SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1789        FILED ON: 1/18/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1273

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Donald F. Humason, Jr., (BY REQUEST)

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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 banning especially dangerous wireless facilities, emissions, and products.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1789        FILED ON: 1/18/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1273

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

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An Act banning especially dangerous wireless facilities, emissions, and products.

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. Chapter 111 of the General Laws is hereby amended, in Section 5N, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, by adding after the last paragraph the following paragraphs:-

The department shall prepare a timeline for the removal of wireless facilities and products deemed to be especially dangerous based on factors such as frequency band, power level exposures, modulation, population exposed, and any other factors which the department deems relevant to making a determination.

The department shall begin by banning wireless emissions, facilities, and products considered to be especially dangerous and lacking sufficient proof of safety, starting with a ban upon wireless baby monitors, small cell facilities, and frequencies at the higher end of the 5G band.

The department may proceed with banning other types of nonionizing radiation and equipment or products generating nonionizing radiation. If necessary the timeline shall allow for the replacement with landline or hard-wired broadband connections with significantly reduced emissions of non-ionizing radiation.

In setting bans, the department shall use common sense in recognizing that bans may not effectively address removal of wireless products already existing in homes, and public education and other systems may be necessary to remove products such as wireless baby monitors.

The department shall work with the attorney general’s office as necessary to insure bans and accompanying procedures are legal under state law. The department may work with the department of public utilities, the department of telecommunications and cable; the department of housing and economic development; the Massachusetts Broadband Institute; and any other departments or public entities to smooth the transition or to assist with determining reasonable timelines.

When questions arise regarding which products, frequency bands, and facilities to ban, the department shall adhere to the principle of reverse onus, under which it is the responsibility of those supporting an exposure to show that the exposure is not seriously harmful and to do so with credibility. Further, the department shall adhere to the principle of alternative assessment that requires that no risky action will be taken if there are alternative actions available that safely achieve the same purpose.

The department may refer to the precautionary principle and the most stringent rules and regulations set in other countries in shaping rules and regulations for the commonwealth, and may further take the advice of medical and scientific experts actively engaged in the field as researchers or for the purpose of consumer protection, provided that these experts are not product defense experts or employed by product defense companies or the industry.