HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3131        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3391

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Norman J. Orrall

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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 greener and healthier transportation corridors.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3131        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3391

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act relative to greener and healthier transportation corridors.

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. Notwithstanding any general provisions or special laws to the contrary, there shall be a special commission to recommend strategies to improve the land usage of the transportation corridors of the Commonwealth for decreasing noise, light, and air pollution as well as maximizing carbon sequestration and energy generation. The commission shall consist of the chief of the office of climate innovation and resilience, the secretary of transportation, and the secretary of energy and environmental affairs , who shall serve as the co-chairs, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation highway administrator, or their designee; the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority general manager, or their designee; the commissioner of the department of conservation and recreation, or their designee;  3 individuals appointed by the governor; provided, 1 shall be a specialist in the field of transportation maintenance and operations, 1 shall be a specialist in the field of transportation related pollutants and 1 shall be a resident of a designated environmental justice community abutting a transportation corridor; the president of the senate, or their designee; the speaker of the house, or their designee; the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on transportation, or their respective designees; the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on the environment, natural resources and agriculture, or their respective designees; the senate and house minority leaders, or their respective designees. The commission shall make a comprehensive study of utilizing transportation right of ways to provide natural solutions to reduce transportation related pollutants and increase carbon sequestration as well as for low carbon energy generation.   The commission shall review each agencies maintenance and design practices. The study shall also include a financial analysis that includes up front construction costs as well as long term maintenance costs of the implementation of new natural solutions compared to current practices. The commission shall report to the joint committee on transportation, the joint committee on the environment, natural resources and agriculture and the house and senate committees on ways and means, the finding and recommendations, if any, together with drafts of legislation necessary to carry the recommendations into effect by filing the same with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives on or before December 31, 2024.