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H4018 • 2025

An Act protecting assault survivors

An Act protecting assault survivors

Active

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

Sponsor
Tram T. Nguyen
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 protecting assault survivors

An Act protecting assault survivors By Representative Nguyen of Andover, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.

What This Bill Does

  • An Act protecting assault survivors By Representative Nguyen of Andover, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
  • 4018) of Tram T.
  • Nguyen relative to assault survivors.
  • The Judiciary.

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. 2025-10-20 Joint

    Hearing scheduled for 06/17/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-2

  3. 2025-06-11 Joint

    Hearing scheduled for 06/17/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-2

  4. 2025-04-14 Senate

    Senate concurred

  5. 2025-04-10 House

    Referred to the committee on The Judiciary

  6. House

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

Official Summary Text

An Act protecting assault survivors
By Representative Nguyen of Andover, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 4018) of Tram T. Nguyen relative to assault survivors. The Judiciary.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
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Bill H.4018

Chapter 231 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 91B the following section:-

Section 91C. (a) A person shall not, in an action for slander or libel, be held liable in damages for any communication made, without malice, regarding an incident in which they were the victim of sexual assault, harassment or discrimination.

(b) A prevailing defendant in any slander or libel action brought against that defendant for making a communication to which subsection (a) applies shall be entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, plus treble damages for any harm caused to them by the defamation action against them, in addition to any other relief permitted by law.

(c) This section shall only apply to an individual who has, or at any time had, a reasonable basis to file a complaint of sexual assault, harassment or discrimination, whether or not the complaint was actually filed.

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