SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1688        FILED ON: 1/18/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2157

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Joanne M. Comerford

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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 resolve:

Resolve creating a citizens commission concerning the commonwealth of Massachusetts being in alignment with the UN treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1688        FILED ON: 1/18/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2157

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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

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Resolve creating a citizens commission concerning the commonwealth of Massachusetts being in alignment with the UN treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons.

Resolved, There shall be a non-partisan Citizens Commission to advance the intention of the commonwealth of Massachusetts to be in alignment with the 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, hereinafter referred to as the treaty. The commission shall be comprised of 11 United States citizens who are residents of Massachusetts, one member who shall be appointed by the governor, one member who shall be appointed by the secretary of the commonwealth, one member who shall be appointed by the attorney general, one member who shall be appointed by the speaker of the house, one member who shall be appointed by the senate president, and six members who shall additionally be appointed by the governor, from a group of ten individuals nominated by the not for profit organization Massachusetts Peace Action. No person shall be appointed to the commission who has not publicly applied for such appointment, which applications the governor shall cause to be posted on a page established for the public knowledge and oversight of the appointment and operation of the commission on the official website of the commonwealth. No person shall be appointed to the commission that is a current or former employee of any company or military installation involved in the production or maintenance of nuclear weapons.

An application by any citizen who seeks to serve on this commission shall state the intent of the applicant to comply with and advance the policy established by this act; the applicant’s qualifications and interest in serving on the commission; the political party affiliation, if any, of the applicant over the previous 5 years; the city or town in which the applicant resides; and the employment of the applicant, if employed. All applications for service on the commission shall be submitted within 60 days of the posting of the appointment opportunity on the official website of the commonwealth, which posting the governor shall cause to be made within 30 days of effective date of this Act.

All appointments shall be made no sooner than 90 days and no later than 120 days following the effective date of this act. In making appointments to the commission, the governor, secretary of the commonwealth, attorney general, president of the senate and speaker of the house shall consider the non-partisan nature of the commission, and shall seek to ensure that the commission reflects a range of geographical, political and demographic backgrounds. Appointees to the commission shall serve without compensation.

Members of the commission shall elect a chair or co-chairs, in the manner as the members of the commission may decide by majority vote. The commission shall meet on a regular basis to research, gather evidence, testimony and advice in the manner that the members of the commission determine is most conducive to achieving the objectives of this act, provided, however, that the commission proceedings and activities shall be subject to the Open Meeting Law and the Public Records Law, and that all residents of Massachusetts have a reasonable opportunity to offer their views and ideas related to the policies herein to the commission.

The commission shall work to inform citizens and legislators about the consequences and implications of bringing the commonwealth into alignment with the 2017 Nuclear Ban Treaty, including but not limited to a full appraisal of how jobs, technologies and industries currently devoted to nuclear weapons within the commonwealth could be converted to address climate change and other pressing social needs.

The commission shall file a report with the clerks of the house and senate, and with the governor, the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, and all Massachusetts members of the Massachusetts federal congressional delegation no later than July 31, 2021. 

The final report of the commission shall include the following: an inventory of all companies, facilities and institutions in the state involved in the nuclear weapons industry, an inventory of all state investments, including state pension funds, held in companies involved in the nuclear weapons industry, an inventory of all state contracts with companies involved in the nuclear weapons industry, including the total value of each contract, documentation of the economic impact that the nuclear weapons industry has on the state, including but not limited to the total workforce employed by the industry in the state, the total revenue generated in the state from the industry, and all facilities and infrastructure utilized and/or managed by the nuclear weapons industry within the state, an inventory of the total number of jobs and contracts directly related to prohibited activities as designated under the Nuclear Ban Treaty, an inventory of the transferable skills, technology, and infrastructure employed by the nuclear weapons industry and recommendations for how they may be converted to industry and technology that address climate change or other relevant and pressing social needs, recommendations for an appropriate nuclear industry conversion timeline, including an assessment of the estimated cost of conversion to the state and federal government, recommendations for establishing procedures that screen all potential state contracts for involvement in the nuclear weapons industry, an analysis of the impact that state conversion from the nuclear weapons industry to industries which address climate change and other relevant social needs will have on that state economy and the US nuclear weapons industry, and recommendations for any and all additional steps the state can take to influence the federal government to sign and ratify the Nuclear Ban Treaty. The commission shall make any necessary recommendations to the general court on legislation designed to bring the commonwealth into alignment with the treaty.