Boston City Council Passes Surveillance Oversight Ordinance After Two-Year Process

BOSTON — October 20, 2021 — Boston City Council passes surveillance oversight ordinance, wage theft measure in packed session. The council unanimously approved Docket 0397, the Ordinance on Surveillance, Oversight and Information Sharing, after more than two years of working sessions led by Government Operations Committee Chair Councillor Lydia Edwards, establishing a Surveillance Oversight Advisory Board and a Surveillance Data and Privacy Working Group to govern how the city acquires and uses surveillance technology. The council also introduced a wage theft prevention ordinance, Docket 1078, sponsored by Councillors Ricardo Arroyo and Julia Mejia with backing from the Carpenters Union, citing UMass Amherst data showing $30 to $40 million in construction wage theft statewide and AFL-CIO estimates of roughly $1 billion stolen annually across Massachusetts. Councillor Kenzie Bach's zoning text amendment removing parking minimums as a basis for blocking affordable housing, Docket 0685, also passed unanimously and heads next to the Zoning Commission. The council approved more than $5 million in combined elder services grants through the Age Strong Commission under the American Rescue Plan Act, and debated a late-filed public space ordinance from Councillor Frank Baker targeting the encampment at Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, which was referred to committee.