SENATE DOCKET, NO. 659        FILED ON: 1/14/2025

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Jacob R. Oliveira

_________________

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 electrifying Regional Transit Authorities.

_______________

PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 659        FILED ON: 1/14/2025

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 2285 OF 2023-2024.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

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

_______________

An Act electrifying Regional Transit Authorities.

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. Section 1 of chapter 161B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following definition:-

“Electric vehicles,” vehicles that rely solely on electric motors for propulsion and includes non-combustion vehicles.

SECTION 2. Section 6 of said chapter 161B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after paragraph (r), the following paragraph:-

(s) The authorities shall operate electric vehicles with a priority for operating such buses on routes serving environmental justice populations as defined in section 62 of chapter 30. Authorities shall conduct robust community outreach and engagement with residents of environmental justice populations, municipal officials in cities and towns that have environmental justice populations, and with transportation and environmental justice advocates.  The authorities shall implement electrification along all regional transit authorities by no later than December 31, 2035 and meet the following procurement targets.

The Secretary, in consultation with the executive office for administration and finance, shall require that new electric vehicles purchased by the authorities shall be electric vehicles according to the following deadlines: (i) 40 per cent of all purchases in 2028; (ii) 60 per cent of all purchases in 2030; and (iii) 80 per cent of all purchases in 2032.

The authorities shall report annually to the Regional Transit Authority Council established pursuant to section 27 of chapter 161B on the progress of electrifying their fleets. As part of the public reports, authorities shall include information on any fossil fuel infrastructure or fossil fuel-powered vehicles procured during the reporting period and the reasons for procuring internal combustion engines and fossil fuel infrastructure in lieu of electric vehicles and zero-emission infrastructure.

SECTION 3. Said chapter 161B is hereby amended by adding the following section:-

Section 28. The department of transportation shall establish a central planning and procurement office by December 31, 2026.  The central planning and procurement office shall be tasked with technical, planning, grant writing, procurement, and worker retraining support for implementation of the electric vehicle bus rollout plans as described in section 78 and chapter 179 of the Acts of 2022 for each individual regional transit authority by June 30, 2027.

The department shall provide information and support for any employees who may become unemployed as a result of regional transit authorities’ transition to electric buses, including, but not limited to, free retraining options and hiring assistance to transition to another role. The employers of any labor required to design, build, and maintain infrastructure as described by said rollout plans will pay a prevailing wage, be subject to project labor agreements, and at a minimum remain neutral to unionization efforts.

The department of transportation, in consultation with the executive office of energy and environmental affairs, shall identify sources of funding to support the implementation of the electric vehicle bus rollout plans and may pursue federal funding opportunities to support electric vehicle penetration throughout the Commonwealth in accordance with the requirements of chapter 21N.