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Senate passes bill strengthening penalties for assaults on transit workers
Summary
After floor debate and sponsor remarks, the Senate passed to be engrossed House No. 4645, expanding assault-and-battery protections for transit employees to include assaults involving bodily substances and increasing penalties.
The Massachusetts Senate voted to pass to be engrossed House No. 4645, an act expanding the definition of assault and battery for offenses against public transit workers and strengthening statutory penalties.
Sponsor Senator Nick Collins described the measure as protecting "essential workers" who operate and maintain the transit system and urged colleagues to support the change. Collins said the bill explicitly includes transit employees under section 13D of Chapter 265 and expands the definition of assault to cover attacks involving bodily substances such as blood, saliva and urine. He recited statistics he attributed to the MBTA Transit Worker Assault Task Force: "attacks against transit employees have tripled since 2008 with 634 incidents reported in 2024 alone," including assaults involving weapons and bodily fluids.
Under language described by the sponsor during debate, offenders could face jail from 90 days up to two and a half years, fines from $500 to $5,000, or both. The Senate considered several floor amendments; a Ways and Means substitute amendment was adopted and a handful of offered amendments were rejected in standing votes. Senators emphasized bipartisan support for protecting transit staff.
The clerk called the roll for passage; the clerk announced 38 members having voted in the affirmative and none in the negative, and the bill was passed to be engrossed.
The measure now proceeds in the legislative process as an engrossed House bill.
