Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts Senate Bill S1982 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 820 FILED ON: 1/18/2023
3	3	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1982
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Cynthia Stone Creem
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act relative to the use of low-embodied carbon concrete in state projects.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Cynthia Stone CreemNorfolk and MiddlesexKay Khan11th Middlesex2/15/2023 1 of 4
16	16	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 820 FILED ON: 1/18/2023
17	17	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1982
18	18	By Ms. Creem, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1982) of Cynthia Stone Creem and
19	19	Kay Khan for legislation relative to the use of low embodied carbon concrete in state projects.
20	20	State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.
21	21	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
22	22	SEE [Refile Branch], NO. OF 2021-2022.]
23	23	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
24	24	_______________
25	25	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
26	26	(2023-2024)
27	27	_______________
28	28	An Act relative to the use of low-embodied carbon concrete in state projects.
29	29	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
30	30	of the same, as follows:
31	31	1 Chapter 7C of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting the following section:-
32	32	2 SECTION 73. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context
33	33	3clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:
34	34	4 “Department”, the department of energy resources.
35	35	5 “Division”, the division of capital asset management and maintenance.
36	36	6 “Environmental product declaration”, product specific Type Ill environmental product
37	37	7declarations that conform to ISO Standard 14025 and enable the numeric global warming
38	38	8potential and environmental impact comparisons between concrete mixes fulfilling the same
39	39	9functions. 2 of 4
40	40	10 “Global warming potential”, a numeric value that measures the total contribution to
41	41	11global warming from the emission of greenhouse gases, or the elimination of greenhouse gas
42	42	12sinks.
43	43	13 “Low-embodied carbon concrete”, concrete that has been verified to embody carbon
44	44	14emissions that are sufficiently low, based on a threshold set by the division with input from the
45	45	15stakeholder advisory group established subsection (d), compared to the baseline embodied
46	46	16carbon emissions of conventional concrete.
47	47	17 (b) Any state or local contract for low-embodied carbon concrete shall include provisions
48	48	18regarding contractor, subcontractor and worker product certification as follows:
49	49	19 (1) Contractors and subcontractors doing work involving low-embodied carbon concrete
50	50	20shall certify that all work completed and all procured low-embodied carbon concrete meet the
51	51	21minimum standards established under this section by the division.
52	52	22 (2) Any certifications required by this section shall be kept current for the duration of all
53	53	23contracts. The contractor shall issue periodic test reports to the division from a laboratory
54	54	24certified to evaluate low-embodied carbon concrete. The contractor shall report any changes to
55	55	25the division.
56	56	26 (c) The division, in consultation with the department, shall establish guidelines requiring
57	57	27the procurement of low-embodied carbon concrete in projects deemed appropriate by the
58	58	28division. Such guidelines shall implement a process with minimum standards for contractors and
59	59	29subcontractors to file with the contracting agency upon completion of a project. When
60	60	30establishing guidelines related to low-embodied carbon concrete, the division shall consider
61	61	31industry standards. 3 of 4
62	62	32 (d) To inform the development of the guidelines under subsection (c), the division, in
63	63	33conjunction with the department, shall establish a stakeholder advisory group, appointed by the
64	64	34commissioner of the division, consisting of: (1) two licensed professional engineers; (2) two
65	65	35licensed registered architects; (3) two representatives of the construction industry; (4) two
66	66	36representatives of the concrete testing and validation industry; (5) two representatives of an
67	67	37accredited school of civil engineering; (6) one representative from the Massachusetts clean
68	68	38energy technology center, also known as the Massachusetts clean energy center; and (7) one
69	69	39representative each from the executive office of transportation, the executive office of housing
70	70	40and community development, the department of energy resources, and the department of
71	71	41environmental protection.
72	72	42 (e) In developing guidelines under subsection (c), the division, in conjunction with the
73	73	43department, shall consult with any relevant associations that set industry standards for the
74	74	44procurement of low-embodied carbon concrete and shall consult with affected contractors and
75	75	45subcontractors to consider environmental impact as well as the impact on public health and
76	76	46safety.
77	77	47 (f) The division shall examine: (1) the use of incentives, including bid credits, related to
78	78	48bids within five percent of the lowest price, to encourage the usage and innovation of low-
79	79	49embodied carbon concrete on state agency projects; (2) the implementation of mandatory
80	80	50maximum global warming potential thresholds or maximum cement content specifications for
81	81	51concrete procured by state agencies; (3) the utilization of environmental product declarations or
82	82	52other methodologies and tools that quantify the climate and environmental impact of materials,
83	83	53including but not limited to global warming potential; and (4) the implementation of standards
84	84	54for performance-based specification, including but not limited to requirements that a structural 4 of 4
85	85	55material achieve specified performance-based outcomes from the use of the structural material,
86	86	56including but not limited to, outcomes related to strength, durability, permeability or other
87	87	57attributes related to the function of the building material for applied uses, as opposed to requiring
88	88	58that a structural material be produced using a specified manufacturer process, design features,
89	89	59technologies, or proportion of materials.
90	90	60 (g) The commissioner of the division, in consultation with the department of
91	91	61transportation and the stakeholder advisory group established in subsection (d), shall examine the
92	92	62use of an expedited product evaluation protocol for low-embodied carbon concrete products.
93	93	63 (h) The guidelines established pursuant to this section as well as any recommendations
94	94	64for subsequent legislative action resulting from examining the use of incentives related to bid
95	95	65credits shall be submitted to the governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house,
96	96	66the joint committee on transportation, the joint committee on telecommunications, utilities and
97	97	67energy, the joint committee on housing, and the house and senate committees on ways and
98	98	68means within 30 of the issuance of such guidelines or within 1 year from the effective date of
99	99	69this section, whichever comes sooner.