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Mass. rep files bill to create 'Blue Star Family' license plate for relatives of officers killed in line of duty
Summary
A bill filed Jan. 15 would direct the registrar to issue a free "Blue Star Family" registration plate or emblem to immediate family members of Massachusetts police officers killed in the line of duty, defining eligibility by reference to the National Law Enforcement Memorial.
Representative Thomas P. Walsh of Peabody filed legislation on Jan. 15 that would establish a distinctive "Blue Star Family" license plate and motorcycle emblem for certain relatives of police officers killed in the line of duty.
The bill would amend Section 2 of Chapter 90 of the Massachusetts General Laws to require the registrar to furnish, without charge, a "Blue Star Family" registration plate for one private passenger motor vehicle owned and principally used by an eligible person and to allow a distinctive emblem for a privately owned motorcycle. Eligibility would be limited to a person who is a parent, child, sibling or spouse of a police officer employed by a city or town police department, the Department of State Police, a university police department or the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Police Department who "has been killed in the line of duty," upon presentation of satisfactory evidence to the registrar.
Under the bill, the registrar may issue a distinctive "Blue Star Family" registration of up to six characters for one private passenger motor vehicle owned and principally used by an eligible person. The bill defines "killed in the line of duty" for this purpose by reference to the standards used to determine eligibility for the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The filing paper lists Representative Adrianne Pusateri Ramos (14th Essex) as a sponsor added later; the cover line identifies the subject matter as Transportation. The text also notes a similar matter filed in the prior session (House No. 3473 of 2023–2024).
The bill text does not specify implementation details such as what documentation would meet the registrar's "satisfactory evidence" standard, whether the plate would carry any fee beyond the issuance or whether a separate revenue or appropriation mechanism would be needed. The legislation as filed also does not state when, if enacted, the registrar must begin issuing plates or how many plates the Commonwealth expects to provide.
Status: the document in the file is a bill filing; no committee hearings, votes, or enactment are recorded in the text provided.
