Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 5K of chapter 111 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2000 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following 3 paragraphs:-

(F) The department of public health shall stockpile thyroid-blocking agents according to regulations promulgated by the department for cities and towns located within a 10 mile radius of a nuclear power plant. The department may make an assessment against the operator of each nuclear power plant in the commonwealth and electric companies in the commonwealth which own, in whole or in part, or purchase power from the Seabrook nuclear power plant. For purposes of this section, electric companies shall be defined as persons, firms, associations and private corporations which own or operate works or distribute electricity in the commonwealth; but the term electric companies shall not include municipalities or municipal light plants. The department may make a collection based on this assessment directly from the electric companies and deposit the monies into the retained revenue account established by the department and used for nuclear power plant environmental monitoring activities.

(G) The department shall maintain supplies of thyroid-blocking agents according to regulations promulgated by the department for cities and towns located in Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket counties, as well as in the area known as Cape Ann in Essex county. This section shall take effect in any city or town in which its governing body votes to accept the stockpiling of thyroid-blocking agents. The department may make an assessment against the operator of each existing nuclear power plant in the commonwealth and electric companies in the commonwealth which own, in whole or in part, or purchase power from the Seabrook nuclear power plant. For purposes of this section, electric companies shall be defined as all persons, firms, associations and private corporations which own or operate works or distribute electricity in the commonwealth; but the term electric companies shall not include municipalities or municipal light plants. The department may make a collection based on this assessment directly from the electric companies and deposit the monies directly into the retained revenue account established by the department and used for nuclear power plant environmental monitoring activities.

(H) The department shall procure and maintain adequate supplies of potassium iodide tablets approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration for use in the emergency planning zones and in the areas known as Cape Ann in Essex county and Cape Cod and the Islands, which surround any nuclear power generating facility established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the event of an occurrence, incident or other abnormal circumstance involving the release of radiation or other radiological hazards that may have a significant adverse effect on the health or safety of the people of the commonwealth. A change in federal law with respect to funding the potassium iodide tablets shall in no event result in a liability to the commonwealth.