H5158 is a bill in the Massachusetts Legislature (194th General Court): An Act promoting rule of law, oversight, trust, and equal constitutional treatment ("The PROTECT Act").

What is the status of H5158?

In committee as of March 23, 2026. Latest action: Accompanied a new draft, see H5293 (March 23, 2026).

Andres Vargas (D), with 11 co-sponsors.

Where is the official record for H5158?

On the Massachusetts Legislature website: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5158

Massachusetts legislation · 194th General Court

Massachusetts H5158: An Act promoting rule of law, oversight, trust, and equal constitutional treatment ("The PROTECT Act")

Status: In committee, March 23, 2026

What the bill says

From the introduced text, January 29, 2026:

SECTION 1. Chapter 6E of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 4 the following section:- Section 4A. As part of the background and qualification check for certification or recertification, an applicant shall disclose whether the applicant was employed by or contracted with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement or United States Customs and Border Protection at any time, and the nature, duration and role of such employment or contracting. The commission shall consider such information for purposes of assessing training needs and ensuring compliance with the commonwealth’s standards for de-escalation and bias-free policing. Nothing in this section shall be construed to create a categorical disqualification based solely on prior federal employment. For purposes of this section, “contracted with” shall mean contracting to provide law enforcement, detention, intelligence, investigative, removal or operational support services. SECTION 2. Chapter 127 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 87A the following section:- Section 87B. (a) This section shall apply to any state correctional facility, state prison or county correctional facility that houses individuals pursuant to an intergovernmental service agreement or other contract for detention under federal civil immigration authority. (b) Upon intake, the facility shall provide each detained individual, in the individual’s primary language: (i) written notice of the right to legal counsel; (ii) written notice …

Read the full official text

Latest actions

March 23, 2026: Accompanied a new draft, see H5293
March 18, 2026: Hearing rescheduled to 03/18/2026 from 09:00 AM-12:45 PM in A-2 <br> <span style="color: blue; font-style: italic;">Hearing updated to New End Time</span>
March 6, 2026: Hearing scheduled for 03/18/2026 from 09:00 AM-12:00 PM in A-2
February 25, 2026: Senate concurred
February 2, 2026: Reported, referred to the committee on Joint Rules, reported, rules suspended and referred to the committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security
January 29, 2026: Referred to the committee on House Rules

Common questions

What is H5158?: H5158 is a bill in the Massachusetts Legislature (194th General Court): An Act promoting rule of law, oversight, trust, and equal constitutional treatment ("The PROTECT Act").
What is the status of H5158?: In committee as of March 23, 2026. Latest action: Accompanied a new draft, see H5293 (March 23, 2026).
Who sponsored H5158?: Andres Vargas (D), with 11 co-sponsors.
Where is the official record for H5158?: On the Massachusetts Legislature website: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5158

Source: official Massachusetts record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.

Massachusetts H5158: An Act promoting rule of law, oversight, trust, and equal constitutional treatment ("The PROTECT Act")

What the bill says

Sponsors

Latest actions

Common questions