Melanie’s Law: Massachusetts DUI Rules, NY Orders, Federal Bill

Melanie’s Law is the name of two separate state statutes, each passed after a young woman was killed in circumstances the existing law failed to prevent. In Massachusetts, Melanie’s Law is a 2005 statute that sharply increased penalties for drunk driving, named for 13-year-old Melanie Powell, who was killed by a repeat drunk driver. In New York, Melanie’s Law is a 2024 statute that expanded who can obtain an order of protection in domestic violence cases, named for 29-year-old Melanie Chianese, who was murdered by her mother’s ex-boyfriend after a court declined to grant her a protective order of her own. A federal bill introduced in 2026 would encourage other states to adopt protections modeled on the New York law.

The Massachusetts Drunk Driving Law

Melanie Powell was walking across a street in Marshfield, Massachusetts on July 25, 2003 when she was struck and killed by a driver with a prior conviction for operating under the influence. Her grandfather, Ron Bersani, spent the next two years lobbying the state legislature to close the gaps that had let a repeat offender back on the road. Governor Mitt Romney signed the resulting bill, formally Chapter 122 of the Acts of 2005, on October 28, 2005. It took effect January 1, 2006.¹

The law rewrote Massachusetts OUI enforcement in several ways at once:²

A lifetime lookback. The Registry of Motor Vehicles must count a driver’s entire OUI history when calculating penalties, including out-of-state convictions and prior program assignments, with no age cutoff.³
A new child endangerment offense for operating under the influence with a passenger 14 or younger. A first offense carries 90 days to two and a half years in a house of correction and fines of $1,000 to $5,000; later offenses can bring state prison time with a six-month mandatory minimum.⁴
Mandatory consecutive sentencing of at least one year for anyone caught driving on a license suspended or revoked for an OUI. Suspended sentences, probation, and parole are barred for certain OUI offenses until the mandatory minimum is served.
Escalating administrative suspensions for refusing a breathalyzer, tied to the driver’s full OUI history: 180 days with no priors, three years with one prior, five years with two, and a lifetime revocation with three or more.³
Civil forfeiture of vehicles owned by drivers with three or more OUI-related convictions.
A rule of evidence letting certified court or department records prove prior convictions as prima facie evidence, without live witness testimony.

Ignition Interlock Requirements

The most visible piece of the Massachusetts law is the ignition interlock device requirement. Anyone with two or more OUI convictions must install a certified interlock on every vehicle they own, lease, or operate as a condition of getting a license back. The device blocks the vehicle from starting if the driver’s blood alcohol concentration exceeds .02.²

The device must stay in the vehicle for at least two years. If it was installed as a condition of a hardship license, it has to remain for the full suspension or revocation period plus two more years after full driving privileges are restored. Drivers bring their vehicles in for inspection and data upload every 25 to 30 days. Missing two service visits over the life of the program triggers a ten-year license suspension. Participants pay a $30 monthly administration fee, though a state indigency program enacted in 2021 covers the costs for qualifying low-income drivers.⁵

Chapter 227 of the Acts of 2020 extended the interlock requirement to first-time offenders whose breathalyzer result was .15 or higher at the time of arrest.⁵

Court Challenges

Drivers subject to the interlock requirement challenged it in court, and it held up. In Gordon v. Registry of Motor Vehicles (2009), the Massachusetts Appeals Court rejected ex post facto, double jeopardy, and due process arguments, ruling that the interlock requirement is “remedial and civil” rather than punitive and reasonably related to public safety. Because there is “no fundamental right to operate a motor vehicle,” the court said, the state could impose the condition on drivers seeking reinstatement after the law took effect, even where the underlying OUI convictions predated it.¹

The New York Order of Protection Law

In 2022, 29-year-old Melanie Chianese was fatally stabbed on her mother’s doorstep in Wappingers Falls, in Dutchess County. Her mother, Cheryl Chianese, had ended a relationship with Paul Senecal and obtained a restraining order against him. That order did not cover her daughter. Melanie had gone to court and asked for her own protective order against Senecal, but under the existing definition of “members of the same family or household,” the judge could grant an order only for her four-year-old son (a minor), not for Melanie herself, because she was an adult who had never been in an intimate relationship with Senecal.⁶ Senecal was later convicted of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder and is serving a life sentence at Auburn Correctional Facility.⁷

Cheryl Chianese pushed for a change in the law. State Senator Michelle Hinchey and Assemblyman Brian Cunningham sponsored the bill, S.6288/A.6026, which passed the State Senate 60–0 and cleared the Assembly in May 2024.⁸ Governor Kathy Hochul signed it on November 25, 2024 at a ceremony in Poughkeepsie.⁹

The statute, Chapter 541 of the Laws of 2024, amends the Family Court Act and the Criminal Procedure Law by broadening the definition of “members of the same family or household.” Under the new definition, a court can issue an order of protection for someone who is related by blood or marriage to a person who is or has been in an intimate relationship with the alleged abuser.¹⁰ In practice, that means adult children, parents, siblings, and other relatives of a domestic violence victim can now seek their own protective orders against the victim’s abuser, regardless of the relative’s age.

The Federal Proposal

Congressman Pat Ryan of New York introduced H.R. 8733 in the 119th Congress in May 2026 to encourage other states to enact protections modeled on the New York law.¹¹ The bill would create a Department of Justice grant program to fund officer training, improve the administration of orders of protection, and expand support services for victims and their families.¹² As of mid-2026 it had not passed either chamber and would require approval by the Republican-controlled House and Senate and a presidential signature to become law.¹³ The federal bill would not itself change any state’s protective-order rules; it would offer funding to states that choose to adopt similar reforms.

1
FindLaw. Gordon v. Registry of Motor Vehicles
2
General Court of Massachusetts. Acts of 2005, Chapter 122
3
Massachusetts RMV. Alcohol and Drug Suspensions for Over 21 Years of Age
4
Justia. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90, Section 24V
5
Massachusetts RMV. Ignition Interlock Device Program
6
New York State Assembly. Assemblywoman Buttenschon on Melanies Law
7
News12. Mother of Fatal Stabbing Victim Sues Dutchess County
8
New York State Senate. A06026 – Melanies Law
9
New York State Senate. Melanies Law Sponsored by Senator Hinchey Signed Into Law
10
New York State Senate. S6288 – Melanies Law
11
U.S. Congress. H.R. 8733
12
Congressman Pat Ryan. Congressman Pat Ryan Introduces Melanies Law
13
Daily Freeman. Ryan Pushes Incentive Program to Implement Melanies Law Nationwide