Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official source posted by the Massachusetts General Court, fetched 2026-07-15. Nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
Section 35A of chapter 218 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting the following paragraph: Any hearing held pursuant to this section, and any record associated with such hearing shall be presumed to be open to the public unless the court, or said officer thereof, makes a written finding, for good cause shown, that the defendant’s interest in privacy outweighs the public’s right of access. Any such finding shall be made only after a hearing on the record, in which the court may permit an interested non-party, who files a notice of appearance limited to participation in the proceeding, to be heard. Any such finding shall state with specificity the reason for closing the hearing and shall be narrowly tailored to said reason. All hearings held pursuant to this section shall be taken stenographically or recorded and transcribed.
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