Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes appropriations for the 2021 fiscal year and supplements existing appropriations.

Highlights:

• Defines “covered individual” as an individual who has, seeks to have, or may have access to a child or children, served by a qualified entity, as an adoptive or foster parent or prospective adoptive or foster parent (Sec. 3).

• Appropriates $27.85 million for the Department of Transitional Assistance (Sec. 2).

• Appropriates $11.03 million for the Department of State Police (Sec. 2).

• Appropriates $10 million for the Military Division (Sec. 2).

• Appropriates $131.06 million for the Department of Early Education and Care (Sec. 2).

• Appropriates $20 million for the Office of the Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (Sec. 2).

• Requires all covered individuals, those who may have access to a child, to be fingerprinted to obtain a state and national fingerprint-based criminal background check (Sec. 3).

• Requires the Department of Children and Families to issue and authorizes them to renew a license to any person other than a department who meets applicable standards to establish the maintenance of a school-aged child care program (Sec. 4).

• Requires the department to complete the following before issuing any license (Sec. 4):

• Obtain from all available sex offender registry information from the registry board; and

• Conduct fingerprint-based checks of the state and national criminal history databases.

• Requires the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to adopt regulations establishing the following individuals shall be subject to a sex offender registry information check (Sec. 4):

• Each person is defined as an applicant of a department-licensed, approved, or funded program;

• Individuals providing child care or support services with unsupervised access to children in a program;

• Household members over the age of 15 or persons regularly on the premises of child care homes;

• Department-funded caregivers or candidates for employment, internships, or volunteer positions; and

• An individual who provides transportation services on behalf of the department.

• Requires fines authorized to range from $50 to $1,000 (Sec. 4).

• Requires the board to adopt regulations establishing the conclusiveness of information obtained by the department in an address search of the sex offender registry for purposes of licensing, child care centers, family child care homes, unsupervised family foster care, or placement agencies (Sec. 8).

• Requires the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to be governed by a board of directors consisting of the following (Sec 16):

• 1 secretary;

• 5 members appointed by the governor, with one of each having experience in safety, transportation operations, public or private finance, 1 being selected from a list of recommendations, and 1 being appointed by the advisory board; and

• 2 members shall also be members of the board of directors of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

Full Bill Text