HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2787        FILED ON: 1/16/2025

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2427

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Judith A. Garcia and Samantha Montaño

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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 to improve indoor air quality for highly-impacted communities.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2787        FILED ON: 1/16/2025

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2427

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)

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An Act to improve indoor air quality for highly-impacted communities.

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. There shall be a task force created to develop a statutory and regulatory framework to identify, monitor, and remediate indoor air pollution and indoor mold contamination in schools, long term care facilities, correctional facilities, early childhood education facilities, public housing, and privately-owned residential buildings. The task force shall also identify and make recommendations for funding sources for implementation of its recommendations.

Said task force shall be comprised of the commissioner of public health or a designee, who shall serve as chair, the commissioner of environmental protection or a designee; the secretary of housing and livable communities or a designee; the attorney general or a designee; and 7 additional members to be appointed by the Governor: a representative of a community-based environmental justice organization; an academic expert on environmental health; a representative of the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards; an individual with experience in community clinical health care; an individual with experience in the state’s shelter housing system; an individual with experience in long-term senior care; and an individual with experience in public school administration.

Said task force shall convene its first meeting within 30 days of the passage of this Act. Said task force shall submit a final report with its recommendations to the House and Senate Committees on Public Health, the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means, the executive office of health and human services, the executive office of energy and environmental affairs, the Attorney General, and the state Environmental Justice Council within one year of the passage of this Act. Not less than 30 days prior to the release of said final report, the task force shall release draft recommendations for public review and comment.

SECTION 2. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department of public health, in consultation with the department of environmental protection, shall promulgate regulations for conducting indoor air quality assessments monitoring exposure to ultrafine particulate matter and black carbon particulate matter concentrations present in the indoor air of existing and proposed buildings, based on the best available science about the health risks associated with ultrafine particulate matter and black carbon. The regulations shall include, but not be limited to, establishing standard procedures and public reporting mechanisms for conducting air dispersion modeling, managing air pollution, monitoring ultrafine particulate matter, and estimating exposure.

Said regulations shall be promulgated no later than December 31, 2026.