HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1678        FILED ON: 2/10/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 899

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Carolyn C. Dykema

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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 the control of tick-borne illness.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1678        FILED ON: 2/10/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 899

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act relative to the control of tick-borne illness.

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 1 of chapter 252 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “mosquitoes”, in line 4, the following words:- or ticks.

SECTION 2. Section 2 of said chapter 252, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “commissioner”, in line 3, the following words:- 1 employee of the department of fish and game designated by its commissioner.

SECTION 3. Said Section 2 of said chapter 252, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the words “state reclamation and mosquito control board”, in lines 5 and 6, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- state reclamation, mosquito and tick control board.

SECTION 4. Section 3 of said chapter 252, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the second sentence the following two sentences:- The board may investigate integrated pest management techniques for the protection of public health and the protection against tick-borne disease. It may publish and disseminate facts of general interest ascertained in the conduct of any such investigation including the financial and public health efficacy of the techniques, and may make and publish surveys of tracts of land with high rates of tick-borne disease, showing their situation and such other details as it deems advisable.

SECTION 5. Section 5A of said chapter 252, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the words “Mosquito and Greenhead Fly Control Fund”, in line 15, in lines 75 and 76 and in line 94, and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- Mosquito, Greenhead Fly and Tick Control Fund.

SECTION 6. Section 24 of said chapter 252, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the words “state reclamation board”, in line 1, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- “state reclamation, mosquito and tick control board.”

SECTION 7. Said chapter 252 is hereby further amended by adding the following section:-

Section 25. Upon request of a city or town, the state reclamation, mosquito and tick control board may implement integrated pest management techniques investigated as described in section 3 for the protection of public health and the protection against tick-borne disease. A request shall be made in a city by a vote of the city council with the approval of the mayor and in a town by a vote of the selectmen.

SECTION 8. This act shall take effect January 1, 2022