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H1998 • 2025

An Act establishing penalties for the filing of false reports against police officers

An Act establishing penalties for the filing of false reports against police officers

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Thomas M. Stanley
Last action
2026-03-26
Official status
Accompanied a study order, see H5281 (under House Rule 27)
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act establishing penalties for the filing of false reports against police officers

An Act establishing penalties for the filing of false reports against police officers By Representative Stanley of Waltham, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.

What This Bill Does

  • An Act establishing penalties for the filing of false reports against police officers By Representative Stanley of Waltham, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
  • 1998) of Thomas M.
  • Stanley, Larry Calderone and John E.
  • Nelson relative to establishing penalties for the filing of false reports against police officers.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-26 House

    Accompanied a study order, see H5281 (under House Rule 27)

  2. 2025-09-16 Joint

    Hearing scheduled for 09/23/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-2

  3. 2025-02-27 House

    Referred to the committee on The Judiciary

  4. 2025-02-27 Senate

    Senate concurred

  5. House

    Reported by committee to Clerk’s Office for processing, will accompany a study order

Official Summary Text

An Act establishing penalties for the filing of false reports against police officers
By Representative Stanley of Waltham, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1998) of Thomas M. Stanley, Larry Calderone and John E. Nelson relative to establishing penalties for the filing of false reports against police officers. The Judiciary.

Current Bill Text

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Bill H.1998

Chapter 268 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 32B the following section:—

Section 32C. Every person who files any allegation of misconduct against any police officer, knowing the report to be false, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than twenty years or by a fine of not more than $1000 or by imprisonment in jail for not more than 2 ½ years, or by both such a fine and imprisonment in jail. For the purposes of this section, “police officer” shall mean an employee of a city, town, county, the Commonwealth or the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority authorized to make arrest.Any law enforcement agency accepting an allegation of misconduct against a police officer shall require the complainant to read and sign the following information advisory, all in bold-face type:

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE A COMPLAINT AGAINST A POLICE OFFICER FOR ANY IMPROPER CONDUCT. THIS AGENCY MAY FIND THERE IS NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO SUBSTANTIATE YOUR ALLEGATION AND WARRANT ACTION ON YOUR COMPLAINT: EVEN IF THIS IS THE CASE, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE THE COMPLAINT AND HAVE IT INVESTIGATED IF YOU BELIEVE AN OFFICER BEHAVED IMPROPERLY.PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT IT IS ILLEGAL TO MAKE A COMPLAINT YOU KNOW TO BE FALSE. IF YOU MAKE A COMPLAINT AGAINST AN OFFICER KNOWING IT IS FALSE, YOU MAY BE PROSECUTED ON A FELONY CHARGE. I HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THE ABOVE STATEMENT. I FURTHER REALIZE THIS COMPLAINT IS SIGNED UNDER THE PAINS AND PENALTIES OF PERJURY.

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