An Act relative to the interception of wire and oral communications
Generates a plain-language summary of the bill text and history.
| Date | Branch | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 7/22/2026 | Senate | Accompanied a study order, see S3192↗ |
| 7/1/2026 | Senate | Reporting date extended to Friday July 31, 2026 |
| 3/30/2026 | Senate | Reporting date extended to Tuesday June 30, 2026 |
| 2/26/2026 | Senate | Reporting date extended to Thursday April 2, 2026 |
| 2/12/2026 | Senate | Reporting date extended to Monday March 2, 2026 |
| 10/20/2025 | Joint | Hearing scheduled for 09/09/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-2 |
| 9/2/2025 | Joint | Hearing scheduled for 09/09/2025 from 1:00 PM-5:00 PM in A-2 and virtual |
| 2/27/2025 | House | House concurred |
| 2/27/2025 | Senate | Referred to the committee on The Judiciary |
No additional cosponsors.
| Committee | Recommendation | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| J19 | Accompanied | — |
| Bill | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| H1873 | An Act relative to the interception of wire and oral communications | Active |
Subsection A of section 99 of chapter 272 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting a new paragraph, following the second paragraph at line 21:- The General Court further finds that in certain circumstances normal investigative procedures may not be effective in the investigation of specific illegal acts not associated with organized crime as enumerated in clause (b) of paragraph 7 of subsection B of this section. Therefore, law enforcement officials may be permitted to use modern methods of electronic surveillance, under strict judicial supervision, when investigating these specific enumerated crimes, after a showing that normal investigative procedures have been tried and have failed or reasonably appear unlikely to succeed if tried.
Subsection A of section 99 of chapter 272 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking the last sentence of the third paragraph, lines 25 through 27, and inserting in place thereof the following:- The use of such devices by law enforcement officials must be conducted under strict judicial supervision and must be limited to the investigation of designated offenses as defined in paragraph 7 of subsection B of this section.
Subsection B of section 99 of chapter 272 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out the definition of “designated offense” in lines 66 through 77 and inserting in place thereof the following:- 7. The term ''designated offense'' shall include (a) the following offenses in connection with organized crime as defined in the preamble: arson, the illegal use, possession or carrying of a firearm, sawed-off shotgun, machine gun, assault weapon, large capacity weapon or covert weapon as defined by section 121 of chapter 140, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, extortion, bribery, burglary, embezzlement, forgery, gaming in violation of section seventeen of chapter two hundred and seventy-one of the general laws, intimidation of a witness or juror, kidnapping, larceny, lending of money or things of value in violation of the general laws, money laundering in violation chapter 267A, mayhem, murder, any offense involving the possession or sale of a narcotic or harmful drug, perjury, prostitution, robbery, subornation of perjury, any violation of this section, being an accessory to any of the foregoing offenses and conspiracy or attempt or solicitation to commit any of the foregoing offenses; and (b) the following offense not in connection with organized crime, as referenced in paragraph 3 of the preamble: murder in the first degree.
SECTION 1. Subsection A of section 99 of chapter 272 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting a new paragraph, following the second paragraph at line 21:- The General Court further finds that in certain circumstances normal investigative procedures may not be effective in the investigation of specific illegal acts not associated with organized crime as enumerated in clause (b) of paragraph 7 of subsection B of this section. Therefore, law enforcement officials may be permitted to use modern methods of electronic surveillance, under strict judicial supervision, when investigating these specific enumerated crimes, after a showing that normal investigative procedures have been tried and have failed or reasonably appear unlikely to succeed if tried. SECTION 2. Subsection A of section 99 of chapter 272 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking the last sentence of the third paragraph, lines 25 through 27, and inserting in place thereof the following:- The use of such devices by law enforcement officials must be conducted under strict judicial supervision and must be limited to the investigation of designated offenses as defined in paragraph 7 of subsection B of this section. SECTION 3. Subsection B of section 99 of chapter 272 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out the definition of “designated offense” in lines 66 through 77 and inserting in place thereof the following:- 7. The term ''designated offense'' shall include (a) the following offenses in connection with organized crime as defined in the preamble: arson, the illegal use, possession or carrying of a firearm, sawed-off shotgun, machine gun, assault weapon, large capacity weapon or covert weapon as defined by section 121 of chapter 140, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, extortion, bribery, burglary, embezzlement, forgery, gaming in violation of section seventeen of chapter two hundred and seventy-one of the general laws, intimidation of a witness or juror, kidnapping, larceny, lending of money or things of value in violation of the general laws, money laundering in violation chapter 267A, mayhem, murder, any offense involving the possession or sale of a narcotic or harmful drug, perjury, prostitution, robbery, subornation of perjury, any violation of this section, being an accessory to any of the foregoing offenses and conspiracy or attempt or solicitation to commit any of the foregoing offenses; and (b) the following offense not in connection with organized crime, as referenced in paragraph 3 of the preamble: murder in the first degree.