{"AmendmentNumber":"37","ParentBillNumber":"S3064","Bill":null,"Sponsor":{"Id":"CLG1","Name":"Carmine Lawrence Gentile","Type":1,"Details":"https://malegislature.gov/api/GeneralCourts/194/LegislativeMembers/CLG1","ResponseDate":"2026-06-16T12:51:43.727"},"Category":null,"Action":"Consolidated","RollCall":[],"Title":"Commission on Forests, Water, and Heat","Branch":"House","RedraftNumber":null,"IsFurther":false,"GeneralCourtNumber":194,"Text":"Mr. Gentile of Sudbury moves to amend the bill by adding the following sections:\r\n\r\n\"SECTION XXXX:\r\n\r\nSECTION 1:\r\n\r\n(a) The secretary of energy and environmental affairs shall convene a commission on forests, water, and heat to examine the current and projected impact on the citizens of the commonwealth of the protection and management of the forests owned by the commonwealth or its agencies, including the capacity of such forests to produce fresh water for human consumption and agriculture, to cool air temperatures, and to mitigate episodes of drought and heat waves.\r\n\r\nIn this section, unless the context otherwise requires, the following words shall have the following meanings:\r\n\r\n“Active management”, a deliberate intervention by a human in the ecosystem of a forest, including but not limited to cutting or pruning a tree, thinning underbrush, using a pesticide, building a road, or starting a controlled burn.\r\n\r\n“Passive management”, an intentional hands-off approach by a human to avoid intervention in the ecosystem of a forest such that the evolution of such forest may be shaped largely by natural processes.\r\n\r\n(b) In carrying out its mandate, the commission shall make recommendations on the following:\r\n\r\n(i) the current health of forest watersheds under active management by the commonwealth as compared to forest watersheds designated as wildlands for passive management with little or no intervention, evaluating peer-reviewed scientific evidence and considering the forests’ respective capacity to produce drinking water in quantity and quality to meet the current and future needs of the citizens of the commonwealth and to mitigate the adverse effects of extreme heat due to climate change;\r\n\r\n(ii) an analysis of peer-reviewed scientific evidence on the effect that wilderness and roadless status under passive management has to reduce and mitigate the risk of forest wildfires;\r\n\r\n(iii) a process with a proposed timeline to convert forests owned by the commonwealth or its agencies to wildland reserves by 2030, with benchmarks of 30%, 50%, 70% and 90% of the forest of the commonwealth;\r\n\r\n(iv) an assessment of projected costs and staffing requirements for the process described in (iii) compared to expenditures of monies and staffing for preparing and implementing active management practices for the previous fifteen years;\r\n\r\n(v) a review of contracts entered into by the commonwealth for the purpose of logging or actively managing forests owned by the commonwealth or its agencies, the income derived therefrom, and the expenditure by the commonwealth of such income for the previous fifteen years;\r\n\r\n(vi) an analysis and comparison of the short-term economic gains derived from active management of the forests of the commonwealth versus long-term economic costs to the commonwealth of any shortage or degradation of water supply, including the impact on public health of heat waves, the impact on agriculture of droughts, and the impact on communities of the risk of wildfires; and\r\n\r\n(viii) such other considerations relative to the benefits to the commonwealth of protecting and promoting healthy forests under its ownership.\r\n\r\n(c) The commission shall consist of the secretary of energy and environmental affairs or her designee, who shall serve as chair, and the following members or their designees appointed by the secretary:\r\n\r\n(i) the commissioner of the department of conservation and recreation;\r\n\r\n(ii) the director of the division of fish and wildlife;\r\n\r\n(iii) one member with expertise in geographic information systems;\r\n\r\n(iv) one member of the Harvard Forest with expertise in forestry or forest management;\r\n\r\n(v) four members nominated by one or more universities in the commonwealth, provided that such members shall have peer-reviewed scientific publications in one or more of the following areas: forest ecosystems and forest ecology, New England non-game wildlife and endangered species, the health of forest watersheds, and the health of forests with respect to the risk of wildfire;\r\n\r\n(vi) two members of the Woodwell Climate Research Center with expertise in the following areas: environmental economics and the benefits of forests for climate;\r\n\r\n(vii) one member nominated by a non-profit organization with experience in managing forests conserved as wildlands that has previously received funding from the commonwealth;\r\n\r\n(viii) one member nominated by a non-profit citizen-based organization with experience in advocating for healthy forests that has not previously received funding from the commonwealth;\r\n\r\n(ix) one member with publications devoted to conservation research, nominated by an environmental forest organization;\r\n\r\n(x) one member with expertise on the effects of extreme heat on public health from the Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility or similar organization; and\r\n\r\n(xi) one member nominated by a tribal government recognized by the commonwealth or the federal government, by the Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs, or the North American Indian Center of Boston.\r\n\r\n(d) In conducting its review and in developing its recommendations, the commission shall convene public hearings throughout the commonwealth and shall engage a broad set of stakeholders who may also serve on task forces focused on specific issues as determined appropriate by the commission. Such task forces may provide technical assistance and advice to the commission. In carrying out its purpose and based on its analysis of the evidence it assembles, the commission shall make recommendations for legislative and regulatory changes necessary to align the management of forests owned by the commonwealth or its agencies with the commonwealth’s mandates to ensure adequate drinking water for its citizens, to protect biodiversity, and to mitigate extreme heat and other adverse impacts of climate change.\r\n\r\n(e) The commission shall issue its report by June 30, 2027, and shall file such report with the clerk of the senate, the clerk of the house of representatives, the joint committee on the environment and natural resources, the senate committee on global warming and climate change, and the house committee on global warming and climate change.\r\n"}