HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1557        FILED ON: 1/18/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 861

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Joan Meschino

_________________

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 maintaining adequate water supplies through effective drought management.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Joan Meschino

3rd Plymouth

1/9/2023

Lindsay N. Sabadosa

1st Hampshire

1/24/2023

Tram T. Nguyen

18th Essex

1/24/2023

Steven Owens

29th Middlesex

1/24/2023

Hannah Kane

11th Worcester

1/25/2023

Steven Ultrino

33rd Middlesex

1/25/2023

Jack Patrick Lewis

7th Middlesex

1/25/2023

Joanne M. Comerford

Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester

1/26/2023

Samantha Montaño

15th Suffolk

1/26/2023

Ruth B. Balser

12th Middlesex

1/27/2023

Aaron L. Saunders

7th Hampden

1/31/2023

Jacob R. Oliveira

Hampden, Hampshire and Worcester

2/2/2023

Thomas M. Stanley

9th Middlesex

2/2/2023

David M. Rogers

24th Middlesex

2/3/2023

Mary S. Keefe

15th Worcester

2/6/2023

Susan Williams Gifford

2nd Plymouth

2/7/2023

Paul McMurtry

11th Norfolk

2/8/2023

Kay Khan

11th Middlesex

2/8/2023

Sally P. Kerans

13th Essex

2/13/2023

Denise C. Garlick

13th Norfolk

2/15/2023

Simon Cataldo

14th Middlesex

2/15/2023

James B. Eldridge

Middlesex and Worcester

2/19/2023

James K. Hawkins

2nd Bristol

2/23/2023

Bradley H. Jones, Jr.

20th Middlesex

2/24/2023

Patrick Joseph Kearney

4th Plymouth

2/28/2023

William C. Galvin

6th Norfolk

3/1/2023

David Paul Linsky

5th Middlesex

3/6/2023

Kristin E. Kassner

2nd Essex

3/15/2023

Edward R. Philips

8th Norfolk

3/15/2023

Dylan A. Fernandes

Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket

3/15/2023

Rodney M. Elliott

16th Middlesex

3/16/2023

Bruce E. Tarr

First Essex and Middlesex

3/22/2023

Natalie M. Higgins

4th Worcester

3/24/2023

Margaret R. Scarsdale

1st Middlesex

3/27/2023

Mike Connolly

26th Middlesex

3/28/2023

Jay D. Livingstone

8th Suffolk

3/29/2023

Tommy Vitolo

15th Norfolk

3/30/2023

Adrianne Pusateri Ramos

14th Essex

5/18/2023


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1557        FILED ON: 1/18/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 861

By Representative Meschino of Hull, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 861) of Joan Meschino and others relative to maintaining adequate water supplies through effective drought management.  Environment and Natural Resources.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

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

_______________

 

An Act relative to maintaining adequate water supplies through effective drought management.

 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Chapter 21A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 2A the following section:-

Section 2B.

(a) There shall be established within the office the drought management task force. The secretary and the director of the Massachusetts emergency management agency shall appoint to the task force officials from state agencies and professional organizations with responsibility for areas likely to be affected by drought conditions; representatives of agencies that provide data used to assess drought conditions or that have the ability to respond to drought conditions; and public health and safety and environmental professionals, and may invite officials from federal agencies to participate. The secretary and the director shall have joint responsibility for coordinating the task force. The task force shall meet at least quarterly, but it shall meet at least monthly during drought. The task force shall be staffed by a director appointed by the secretary.

(b) The task force shall assist in collecting and assessing technical information, facilitating coordination and communication among task force members, agencies and the public, and provide recommendations to the secretary, the secretary of public safety and security and the governor on the level of drought and responses thereto. The task force shall also make recommendations for the end of drought, or reduction of the drought level.

(c) The task force shall maintain and periodically update a statewide drought management plan that addresses preparedness and response to drought conditions and protects public health, public safety, and the environment. The task force may update the statewide drought management plan at any time; provided, that the plan shall be updated at least every 5 years.

(d) The secretary may order water conservation measures, including limits on nonessential outdoor water use, based on the severity of drought in drought regions to protect public health, safety or the environment. Such water conservation measures by the secretary shall apply uniformly to all water users within a drought region.

(e) Notwithstanding section 27C of chapter 29 of the General Laws or any ordinance, by-law, rule or regulation to the contrary, cities and towns shall enforce, water conservation restrictions issued by the secretary to the fullest extent permitted by law.