Amendment ID: S2410-48

Amendment 48

Municipal Agricultural Commissions

Ms. Gobi and Mr. Tarr move to amend the amendment by inserting after section 239 the following 4 sections:-

SECTION 240. Section 23 of chapter 20 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “by”, in line 22, the following words:- agricultural commissions or.

SECTION 241. Chapter 40 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 8K the following section:-

Section 8L. (a) For the purposes of this section, the terms “farming” and “agriculture” shall have the same meaning as provided in section 1A of chapter 128.

(b) A city or town which accepts this section may establish a municipal agricultural commission to promote and develop the agricultural resources of the city or town. A municipal agricultural commission, unless otherwise restricted by law, may: (i) buy, hold, manage, license or lease land for agricultural purposes; (ii) educate the public on agricultural issues; (iii) advocate for farmers, farm businesses and farm interests; (iv) assist farmers in resolving municipal problems or conflicts related to farms; (v) seek to coordinate agricultural related activities with other governmental bodies or unofficial local groups or organizations that promote agriculture; (vi) receive grants, gifts, bequests or devises of personal or monetary property of any nature and interest in real property in accordance with this section; (vii) apply for, receive, expend and act on behalf of the municipality in connection with federal and state grants or programs or private grants related to local agriculture, with the approval of the mayor or city manager in a city or the board of selectmen in a town; and (viii) advertise, prepare, print and distribute books, maps, charts and pamphlets related to local agriculture that the municipal agricultural commission deems necessary for its work.

(c) A municipal agricultural commission may conduct research and prepare agriculture related plans, including a comprehensive local agricultural land plan which shall be, to the extent possible, consistent with any current town master plan and regional area plans. The plan shall show or identify: (i) agricultural land areas and facilities; (ii) matters which may be shown on a tract index under section 33 of chapter 184; (iii) acquisitions of interest in land under this section; (iv) municipal lands that are held as open space; (v) non-municipal land subject to legal requirements or restrictions to protect that land or use it for open space, conservation, recreation or agriculture; (vi) land that should be retained as a public necessity for agricultural use; and (vii) any other information that the commission determines to be relevant to local agricultural land use. The commission may amend the plan whenever necessary.

(d) The commission may appoint a chair, clerks, consultants and other employees and may contract for materials and services as it may require, subject to appropriation by the municipality.

(e) The municipal agricultural commission shall keep accurate records of its meetings and actions and shall file an annual report with the clerk of the municipality. The commission’s annual report shall be posted on the municipality’s public website and, in a town, shall be printed in the annual town report for that year.

(f) A municipal agricultural commission shall consist of not less than 3 nor more than 7 members who shall be residents of the municipality. A majority of members shall be farmers or employed in an agriculture related field. In the event that farmers or those employed in agriculture are unavailable to serve on the commission, then the commission shall include a majority of members with knowledge and experience in agricultural practices or knowledge of related agricultural business. Each member of the commission shall serve for a term of 3 years; provided, however, that the initial members appointed under this section shall serve for terms of 1, 2 or 3 years and the terms shall be arranged by the appointing authority so that the terms of approximately 1/3 of the commission’s members shall expire each year.

In a city, the members of the municipal agricultural commission shall be appointed by the mayor, unless otherwise provided by the city’s charter; provided, however, that in a city having a Plan D or Plan E charter, the appointments shall be made by the city manager, unless otherwise provided by the city’s charter. In a town, the members of the municipal agricultural commission shall be appointed after a public hearing by the board of selectmen; provided, however, that in a town having a manager form of government the appointments shall be made by the town manager subject to the approval of the board of selectmen.

A member of a municipal agricultural commission may be removed for cause by the appointing authority after a public hearing, if such hearing is requested by the member. A vacancy created by a member being removed for cause shall be filled by the appointing authority for the unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment.

(g) A municipal agricultural commission may receive gifts, bequests or devises of personal property or interests in real property as described in this subsection in the name of the city or town, subject to the approval of the city council or board of selectmen. The municipal agricultural commission may purchase interests in the land only with funds available to the commission. A city council or a town meeting may raise or transfer funds so that the municipal agricultural commission may acquire in the name of the city or town by option, purchase, lease or otherwise the fee in the land or water rights, conservation or agricultural restrictions, easements or other contractual rights as may be necessary to acquire, maintain, improve, protect, limit the future use of or conserve and properly utilize open spaces in land and water areas within the city or town. The municipal agricultural commission shall manage and control the interests in land acquired under this subsection. The commission shall not take or obtain land by eminent domain.

The commission shall adopt rules and regulations governing the use of land and water under its control and prescribe civil penalties, not exceeding a fine of $100, for any violation thereof.

(h) A municipality may appropriate money to an agricultural preservation fund of which the treasurer of the municipality shall be the custodian. The treasurer shall receive, deposit or invest the funds in savings banks, trust companies incorporated under the laws of the commonwealth, banking companies incorporated under the laws of the commonwealth which are members of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or national banks or invest the funds in: (i) paid-up-shares and accounts of and in cooperative banks; (ii) shares of savings and loan associations; or (iii) shares of federal savings and loan associations doing business in the commonwealth.  Any income derived from deposits or investments under this subsection shall be credited to the fund. Money in said fund may be expended by the commission for any purpose authorized by this section.

SECTION 242. Section 31 of chapter 111 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the first paragraph the following paragraph:-

In a city or town with a municipal agricultural commission, as defined in section 8L of chapter 40, the board of health in that city or town shall, during the publication period, solicit and consider comments submitted by the municipal agricultural commission on regulations that have an impact on farming or agriculture as defined in section 1A of chapter 128.

SECTION 243. A municipal agricultural commission duly formed prior to the effective date of this act shall have the authority as provided in section 8L of chapter 40 of the General Laws without further action to accept said section 8L of said chapter 40.