SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2379        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 564

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Marc R. Pacheco

_________________

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 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions threatening our natural environment.

_______________

PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2379        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 564

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

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

_______________

An Act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions threatening our natural environment.

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

Said chapter 21N, most recently amended by section 11A of chapter 8 of the acts of 2021, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (b) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(b) The secretary shall promulgate regulations establishing market-based compliance mechanisms for: (i) the transportation sector; provided, however, that the regulations shall, at a minimum, be designed to reduce passenger vehicle and light duty truck emissions; (ii) the commercial, industrial and institutional sectors, including but not limited to buildings and industrial, manufacturing and other business processes; and (iii) the residential building sector.

The market-based compliance mechanisms established pursuant to this section shall: (i) maximize the ability of the commonwealth to achieve the greenhouse gas emissions limits established pursuant to this chapter;(ii) be designed to minimize disproportionate impacts on low-income households; (iii) be designed to identify, with special attention to manufacturing, economic sectors, economic subsectors or individual employers at risk of serious negative impacts due to the market-based compliance mechanisms established pursuant to this section; and (iv) be designed to mitigate impacts identified in clause (iii). The market-based compliance mechanisms may be established by joining any existing market-based compliance mechanisms. The secretary shall evaluate and adjust, if necessary, all market-based compliance mechanisms adopted pursuant to this section at least once every 30 months to meet the requirements of this section and to achieve greenhouse gas emissions limits. The regulations may be promulgated as part of a coordinated regional effort with other states or Canadian Provinces to implement, expand or join any other market-based compliance mechanisms. The department shall ensure it has adequate resources to implement the requirements of this chapter.

Not later than September 30, 2025 and every 5 years thereafter, the secretary or a designee shall publish a comprehensive energy plan that shall include and be based upon reasonable projections of the commonwealth’s energy demands for electricity, transportation and thermal conditioning and shall also include strategies for meeting those demands in a regional context, prioritizing meeting energy demand through conservation, energy efficiency and other demand-reduction resources in a manner that contributes to the commonwealth meeting the limits for 2030 and 2040 pursuant to subsection (b) of section 3.