Representative Steven S. Howitt supports bill to protect state transit workers from assaults

Boston – State Representative Steven S. Howitt (R-Seekonk) recently supported legislation that would add transit workers to an existing law providing penalties for assaulting a public employee while they are engaged in the performance of their duties.

House Bill 4645, An Act relative to assault and battery upon a transit workers, was engrossed on a unanimous vote of 160-0 by the House of Representatives on October 22. The bill still requires Senate approval and Governor Maura Healey’s signature before it becomes law.

Representative Howitt said the House proposal will provide protections for transit workers under an existing statute governing assault and battery committed against a public employee. The law carries a penalty of imprisonment for not less than 90 days and not more than 2½ years in a house of correction or a fine of between $500 and $5,000.

Representative Howitt noted that House Bill 4645 expands the current law by adding the crime of assault and battery by means of a bodily substance. The bill defines a bodily substance as “any human secretion, discharge or emission including, but not limited to, blood, saliva, mucous, semen, urine or feces.”

According to the Federal Transit Administration, assaults on public transit employees increased by 232% nationwide between 2014 and 2024. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority reported over 600 assaults on its employees in 2024 alone, 33 of which included a weapon and 38 of which involved the use of a bodily fluid in the attack.

House Bill 4645 now moves to the Senate for its consideration.