Thursday, 4:30 PM
Mayor states his agenda
By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff
Mayor Thomas M. Menino wants the state to suspend driver’s licenses and revoke the vehicle registrations of individuals convicted of firearms violations in Massachusetts and to list the charges on driving records available to police during traffic stops.
In a measure he plans to introduce Monday on Beacon Hill, the mayor is proposing that licenses be suspended and registrations revoked, without a hearing, for up to five years for crimes such as illegal possession of a gun or selling guns without a license. Menino administration officials say such a law could help stem gun crimes and warn police pulling over cars that the drivers may be carrying guns. Authorities have said many of those arrested for firearms offenses are repeat offenders.
The measure is one of more than 60 bills the mayor is proposing as part of his annual wish list for state legislation, which this year includes bills requiring fire sprinklers in all high-rise condominium buildings and allowing voters to cast ballots up to three weeks before elections. Menino’s legislative package, introduced in January each year, often offers a glimpse of the mayor’s priorities for the coming year. Menino is scheduled to outline his agenda in detail Tuesday at his annual state of the city address.
"We believe our legislative package targets our over-arching goals for 2007 and gives us better tools to serve the taxpayers of Boston," the mayor’s press secretary, Dot Joyce, said.
At the top of Menino’s agenda this year is reducing violent crime, Joyce said. Boston logged 74 homicides last year, 54 of them shootings. There were 51 fatal shootings the year before, when the city had 75 homicides, a 10-year high.
Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com.
