Massachusetts Panel Hears Jesse's Law Bill Requiring Bystanders to Call 911

Hearings-Joint · Meeting of July 31, 2026

BOSTON -- Massachusetts lawmakers take testimony on Jesse's Law, a bill that would require bystanders to call 911 at life-threatening emergencies. The Joint Committee on the Judiciary heard H5437 on July 31, the panel's final hearing of the term, co-chaired by Representative Michael S. Day and Senator Lydia Edwards.

The bill was filed by Representative Omar Gomez and co-sponsored in the Senate by Senator Jo Comerford, and is named for Jesse Johansmeyer, a 19-year-old killed in Hatfield in March 2023 after witnesses at the scene, estimated at 10 to 15 people, waited approximately 45 minutes to call 911. Gomez told the committee the bill "defines the line clearly" by requiring notification of emergency responders as soon as reasonably possible in cases of serious bodily injury. Jesse's mother, Darlene Thorpe, co-founder of Jesse's Justice Inc., testified that 45 minutes amounted to "2,700 opportunities for someone to make a phone call that takes only seconds." More than 7,800 people, including over 5,400 Massachusetts residents, have signed in support.

The committee must report on the bill by September 29.

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Source: the Hearings-Joint meeting of July 31, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.