Section 1. Chapter 23J of the Massachusetts General Laws is hereby amended by adding after section 8 the following new section –

Section 8B

There is hereby established and placed within the Center a program to support public entities, municipalities and their residents in partnering with private entities to develop, pilot, and deploy solutions to decarbonize communities, buildings, homes, businesses, and vehicles. Said program shall provide resources that may include but are not limited to: feasibility studies; consulting services; direct grants for pilot and demonstration projects; technical assistance for energy planning; consumer engagement and education initiatives; and direct financial support to municipalities or NGOs for local staffing to support these efforts. Public interests to be advanced through this program may include but are not limited to the following: (i) strategic clean energy planning (ii) vehicle fleet electrification for municipalities, the MBTA, RTAs and public entities including school bus fleet electrification (iii) grid modernization and resilience including microgrids and energy storage (iv) piloting and deployment of EV charging infrastructure (v) building decarbonization transitions and (vi) distributed energy resources. For the purposes of this program a preference shall be given for (a) projects in Environmental Justice communities, Gateway Cities, Green Communities and MVP Communities and (b) for piloting and deployment of innovative technologies by Massachusetts based companies.

Section 2. Chapter 23J of the Massachusetts General Laws is hereby amended in Section 9 (b) by striking out, in line 11 after the words “New England region;” the word “and” and by adding after the words “institutions and projects” in line 12 the following words: “(vii) assisting the Commonwealth in achieving it greenhouse gas reduction targets; and (viii) facilitating clean energy supply chain opportunities including but not limited to supply chain activities related to offshore wind development”.

Section 3. Chapter 23J of the Massachusetts General Laws is hereby amended in Section 9 (d) by striking out, in line 19 after the words “December 31,1997”, the word “and” and adding after the words “scarce energy resources” the following (ix) advancing energy efficiency and electrification in new and existing buildings; (x) accelerating the adoption of clean transportation technologies; and (xi) the development of a modern flexible grid to support increased electricity demand and increased distributed renewable energy generation.

Section 4. Chapter 25 of the Massachusetts General Laws is hereby amended in Subsection (a) of Section 20 by striking out, in line one, the figure “0.5” and replacing it with the figure “1.5”

Section 5. Chapter 25 of the Massachusetts General Laws, is hereby amended in Subsection (a) of Section 20 of by inserting, in line 1, after the words “a mandatory charge” the following words:- “14.65 mill per therm for all natural gas customers and a mandatory charge of”