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Not all Berkshire County legislators are pleased with the final form of the police reform bill Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed into law on Thursday.
Democratic 2nd Berkshire District State Representative Paul Mark says he takes issue with the amended bill scaling back prohibitions on facial recognition technology. Baker threatened a veto when the House’s original draft fully banned its use for the time being.
“The possibility for abuse and misuse is great, and the possibility for mistaken identity as the technology develops is also great,” he told WAMC.
The bill allows the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement in certain circumstances if a request is filed to the RMV, State Police or FBI. Civil rights groups like the ACLU of Massachusetts have pushed for a moratorium on the technology.
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Berkshire County state representatives are reacting to signs that long-serving Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo is preparing to step down after over a decade.
DeLeo, 70, represents the 19th Suffolk District, and became speaker in 2009. Mid-December news that he is in talks for a job at Northeastern University – his alma mater – made shockwaves in the state.
“Well, it was a surprise, people have been saying these rumors really since my first year in office back in 2011. So to hear it actually has a lot of validity and is, I think now likely to happen was surprising to me, especially where we re in a unique session, said 2nd Berkshire District State Representative Paul Mark, a fellow Democrat. “We’re in a session that has had formal sessions all the way through, probably right to the last minute on January 5th, and a new session is going to begin on January 6th. So it s a time where there s obviously a state of emergency, there s a lot going on, we re finishi