) of
Marc T. Lombardo relative to eligibility for certain entitlement programs;
the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 202) of Joseph D. McKenna
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and David K. Muradian, Jr., relative to expanding wheelchair protection
for consumers with disabilities; the petition (accompanied by bill, House,
No. 215) of Jon Santiago and others that the Department of
Developmental Services establish caseload ratios for certain human
service coordinators; the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 217)
of Paul A. Schmid, III relative to income calculation for certain benefits
paid for necessary work-related travel expenses for certain persons with
developmental or intellectual disabilities; the petition (accompanied by
bill, House, No. 218) of Alan Silvia and others relative to autism
education reform and to facilitate appropriate interactions with persons on
the autism spectrum; the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 219) of
Priscila S. Sousa relative to increasing collaboration amongst community
organizations fighting hunger; the petition (accompanied by bill, House,
No. 220) of Alyson M. Sullivan-Almeida and others for legislation to
establish a special commission to study and determine best practices to
ensure the safety of blind persons; the petition (accompanied by bill,
House, No. 224) of Bud L. Williams for legislation to establish within the
Executive Office of Health and Human Services, a state-wide office of
youth development; the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 225) of
Steven George Xiarhos relative to Department of Transitional Assistance
benefits for diapers; the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3870)
of Christine P. Barber and Samantha Montaño for legislation to establish a
protection and advocacy system for investigating abuse, neglect, and
financial exploitation of persons with disabilities occurring and advocating
for the civil and human rights of such persons; and the petition
(accompanied by bill, House, No. 3942) of Estela A. Reyes relative to
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program countable income, reports
recommending that the accompanying order (House, No. 4711) ought to
be adopted.
For the committee,
JAY D. LIVINGSTONE.
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 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4711
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
House of Representatives, September 05, 2024.
1 Ordered, That the committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities be
2 authorized to sit during a recess of the General Court to make an investigation and study of
3 House documents numbered 126, 129, 131, 132, 133, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 142, 143, 154,
4 163, 167, 168, 170, 171, 176, 177, 180, 181, 182, 183, 196, 199, 200, 202, 215, 217, 218, 219,
5 220, 224, 225, 3870 and 3942, concerning children, accommodations, accessibility and other
6 related matters.
7 Said committee shall report to the General Court the results of its investigation and study
8 and its recommendations, if any, together with drafts of legislation necessary to carry such
9 recommendations into effect, by filing the same with the Clerk of the House of Representatives
10 on or before December 31, 2024.
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