THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, AugusT 29, 2025 Page 19 BEACON | FROM PAGE 18 quiring that all fortune telling applicants must have lived in the city or town in which they are seeking their license to practice, for at least one continuous year prior to filing their application. Supporters said the bill will remove an old law that has become antiquated and makes no sense. “A municipal employee reached out to me several years back because she had discovered the residency requirement and thought it was a little odd,” said sponsor Rep. Susannah Whipps (U-Athol). “A coffee shop in her city was looking to have a tarot card reader, and as it turns out fortunetellers must be licensed in Massachusetts just as a barber or hairdresser would be and also the law requires residency in the community in which they practice. My bill removes the 1-year residency requirement. This law was most likely put in place to prevent grifters or con artists from coming into a town and scamming people.” PROHIBIT GROCERY STORES FROM USING BIOMETRICS TO INCREASE PRICES OR SUGGEST ITEMS (H 99) – The House gave initial approval to a measure that would prohibit grocery stores from suggesting items or adjusting the prices of any item directly or indirectly based on the biometric data of individuals collected on the premises of a grocery store. Grocery stores would be allowed to use biometrics to allow customers to voluntarily verify their identity at the point of sale. Violations by a grocery store would result in the store being fined for the amount of actual damages or $5,000, whichever is higher. According to the website SupermarketNews.com, the biometrics can often involve the scanning of customer fingerprints or retinas. “I filed this bill after learning that the largest grocery store chain in the U.S. is rolling out facial recognition technology and electronic price tags,” said sponsor Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa (D-Northampton). “These technologies, when put together, allow grocery stores to identify individual customers, their characteristics like race and gender and shopping habits. It has been shown time and time again that pricing algorithms are designed to take more money out of consumer pockets, and there is no place for this at the grocery store.” In April at a public hearing, Woodrow Hartzog, a professor at Boston University’s School of Law, told the Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity that surveillance pricing allows companies to figure out the highest price that customers are willing to pay. “This disastrous practice leads to price gouging, discrimination by proxy, an inability to budget, data hoarding and the suffocating feeling that every choice you make while shopping is a trap,” said Hartzog. “This bill would prohibit food stores from using tools like facial recognition to charge people different prices and provide vital breathing room for customers, while still allowing for people to receive discounts.” At the April hearing, Edgar Dworsky, a former assistant attorney general in consumer protection, questioned legislators’ concerns over surveillance pricing. He suggested that supermarkets would likely use expanded personal data to offer targeted discounts to shoppers -- rather than hitting them with steeper prices. “That would echo how supermarkets have used data gathered from loyalty programs to offer personalized discounts,” Dworsky wrote in written testimony. “Your bill, however, would prevent stores from using any biometric data collected to offer lower prices to identified shoppers,” continued Dworsky, who is also founder of Consumer World. “That strikes me as anti-consumer. If you are not banning the collection of biometric data to start with, why not simply prevent its use for the purpose of imposing higher than the standard or established price?” The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts said that it supports the legislation but wants the protections to be expanded to all goods, not just food. “Prohibit surveillance-pricing generally, not just pricing driven by biometric surveillance,” the ACLU suggested in written testimony. “Charging different customers different prices for the same product based on a personal profile is problematic whether that profile is derived from a person’s biometrics or other personal data.” QUOTABLE QUOTES “Massachusetts is moving faster to create reasonably-priced housing and revitalize our downtowns. This new tax credit helps communities turn empty commercial space into homes – bringing people, energy and small-business customers back to main streets while tackling our housing shortage.” ---Gov. Maura Healey announcing $10 million in tax credits to help convert underused commercial buildings into residential and mixed-use housing across Massachusetts. “These grants invest in the police officers and firefighters who put their lives on the line to protect our communities. Recognizing the urgent needs faced by many departments, we were quickly able to adapt this year’s program, providing greater flexibility and immediate access to funds. These changes will have an immediate impact on public safety in Massachusetts communities.” ---Office of Grants and Research executive Director Kevin Stanton on awarding $5.7 million PUBLIC NOTICE Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Division of Wetlands and Waterways MassDEP Boston Office 100 Cambridge Street Suite 900 Boston, MA 02114 Pursuant to 33 U.S.C. 1341 and M.G.L. c. 21 §§ 26 - 53 and 33 U.S.C. 1341 and M.G.L. c. 21 §43, notice is given of a 401 Water Quality Certification application for the construction of a bicycle and pedestrian crossing over the Mystic River in Everett and Somerville, Massachusetts by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation – Highway Division, Ten Park Plaza, Room 7360, Boston, MA 02116. The purpose of the project is to connect the Somerville and Everett communities by constructing a bicycle and pedestrian crossing. The proposed crossing will measure approximately 780 feet long, 60 feet high, 20 feet wide and will run essentially parallel to the existing MBTA bridge. An abutment and landing will be constructed on both sides of the crossing. Additional information may be obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation – Highway Division at the above address, attention Courtney Walker or by emailing Courtney.l.walker@dot.state.ma.us. Written comments should be sent to Heidi Davis, MassDEP Wetlands Program, 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900, Boston, MA 02114 or heidi.davis@mass.gov within twenty-one days of this notice. Any group of ten persons, any aggrieved person, or any governmental body or private organization with a mandate to protect the environment who submits written comments may appeal the Department’s Certification. Failure to submit written comments before the end of the public comment period may result in the waiver of any right to an adjudicatory hearing. August 29, 2025 to cities and towns to support local fire and police staffing. “Ensuring that adequate remedial measures are in place to maintain a safe environment for student athletes of color during sporting events is impossible while the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) refuses to release records about its practices and protocols for addressing the rising number of discriminatory incidents.” ---Sophia Hall, Lawyers for Civil Rights Deputy Litigation Director, on filing a lawsuit against the MIAA seeking public records regarding incidents of discriminaBEACON | SEE PAGE 22
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