SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1359        FILED ON: 1/19/2017

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 479

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Marc R. Pacheco

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to 2030 and 2040 emissions benchmarks.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1359        FILED ON: 1/19/2017

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 479

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 458 OF 2015-2016.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

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An Act relative to 2030 and 2040 emissions benchmarks.

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.  The General Laws are hereby amended by inserting after chapter 21N the following chapter: Chapter 21N1/2.

GLOBAL WARMING SOLUTIONS IMPLEMENTATION ACT.

Section 1.  Terms defined in section 1 of chapter 21N have the same meaning when used in this chapter.

Section 2.  After conducting the modeling and analysis required in section 3, and no later than December 31, 2020, the secretary shall adopt the interim 2030 and 2040 emissions limits consistent with that analysis and as required by section 3(b) of chapter 21N.  The interim 2030 emissions limit shall be between 35 and 45 per cent below the 1990 level, and the interim 2040 emissions limit shall be between 55 and 65 per cent below the 1990 level.

Section 3.  Prior to adopting the interim 2030 and 2040 emissions limits required by section 3(b) of chapter 21N, the secretary shall conduct detailed, quantitative modeling and analysis of the commonwealth’s energy economy and emissions in their regional context, to include the regional electric grid, sufficient to identify multiple technically and economically feasible pathways of reducing statewide emissions consistent with the 2050 emissions limit required by section 3(b) of chapter 21N.  Such modeling and analysis shall employ back-casting methodology, shall be comparable to that conducted by the European Union in support of its Roadmap 2050 effort, and may be conducted in conjunction with other states or regional entities as part of an analysis of reducing regional emissions in 2050 to a level consistent with those required by chapter 21N for the commonwealth.  The secretary shall publish the results of the modeling and analysis required by this section, and shall also make available for public inspection and use the model, all model assumptions, and all input and output data.

Section 4.  Following the adoption of the interim 2030 and 2040 emissions limits required by section 3(b) of chapter 21N, and in any case no later than December 31, 2023, the commonwealth and its agencies shall promulgate regulations necessary to achieve declining annual aggregate emissions from sources or categories of sources that emit greenhouse gas emissions as required to achieve a 2050 statewide emissions limit that is at least 80 per cent below the 1990 level.  The development of such regulations shall be coordinated by the secretary, and shall be consistent with the modeling and analysis required in section 3 and with the adopted interim 2030 and 2040 emissions limits.  Consistent with section 9 of chapter 21N, the commonwealth and its agencies are authorized to create, expand, or join market-based compliance mechanisms, including but not limited to greenhouse gas emissions trading and carbon pricing programs, in order to achieve required greenhouse gas emissions reductions.