PETITION OF:

SECTION 1. Chapter six of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding a new section one hundred twenty as follows:

There shall be within the Executive Office of Public Safety a Department of Police Services under the supervision and control of a Municipal Police Commissioner.

The Municipal Police Commissioner shall be the executive and administrative head, as well as the appointing authority for all other employees, of the Department. The Commissioner shall coordinate the efforts of municipal police departments, shall oversee and supervise the operation of the Municipal Police Training Committee, shall be the appointing authority of all employees of the Municipal Police Training Committee, and shall act as the liaison between the Secretary of Public Safety and local police chiefs and departments on matters of mutual interest. There shall be within the Department, a Division of Training, including the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee, established by section one hundred and sixteen of chapter six.

The Municipal Police Commissioner, or his successor, shall be appointed by the Secretary of Public Safety from a list of not less than three names submitted by the  Massachusetts Municipal Police Commission, and shall serve at the pleasure of said Commission. An employment contract, not exceeding five years in length, may be negotiated and signed by the Chair of said Commission, subject to ratification by the Commission, governing the terms and conditions of the Commissioner’s employment. The position of Municipal Police Commissioner shall be classified in accordance with section forty-six C of said chapter thirty and the Municipal Police Commissioner shall devote his full time during business hours to the duties of his office. For retirement purposes, a person appointed commissioner who was previously a member of group IV shall be placed in that group and given credit for all years of employment or elected or appointed office with the state or with a municipality in the Commonwealth.

Funding for the Department of Police Services, in addition to any appropriation, shall come from monies collected as a five dollar annual surcharge on motor vehicle registrations and a one hundred dollar surcharge the reinstatement of drivers’ licenses and motor vehicle registrations under General Law chapter 90, section 2G. Expenditures of funds from such surcharges are not subject to appropriation and the Treasurer will pay all properly submitted invoices approved by the Municipal Police Commission.

 The Massachusetts Municipal Police Commission, hereinafter called the Commission, shall consist of the Secretary of Public Safety, ex officio, or his designee, the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, ex officio, or a another person appointed by the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, and six members to be appointed by the Governor, five of whom shall be police chiefs selected from a list of eight names submitted by the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association and one of whom shall be a police officer selected from a list of two names submitted by the Massachusetts Police Association.

The five police chiefs selected from the names submitted by the Massachusetts Chiefs of  Police Association shall represent the following:

(1) a city with over 100,000 inhabitants;

(2) a city or town with between 50,000 and 100,000 inhabitants;

and

(3) three other cities or towns with a population under 50,000.

The Chairman of said Commission shall be elected by a majority of the members thereof and shall serve as chairman for a term of one year or until his successor is elected. Said Chairman shall be elected annually at the January meeting.

Members of the Commission shall be appointed for terms of three years with no limit on the number of terms they may serve however, initially, appointments will be made such that the terms shall be staggered so that approximately one third will expire each year.  Members shall hold office until a successor is appointed and no member shall serve beyond the time he ceases to hold office or employment by reason of which he was eligible for appointment to the Commission.

The Commission shall meet no less than every other month, except that, the Chairman, with Commission approval, may omit meetings in July and August.   The Chairman, the Governor, or the Secretary of Public Safety may call additional meetings at other times, of which all members shall be given notice in writing at least five days prior to such meeting. Special meetings may be called by the Chairman and shall be called by him at the request of the Governor or upon the written request of four members of said Commission. If any member is absent from three regularly scheduled meetings, exclusive of July and August, in any calendar year, his office as a member shall be deemed vacant. The chairman of the Commission shall make an annual report to the Governor and the Secretary of Public Safety and shall include in it recommendations for appropriate legislation.

The members of the Commission shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for their official duties.  No member of the Commission shall serve as a member concurrently on the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee established in section one hundred and sixteen.

The Commission shall have responsibility for the following:

(1) ratification of the appointment of the Municipal Police Commissioner;

(2) the promulgation of regulations and policies pertaining to the operation of Department of Police Services and municipal police departments on matters of public policy and safety;

(3) the promulgation of sample policies and procedures for municipal police in such areas as operations, investigations, administration, discipline, crime prevention, communications, and the promulgation of regulations, after required notice and public hearings and comment periods, concerning special occurrences - including but not limited to terrorism, the incident command system, and cooperation with emergency prevention, response and recovery agencies, including but not limited to the fire services and state police.

                (4) approving the annual budget developed by the office of the Municipal Police Commissioner;

(5)  issuance of regulations based on recommendations of the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee regarding standards for police training and certification; and

(7) applying for and administering grants from the federal and state government and other sources in the area of law enforcement.