Chapter 21A of the General Laws, as printed in the 2022 Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after Section 28 the following:

Section 29. There is hereby created and placed within the office of environmental affairs a body politic and corporate and a public instrumentality to be known as the Massachusetts Flood Management and Mitigation Authority, referred to in this section as the Authority, which shall serve to coordinate flood management and mitigation efforts by local governments, tribal authorities, regional planning bodies, watershed organizations and environmental nonprofits, philanthropic organizations, and other entities.

(a)The Authority shall be an independent public authority not subject to the supervision or control of the executive office of environmental affairs or of any other executive office, department, commission, board, bureau, agency or political subdivision of the commonwealth except to the extent and in the manner provided in this act.

(b)The Authority shall develop rules and regulations to protect the commonwealth’s natural resources, infrastructure, and the property of its residents.

(c)The Authority shall, with respect to itself and the entities it regulates prioritize the conservation of the natural resources of the commonwealth and center equity and environmental justice in all planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance and financial activities.

(d)The Authority shall be empowered to plan, design, build, operate, and fund flood control systems

(e)The Authority shall be empowered to borrow money and issue bonds and to pledge or assign or create security interests in funds or revenues of the Authority to pay or secure such bonds

(f)The Authority shall submit a report annually to the clerk of the house of representatives, the clerk of the senate, and the joint committee on environment on natural resources informing them on how the commonwealth and affiliated agencies are mitigating the impact of flooding.