Section 2. (a) There shall be a Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission consisting of 9 members: 3 of whom shall be appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall be a police chief, 1 of whom shall be a retired justice of the superior court and 1 of whom shall be a social worker appointed from a list of 5 nominations submitted by the National Association of Social Workers, Inc., Massachusetts chapter; 3 of whom shall be appointed by the attorney general, 1 of whom shall be a law enforcement officer below the rank of sergeant who is a labor union representative appointed from a list of 3 nominations submitted by the Chair of the Massachusetts Law Enforcement Policy Group, 1 of whom shall be a law enforcement officer appointed from a list of 5 nominations submitted by the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers, Inc. and 1 of whom shall be an attorney licensed to practice law in the commonwealth appointed from a list of 5 nominations submitted by the civil rights and social justice section council of the Massachusetts Bar Association; and 3 of whom shall be appointed jointly by the governor and attorney general, 1 of whom shall be appointed from a list of 5 nominations submitted by the Massachusetts commission against discrimination.

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

(b) Other than as provided for in subsection (a), all commissioners shall be civilians and no commissioner shall have been previously employed as a law enforcement officer or be a retired law enforcement officer. The civilian commissioners shall have experience or expertise in law enforcement practice and training, criminal law, civil rights law, the criminal justice system, mental health, post-traumatic stress disorder, crisis intervention, de-escalation techniques or social science fields related to race or bias. The governor shall designate the chair of the commission. The commission shall include people of color and women, at least in such proportion as these groups exist in the commonwealth’s population as periodically determined by the state secretary as the commonwealth’s chief census officer. The members of the commission shall represent diverse geographic areas of the commonwealth, including urban, rural and suburban areas.

The commissioners shall take an oath to faithfully and impartially execute their duties as commissioners.

(c) Each commissioner shall be a resident of the commonwealth within 90 days of appointment and, while serving on the commission, shall not: (i) hold, or be a candidate for, federal, state or local elected office; (ii) hold an appointed office in a federal, state, or local government; or (iii) serve as an official in a political party. Not more than 7 commissioners shall be from the same political party. The members of the commission shall be compensated for work performed for the commission at such rate as the secretary of administration and finance shall determine.

(d) Each commissioner shall serve for a term of 5 years or until a successor is appointed and shall be eligible for reappointment; provided, however, that no commissioner shall serve more than 10 years. The governor may remove a commissioner if the commissioner: (i) is guilty of malfeasance in office; (ii) substantially neglects the duties of a commissioner; (iii) is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the commissioner’s office; (iv) commits gross misconduct; or (v) is convicted of a felony.

(e) Seven commissioners shall constitute a quorum and the affirmative vote of a majority of commissioners present and voting shall be required for an action of the commission. The commission shall meet monthly and at other times as it shall deem necessary or upon the written request of 4 commissioners or the chair; provided, however, that notice of all meetings shall be given to each commissioner and to other persons who request such notice. The commission shall adopt regulations establishing procedures, which may include electronic communications, by which a request to receive notice shall be made and the method by which timely notice may be given.

(f) The commission shall annually elect 1 of the commissioners to serve as secretary and 1 of the commissioners to serve as treasurer. The secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of the commission and shall be the custodian and keeper of the records of all books, documents and papers filed by the commission and of its minute book. The secretary shall cause copies to be made of all minutes and other records and documents of the commission and shall certify that such copies are true copies, and all persons dealing with the commission may rely upon such certification.

(g) The commission shall appoint an executive director, who shall not be a member of the commission. The executive director shall serve at the pleasure of the commission, shall receive such salary as may be determined by the commission, and shall devote full time and attention to the duties of the office. The executive director shall be a person with skill and experience in management, shall be the executive and administrative head of the commission and shall be responsible for administering and enforcing the provisions of law relative to the commission and to each administrative unit thereof. The executive director may, subject to the approval of the commission, employ other employees, consultants, agents and advisors, including legal counsel, and shall attend meetings of the commission. In the case of an absence or vacancy in the office of the executive director or in the case of disability as determined by the commission, the commission may designate an acting executive director to serve as executive director until the vacancy is filled or the absence or disability ceases. The acting executive director shall have all of the powers and duties of the executive director and shall have similar qualifications as the executive director.

(h) The executive director may, subject to the approval of the commission, appoint such persons as the executive director shall consider necessary to perform the functions of the commission; provided, however, that chapter 31 and section 9A of chapter 30 shall not apply to commission employees. If an employee serving in a position which is classified under said chapter 31 or in which an employee has tenure by reason of said section 9A of said chapter 30 shall be appointed to a position within the commission which is not subject to said chapter 31, the employee shall, upon termination of service in such position, be restored to the position which the employee held immediately prior to such appointment; provided, however, that the employee’s service in such position shall be determined by the civil service commission in accordance with the standards applied by that commission in administering said chapter 31. Such restoration shall be made without impairment of the employee’s civil service status or tenure under said section 9A of said chapter 30 and without loss of seniority, retirement or other rights to which uninterrupted service in such prior position would have entitled such employee. During the period of such appointment, each person so appointed from a position in the classified civil service shall be eligible to take any competitive promotional examination for which such person would otherwise have been eligible. The executive director and employees of the commission shall be classified as group 1 pursuant to paragraph (g) of subdivision (2) of section 3 of chapter 32.

(i) No employee of the division of standards, established pursuant to section 8, or the executive director shall have previously been employed as a law enforcement officer, previously employed by a law enforcement agency or be a retired law enforcement officer or retired from a law enforcement agency; provided, however, that such employee may have been a previous employee of or have retired from the division of standards.

(j) The commission shall be a commission for the purposes of section 3 of chapter 12.

(k) Any vacancy occurring on the commission shall be filled within 90 days by the original appointing authority. A person appointed to fill a vacancy occurring other than by expiration of a term of office shall be appointed for the unexpired term of the member they succeed and shall be eligible for re-appointment.