| 1 | 1 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . No. 4745 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | ______________________________________ |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, June 12, 2024. |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | The committee on Ways and Means, to whom was referred the Bill |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | supporting farm diversification and sustainability (House, No. 754), |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | reports recommending that the same ought to pass with an amendment |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | substituting therefor the accompanying bill (House, No. 4745). |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | For the committee, |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | AARON MICHLEWITZ. |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | 1 of 4 |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | FILED ON: 6/12/2024 |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4745 |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | (2023-2024) |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | An Act supporting farm diversification and sustainability. |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | of the same, as follows: |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | 1 SECTION 1. Section 23 of chapter 20 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | 2Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (b) and inserting in place thereof |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | 3the following subsection:- |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | 4 (b)(1) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department of |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | 5agricultural resources, with the approval of the co-holder, if any, in its sole discretion, may grant |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | 6to any owner of land subject to an agricultural preservation restriction held by the |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | 7commonwealth a nonassignable special permit allowing nonagricultural activities to occur on |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | 8land restricted for agricultural purposes if: (i) the land is being actively utilized for full-time |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | 9commercial agriculture; (ii) the permit is for a period of not less than 1 year in which may, at the |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | 10discretion of the department, be renewed; and (iii) the grant of a special permit will not defeat or |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | 11derogate from the intent and purposes of retaining the land for agricultural use and preserving the |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 12natural agricultural resources of the commonwealth and that the agricultural preservation |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | 13restriction owner meets all requirements pertaining to special permits contained in the |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | 14agricultural preservation restriction agreement form utilized by the commonwealth at the time of 2 of 4 |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | 15application for the special permit. In making the determination, the department shall consider the |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 16long-term productivity of the agricultural resource and the sustainability of the farm enterprise. |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | 17 (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the department may approve a special permit for a |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 18trial period of 1 year to evaluate a proposal for nonagricultural activities. If a special permit is |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | 19issued to a permit holder for a 1-year trial period the department shall notify the special permit |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | 20holder not later than 90 days before the end of the 1-year trial period of the department’s |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 21decision to renew, revoke or amend the permit. If the department fails to notify the special permit |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | 22holder of its decision to renew, revoke or amend the special permit, the special permit shall |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | 23automatically be renewed for a period of 5 years. |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | 24 SECTION 2. Said section 23 of said chapter 20, as so appearing, is hereby further |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | 25amended by striking out, in line 98, the words “for a special permit authorized in subsection (b)” |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 26and inserting in place thereof the following words:- any landowner of land subject to an |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | 27agricultural preservation restriction aggrieved by a decision of the department relative to a |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | 28special permit authorized pursuant to subsection (b). |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | 29 SECTION 3. (a) There shall be a special legislative commission to study and develop |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | 30recommendations for supporting investments, policies and practices designed to promote equity |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | 31in agriculture for socially disadvantaged groups in the commonwealth that have been historically |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | 32or systematically excluded or have had less access to resources and opportunities based on |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | 33cultural, racial or ethnic prejudice. These groups shall include, but shall not be limited to, |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | 34African Americans, Cape Verdeans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, Caribbean |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | 35Islanders, Native Americans and Alaskan natives. 3 of 4 |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | 36 (b) The commission shall consist of the following members: the commissioner of |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | 37agricultural resources, or a designee; the chairs of the joint committee on agriculture; 1 member |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | 38appointed by the Massachusetts Black and Latino legislative caucus; 1 member appointed by the |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | 39Massachusetts House Asian caucus; 2 members appointed by the Massachusetts food system |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | 40caucus, who shall be selected through an open nomination process pursuant to criteria developed |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | 41by the caucus; 2 members appointed by the commissioner of agricultural resources who shall |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | 42represent Buy Local organizations funded by the department of agricultural resources; 2 |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | 43members appointed by the Massachusetts Food System Collaborative; 1 member appointed by |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | 44the commission on the status of African Americans; 2 members appointed by a Massachusetts- |
|---|
| 66 | 66 | | 45based farming association; 2 members appointed by non-profit organizations whose primary |
|---|
| 67 | 67 | | 46purpose is working with farmers from socially disadvantaged groups; 1 member appointed by the |
|---|
| 68 | 68 | | 47commission on the status of Latinos and Latinas; 1 member appointed by the commission on the |
|---|
| 69 | 69 | | 48status of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; 1 member appointed by the commission on |
|---|
| 70 | 70 | | 49Indian affairs; 1 member appointed by Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation; 1 member |
|---|
| 71 | 71 | | 50appointed by the Massachusetts Federation of Farmers Markets; and 1 member appointed by the |
|---|
| 72 | 72 | | 51Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. |
|---|
| 73 | 73 | | 52Members appointed to the commission shall, to the extent possible, represent a diversity of |
|---|
| 74 | 74 | | 53knowledge of urban and rural agricultural practices and experiences and be knowledgeable in |
|---|
| 75 | 75 | | 54agriculture. The commission shall be co-chaired by the commissioner of agricultural resources |
|---|
| 76 | 76 | | 55and a member of the commission chosen by the members. |
|---|
| 77 | 77 | | 56 (c) The commission shall investigate and study ways to promote equity in agriculture in |
|---|
| 78 | 78 | | 57the commonwealth, and shall prepare a report including, but not be limited to, recommendations |
|---|
| 79 | 79 | | 58related to: (i) data collection and dissemination; (ii) benchmark development and targeting areas 4 of 4 |
|---|
| 80 | 80 | | 59of need; (iii) equitable access to grant programs and distribution of funds; (iv) generating greater |
|---|
| 81 | 81 | | 60equity in the legislative, regulatory and sub-regulatory processes to support agriculture in the |
|---|
| 82 | 82 | | 61commonwealth; (v) improving equity in programs and services offered by the department of |
|---|
| 83 | 83 | | 62agricultural resources, including, but not limited to, programs regarding land access and |
|---|
| 84 | 84 | | 63protection, farmer technical assistance and education, marketing and other existing programs |
|---|
| 85 | 85 | | 64identified by the commission; and (vi) the implementation and monitoring of equity goals in |
|---|
| 86 | 86 | | 65agriculture in the commonwealth established by the commission. Members of the commission |
|---|
| 87 | 87 | | 66shall not receive compensation for their services but may receive reimbursement for the |
|---|
| 88 | 88 | | 67reasonable expenses incurred in carrying out their responsibilities as members of the |
|---|
| 89 | 89 | | 68commission. |
|---|
| 90 | 90 | | 69 (d) The commission shall hold not less than 3 public hearings in various regions of the |
|---|
| 91 | 91 | | 70commonwealth; provided, that not less than 1 public hearing shall be held in a rural area and not |
|---|
| 92 | 92 | | 71less than 1 public hearing shall be held in an urban area with potential for increased urban |
|---|
| 93 | 93 | | 72agriculture. |
|---|
| 94 | 94 | | 73 (e) Not later than December 31, 2025, the commission shall file a report and any |
|---|
| 95 | 95 | | 74recommendations, including any legislation necessary to carry out the recommendations, with |
|---|
| 96 | 96 | | 75the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate, the house and senate committees on |
|---|
| 97 | 97 | | 76ways and means and the joint committee on agriculture. The report shall be publicly available on |
|---|
| 98 | 98 | | 77the website of the department of agricultural resources. |
|---|