Budget Amendment ID: FY2023-S4-52

ENV 52

Roadside Litter Prevention and Cleanup Task Force

Messrs. Feeney, Tarr and O'Connor moved that the proposed new text be amended by inserting, in section 2, after item 1595-6379 the following item:-

“xxxx-xxxx For the department of transportation to distribute in a manner consistent with the recommendations of the litter prevention and cleanup task force established under section __ of this act………………….$1,000,000”;

and by inserting after section ___ the following section:-

“SECTION ___. There shall be established within the Massachusetts department of transportation, highway division, a litter prevention and cleanup task force.

(a) The litter prevention and cleanup task force shall include 1 or more designees appointed by the secretary of the department of transportation, one of whom shall serve as Chair, the executive director of the Massachusetts office of travel and tourism or a designee, the secretary of public safety and security or a designee, the secretary of energy and environmental affairs or a designee, and the Executive Director of Keep Massachusetts Beautiful.

(b) The litter prevention and cleanup task force shall create a consistent, memorable, Massachusetts-themed anti-littering slogan, and branding, and develop a litter prevention advertising campaign across multiple platforms including but not limited to television and radio broadcast, print, social media, state-controlled messaging boards, billboards, and signs. The task force shall conduct an analysis on the annual costs associated with the cleanup of highway and roadside litter, the funding sources currently used for litter cleanup, and the areas most impacted by litter. The task force shall consider the current enforcement and fine statutes and regulations related to littering in the Commonwealth.

(c) The litter prevention and cleanup task force shall issue a report with recommendations on potential funding needed for litter cleanup along our highways and roadsides, recommendations related to litter enforcement among motorists and vehicles with improperly covered loads, including but not limited to, best practices for law enforcement, whether additional funding is needed for enforcement, and whether the current fine structure is adequate. The report shall be filed by December 31, 2023 with the Governor of the Commonwealth, the clerks of the House of Representatives and Senate, the Chairpersons of the Joint Committee on Transportation, the Chairpersons of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development, and the Chairpersons of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture.

(d) The department of transportation shall allocate funding in line item xxxx-xxxx in a manner consistent with the final recommendations of the litter prevention and cleanup task force.”