Family Continues Fight To Get Next Of Kin Info On Mass. Licenses
BOSTON (CBS) - It has been more than a decade since Joshua Cloutier died. And though his parents still hang his childhood ornaments on their Christmas tree, that isn't the only way they want him remembered.
Cloutier got in a terrible car accident when he was 20 years old. That night, because he was considered an adult, it was hours before anyone called his mom and dad as he clung to life at the hospital.
His mother, Sharon Cloutier, spoke to WBZ back in 2012. "I mean, I know that the doctors and nurses were there, but us as parents, weren't. To hold his hand, to let him know we were there," she said.
At that time, Cloutier and her husband John were beginning their quest to pass a new state law that would embed next-of-kin information in every driver's license security code - so officials can let someone know in case of emergency.
"It's a no-brainer," Cloutier said Monday night. "It's a no-brainer what we want to do here, you know, to help other people."
There's a renewed sense of urgency for the family as 2014 draws to a close.
Over the past two years, the family has gathered close to 1500 signatures in support of their bill. In late 2013, they personally delivered their signed petitions to the State House where they met with lawmakers who supported their efforts. State Representatives Harold Naughton, (D) Clinton, and James Murphy, (D) Weymouth, even posed for a picture with the couple.
House Bill 3113: An Act Relative to Massachusetts Driver's License Information, made it out of the Transportation Committee and progressed to the House Ways and Means Committee. But it has stalled there since late last spring.
"It's aggravating, it's very aggravating," Cloutier says, her sorrow mixing with frustration. "Every month I call and I ask questions about what's going on, if anything's happening. Usually I get put [on hold], you know? I get moved around too much, for my opinion? I want my answers. I want my answers now."
In a statement to WBZ late Monday, Rep. Naughton explained that it can take several legislative sessions for a bill to pass.
"I will advocate strenuously until the very last minute for passage of this important legislation," he wrote. "Therefore, if this bill fails to pass before the end of this legislative session, I am committed to re-filing and am confident that the bill will once again make progress."
Although Sharon Cloutier would prefer to see the bill become a law this year, she's ready to continue her family's fight.
"Come the beginning of the year, I'll start my calls again," she said. "And I'll keep doing it and keep doing it until they get so tired of me, they will do something, you know? I'm more than willing to go around the State House and knock on doors. So I'm heard!"
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