Amendment ID: S2830-17

Amendment 17

Circular Economy Grant Program Improvements

Ms. Moran moves that the proposed new draft be amended by striking out section 2 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

SECTION 2. Chapter 29 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 2DDDDDD the following section:-

Section 2EEEEEE. (a) There shall be a Plastics Environmental Protection Fund to be expended, without prior appropriation, by the department of environmental protection. The fund shall consist of: (i) revenue from appropriations or other money authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) interest earned on such revenues; (iii) funds from public and private sources, including, but not limited to, gifts, grants, donations and settlements received by the commonwealth that are designated to be credited to the fund; (iv) federal funds paid to the commonwealth designated to be credited to the fund; and (v) monies paid to the commonwealth pursuant to chapter 21P, including all funds collected by the department of revenue pursuant to section 2 of said chapter 21P. The fund shall be expended to: (i) improve the air, water, soil or other environmental conditions for low and moderate income communities; (ii) provide reusable bags at no-cost to low and moderate income communities and individuals receiving benefits administered by the department of transitional assistance at no cost; (iii) issue grants to small businesses and nonprofit organizations that are incorporated and have principal places of business in the commonwealth to assist in the reduction of plastic use within each business or organization, including, but not limited to, small businesses or organizations in the food service and production, and retail industries; and (iv) provide multilingual, culturally competent educational materials and programming, including, but not limited to, experiential education regarding plastic reduction, reuse, and recycling and other aspects of environmental protection. Any bond proceeds deposited into the fund shall be kept separate from any and all other funds deposited into the fund. No expenditure from the fund shall cause the fund to be in deficiency at the close of a fiscal year. Monies deposited into the fund that are unexpended at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in the subsequent fiscal year.

(b) The department of environmental protection shall administer the fund. Annually, not later than March 1, the department shall report on the activities of the fund from the previous calendar year to the senate and house committees on ways and means and the joint committee on environment and natural resources. The department may promulgate regulations or issue other guidance to implement this section. The department shall consult with the department of transitional assistance to equitably implement the provision of no-cost reusable bags as set forth in subsection (a). The department shall consult with the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation to equitably implement the provision of grants to small businesses or nonprofit organizations to assist in the reduction of plastic use; provided that equitable implementation shall prioritize applications from (i) certified minority-owned and women-owned business enterprises; (ii) businesses that are geographically located within an environmental justice population as defined in section 56 of chapter 8; and (iii) businesses that provide substantial benefit to environmental justice populations, as long as these applications meet all other necessary criteria.