Amendment #1168, as changed to H4000
The Water Supply Protection Program and Water Supply Protection Trust
Ms. Gobi of Spencer Ms. Gobi of Spencer moves to further amend amendment 1168 by striking out the amendment in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following:-
Ms. Gobi of Spencer moves to amend the bill by inserting after section 10 the following section:-
SECTION 10C. Chapter 10 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
Section 75. (a) There is hereby established a Water Supply Protection Program to be administered by and through a separate trust to be known as the Water Supply Protection Trust. Monies in said trust shall be deposited with the state treasurer in such manner as will secure the highest interest rate available consistent with safety of the trust and with the requirement that all amounts on deposit be available for immediate use.
(b) There shall be a board of trustees of the trust, which shall consist of the executive director of the Massachusetts water resources authority, the secretary of the executive office of environmental affairs or his appointee, a member appointed by the speaker of the house, a member appointed by the president of the senate, and a member jointly selected by the North Worcester County Quabbin Anglers and the Quabbin Fishermen's Association.
(c) The board of trustees shall meet quarterly, and shall serve without compensation. For purposes of board of trustee meetings and voting, a quorum shall be comprised of 3 board members. The board of trustees shall choose a chairperson by majority vote and shall make all decisions by majority vote. Annually, the board of trustees shall review and approve the operating plan, the operating budget, the capital budgets, and other aspects of the annual work plan prepared jointly by the department of conservation and recreation and the Massachusetts water resources authority pursuant to an interagency memorandum of understanding between the department and the authority by which memorandum and the annual work plan prepared thereunder shall provide for the watershed and water supply protection responsibilities established for the authority and department pursuant to chapters 92 and 92A 1/2, chapter 372 of the acts of 1984, chapter 36 of the acts of 1992 and chapter 26 of the acts of 2003, and to be satisfactorily discharged. The memorandum, or any amendments adopted thereto, shall not include an authorization to enter into any agreement to acquire, purchase or transfer any property, the title of which is vested in the commonwealth or is considered to be watershed property established pursuant to the general laws or session acts as of July 1, 2014. Said restriction shall not be construed to be inconsistent with the terms and conditions of this section as they relate to the operation and governance of the trust or any other provisions of this section.
Any provisions in the memorandum, as it may be amended from time to time, regarding the operation and governance of the trust shall be consistent with this section. In the event of an inconsistency between that memorandum and the terms and conditions of this section as they relate to the operation and governance of the trust, the terms and conditions of this section shall be dispositive.
(d) There shall be credited to the trust the following:
(1) all assessments against the authority established pursuant to section 11 of chapter 92A 1/2, except for amounts to be paid in trust by the authority to the division of water supply protection for application to payments in lieu of taxes pursuant to chapter 59 of the General Laws, and against any other public or private entity by the commissioner of the department for the purpose of supporting the watershed and water supply activities set forth in subsection (e);
(2) all revenues generated by the department's division of water supply protection required to be offset from assessments against the authority pursuant to section 11 of said chapter 92A 1/2, which shall include, but not be limited to, the sale of hydroelectricity, recreational or permits fees, and shall also include any access fees established pursuant to chapter 436 of the acts of 1990;
(3) all revenues from the sale of wood products harvested on those watershed lands under the management of the division of water supply protection;
(4) all payments from the authority for debt service under section 12 of said chapter 92A 1/2;
(5) all interest earned on monies in the trust; and
(6) gifts, grants, donations, or other contributions made for the purpose of supporting the watershed and water supply activities set forth in subsection (e).
(e) Notwithstanding any general or special law or other restriction to the contrary, expenditures from the trust shall not be subject to appropriation and balances remaining at the end of any fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund, and expenditures from the trust shall be made only for the purposes set forth in the memorandum and annual work plan as approved by the board pursuant to subsection (c), including:
(1) the maintenance and operating costs of the department's division of water supply protection, as established in sections 1 to 20, inclusive, of chapter 92A 1/2, including the costs of capital improvements necessary to ensure the safety and purity of the water supply and protection of watershed lands pursuant to state and federal standards, capital costs, and the costs of the purchase or leasing of vehicles and all other equipment as considered necessary by the division, and other authorized charges of the division of water supply protection, as set forth in the Annual Work Plan's operating plan, operating budget, and capital budgets prepared jointly by the department and authority, and reviewed and approved by the board of trustees pursuant to subsection (c); provided, that no expenditure may be made for operating, maintenance, and capital costs of the department's division of water supply protection that were previously budgeted as expenses of the former department of environmental management that were non-reimbursable by the authority;
(2) department salaries, staffing levels, other employee expenses, operational expenses, acquisition of capital equipment, and all other expenses, as set forth in the Annual Work Plan's operating plan, operating budget, and capital budgets prepared jointly by the department and authority, and reviewed and approved by the board of trustees pursuant to subsection (c); and
(3) debt service payments for bonds authorized by the general court for the acquisition of fee simple, development, and other rights or interests in land in the areas regulated by said division of water supply protection, if the bonds were authorized and bonded indebtedness incurred before the establishment of the trust.
(f) For the purpose of accommodating timing discrepancies between the trust's receipt of revenues and related expenditures, the trust may incur expenses and the comptroller may certify payments from the trust in anticipation of trust receipts; but, the board of trustees shall annually certify to the comptroller that expenditures for the previous fiscal year did not exceed related assessments and trust receipts. No expenditures from said fund shall cause said fund to be in deficiency at the close of a fiscal year.
(g) The board of trustees shall not enter into any agreement to acquire, purchase or transfer any assets or property the title of which is vested in the commonwealth, or considered to be watershed property established pursuant to the general laws or session acts as of July 1, 2014. Said restriction shall not be construed to be inconsistent with the terms and conditions of this section as they relate to the operation and governance of the trust, or any other provisions of this section.
SECTION 10D. The last sentence of section 4 of chapter 92A 1/2 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the words "general fund" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- Water Supply Protection Trust, established in section 75 of chapter 10.
SECTION 10E. Section 11 of chapter 92A 1/2 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the fifth sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- Within 30 days of receipt of the department bill, the treasurer of the authority shall remit the total billed amount to the Water Supply Protection Trust, established in section 75 of chapter 10.
SECTION 10F. Said section 11 of said chapter 92A 1/2, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the seventh sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- The commissioner of the department shall forward to the treasurer of the commonwealth the revenues generated by the division, which shall be credited to the Water Supply Protection Trust, established in section 75 of chapter 10.
SECTION 10G. Section 12 of said chapter 92A 1/2, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the second sentence and inserting in place the following 2 sentences:- The revenue shall be deposited into the Water Supply Protection Trust established in section 75 of chapter 10 for the purposes of meeting said debt service costs. The comptroller shall transfer to the General Fund from the Water Supply Protection Trust that portion of annual assessments against the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority identified as reimbursement for debt service payments that have been previously charged to the General Fund.