Bill > H1406

This bill proposes to remove the right for individuals classified as sex offenders to have state-funded legal counsel appointed to them if they are deemed indigent during classification hearings, and also removes the provision for payment of expert witness fees for indigent offenders in these proceedings. Specifically, it amends Section 178L of chapter 6 of the General Laws, which deals with sex offender registration and classification, by striking language that guarantees an indigent offender's right to appointed counsel and payment for expert witnesses, and replaces it with language that only preserves the right to retain their own counsel. The bill also removes a sentence from subsection (2) of Section 178L that states the board will inform offenders of their right to appointed counsel if indigent, and amends Section 178M of chapter 6 to remove a provision for court-appointed counsel for indigent sex offenders in proceedings. This change would mean that individuals facing sex offender classification, even if they cannot afford an attorney, would no longer be provided with one by the state for these hearings.