Bill H.626

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3283 FILED ON: 1/16/2015

HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 626

By Mr. Cabral of New Bedford, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 626) of Antonio F. D. Cabral and Ann-Margaret Ferrante for legislation to establish a department of agricultural resources and marine fisheries. Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

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An Act to create the Department of Agricultural Resources and Marine Fisheries.

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 8 of Chapter 21A of the general laws as appearing in the 2012 official edition is hereby amended by striking lines 45-46 and inserting in place thereof the following:

The department of agricultural resources and marine fisheries shall include, the board of food and agriculture, the division of marine fisheries and the marine fisheries advisory commission, the pesticide board, the state reclamation board,

Said section 8 is further amended by striking from lines 52 and 53 the following: division of marine fisheries and the marine fisheries advisory commission

SECTION 2. Section 1 of Chapter 128 of the general laws as appearing in the 2012 official edition is hereby amended in line 3 by inserting after the words “agricultural resources” the following: “and marine fisheries”

Said section is hereby further amended in line 4 by inserting after the words “agricultural resources” the following “and marine fisheries”

Said section is hereby further amended in line 6 by inserting after the words “agricultural resources” the following “and marine fisheries”.

SECTION 3. Section 2 of Chapter 128 of the general laws is hereby amended by inserting after subsection (k) the following:

(l) Oversee the division of marine fisheries and all of its functions.

(m) Promote and develop marine fisheries resources of the commonwealth and improve the conditions for fishermen, fish processors and other shoreside industries.

(n) Collect and disseminate data and statistics as to the marine fish and shellfish caught, landed, harvested, marketed, stored or held within the commonwealth, with the quantities available from time to time and the location thereof.

(o) Investigate and aid improved methods of co-operative production, marketing and distribution of marine fisheries products within the commonwealth.

(p) Aid in the promotion and development of the commercial fishing industry; investigate improved methods of marketing and distributing commercial fish products within the commonwealth; and establish standards and design labels for the identification of commercial fish products processed, prepared or packed for distribution and for retail sales.

(q) Arrange for lectures and may issue for general distribution such publications as he considers best adapted to promote the interests of commercial fisheries.

(r) Establish and maintain properties at such places within the commonwealth as he may select for the purpose of propagating, rearing and protecting fish

(s) Conduct, coordinate or oversee fish counts and fish stock analyses or other fisheries research for fish species important to Massachusetts fishermen or processors or to the Massachusetts economy.

(t) Enter into agreements with public or private entities, including the University of Massachusetts, to perform fish counts and fish stock analyses or other fisheries research.

(u) Publish reports or recommendations based on fish counts, fish stock analyses or other fisheries research.

(v) Advise the Governor of the potential impact of regulation on the fishing industry.

SECTION 4. Section 1 of Chapter 130 of the general laws as appearing in the 2012 official edition is hereby amended in line 19 by striking the words “fish and game” and inserting in place thereof “agricultural resources and marine fisheries”

Said section is hereby further amended in line 21 by striking the words “fish and game” and inserting in place thereof “agricultural resources and marine fisheries”.

SECTION 5. Section 1A of Chapter 130 of general laws as appearing in the 2012 official edition is hereby amended by striking the first two sentences in lines 1 through 7 and inserting in place thereof the following:

The division of marine fisheries shall be within the department of agricultural resources and marine fisheries in the executive office of environmental affairs and shall be under the administrative supervision of a director who shall be called the director of marine fisheries. The director of the division of marine fisheries shall be appointed and may be removed by the commissioner of the department of agricultural resources and marine fisheries with the approval of the marine fisheries advisory commission.

SECTION 6. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, this section shall facilitate the orderly transfer of the employees, proceedings, rules and regulations, property and legal obligations and functions of state government from the department of fish and game to the department of agricultural resources and marine fisheries and resources, as transferee agency.

(b) Subject to appropriation, the employees of the transferor agency, including those who immediately before the effective date of this act held permanent appointment in positions classified under chapter 31 of the General Laws or have tenure in their positions as provided by section 9A of chapter 30 of the General Laws or did not hold such tenure, or held confidential positions, are hereby transferred to the transferee agency, without interruption of service within the meaning of section 9A of chapter 30, without impairment of seniority, retirement or other rights of the employee, and without reduction in compensation or salary grade, notwithstanding any change in title or duties resulting from such reorganization, and without loss of accrued rights to holidays, sick leave, vacation and benefits, and without change in union representation or certified collective bargaining unit as certified by the state labor relations commission or in local union representation or affiliation. Any collective bargaining agreement in effect immediately before the transfer date shall continue in effect and the terms and conditions of employment therein shall continue as if the employees had not been so transferred. The reorganization shall not impair the civil service status of any such reassigned employee who immediately before the effective date of this act either held a permanent appointment in a position classified under chapter 31 of the General Laws or had tenure in a position by reason of section 9A of chapter 30 of the General Laws.

(c) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, all such employees shall continue to retain their right to bargain collectively pursuant to chapter 150E of the General Laws and shall be considered employees for the purposes of chapter 150E.

Nothing in this section shall confer upon any employee any right not held immediately before the date of the transfer, or to prohibit any reduction of salary grade, transfer, reassignment, suspension, discharge or layoff not prohibited before such date; nor shall anything in this section prohibit the abolition of any management position within the division of marine fisheries after transfer to the department.

(d) All petitions, requests, investigations, filings and other proceedings appropriately and duly brought before the transferor agency, or pending before it before the effective date of this act, shall continue unabated and remain in force, but shall be assumed and completed by the transferee agency.

(e) All orders, advisories, findings, rules and regulations duly made and all approvals duly granted by the transferor agency, which are in force immediately before the effective date of this act, shall continue in force and shall thereafter be enforced, until superseded, revised, rescinded or canceled, in accordance with law, by the transferee agency.

(f) All books, papers, records, documents, equipment, buildings, facilities, cash and other property, both personal and real, including all such property held in trust, which immediately before the effective date of this act are in the custody of the transferor agency, shall be transferred to the transferee agency.

(g) All duly existing contracts, leases and obligations of the transferor agency, shall continue in effect but shall be assumed by the transferee agency. No such existing right or remedy of any character shall be lost, impaired or affected by this act.

(h) Whenever the term “department of agricultural resources” appears in any statute, regulation, contract or other document, it shall be taken to mean the “department agricultural resources and marine fisheries”

Name:	District/Address:	Date Added:
Antonio F. D. Cabral	13th Bristol	1/16/2015
Ann-Margaret Ferrante	5th Essex	8/7/2019