Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts Senate Bill S2102 Compare Versions

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

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1	1	1 of 1
2	2	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1219 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
3	3	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2102
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 to improve outdoor lighting, conserve energy, and increase dark-sky visibility.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Cynthia Stone CreemNorfolk and MiddlesexEdward J. KennedyFirst Middlesex1/23/2023Paul W. MarkBerkshire, Hampden, Franklin and
16	16	Hampshire
17	17	1/23/2023Joanne M. ComerfordHampshire, Franklin and Worcester1/27/2023Bruce E. TarrFirst Essex and Middlesex2/1/2023Sal N. DiDomenicoMiddlesex and Suffolk2/23/2023James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/27/2023John F. KeenanNorfolk and Plymouth3/10/2023 1 of 6
18	18	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1219 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
19	19	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2102
20	20	By Ms. Creem, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 2102) of Cynthia Stone Creem,
21	21	Edward J. Kennedy, Paul W. Mark, Joanne M. Comerford and other members of the Senate for
22	22	legislation to promote energy efficient lighting, conserve energy, regulate outdoor night lighting,
23	23	and reduce light pollution. Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy.
24	24	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
25	25	SEE SENATE, NO. 2147 OF 2021-2022.]
26	26	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
27	27	_______________
28	28	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
29	29	(2023-2024)
30	30	_______________
31	31	An Act to improve outdoor lighting, conserve energy, and increase dark-sky visibility.
32	32	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
33	33	of the same, as follows:
34	34	1 SECTION 1. Chapter 85 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following
35	35	2section:
36	36	3 Section 38. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following
37	37	4meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
38	38	5 “Correlated color temperature” or “CCT”, the apparent hue of the light emitted by a
39	39	6fixture, expressed in kelvins (K).
40	40	7 “Façade lighting”, illumination of exterior surfaces of buildings for the enhancement of
41	41	8their nighttime appearance, achieved by shining light onto building surfaces, or by internal or 2 of 6
42	42	9external illumination of translucent building surfaces, or with fixtures solely for decorative
43	43	10function.
44	44	11 “Fixture”, a complete lighting unit, including a light source together with the parts
45	45	12designed to distribute the light, to position and protect the light source and connect the light
46	46	13source to the power supply.
47	47	14 “Fully shielded fixture”, a fixture that in its mounted position has an uplight value of U0
48	48	15as defined by the Illuminating Engineering Society’s standards publication TM-15-20
49	49	16(Luminaire Classification System for Outdoor Luminaires).
50	50	17 “Glare”, light emitted by a fixture that causes visual discomfort or reduced visibility.
51	51	18 “Illuminance”, the luminous power incident per unit area of a surface.
52	52	19 “Light trespass”, light that falls beyond the property it is intended to illuminate.
53	53	20 “Lumen”, a standard unit of measurement of the quantity of light emitted from a source
54	54	21of light.
55	55	22 “Municipal funds”, bond revenues or money appropriated or allocated by the governing
56	56	23body of a town or city within the commonwealth.
57	57	24 “Ornamental lighting”, a lighting fixture that has a historical or decorative appearance
58	58	25and that serves a decorative function in addition to serving to light a roadway, parking lot,
59	59	26walkway, plaza, or other area.
60	60	27 “Parking-lot lighting”, a permanent outdoor fixture specifically intended to illuminate an
61	61	28uncovered vehicle-parking area. 3 of 6
62	62	29 “Part-night service”, a rate charged by a utility company to provide unmetered electricity
63	63	30for permanent outdoor fixtures that operate for only a portion of each night’s dusk-to-dawn
64	64	31cycle.
65	65	32 “Permanent outdoor fixture”, a fixture for use in an exterior environment installed with
66	66	33mounting not intended for relocation.
67	67	34 “Roadway lighting”, a permanent outdoor fixture specifically intended to illuminate a
68	68	35public roadway.
69	69	36 “Sky glow”, scattered light in the atmosphere that is caused by light directed upward or
70	70	37sideways from fixtures, reducing an individual’s ability to view the natural night sky.
71	71	38 “State funds”, bond revenues or money appropriated or allocated by the general court.
72	72	39 “Uplight,” direct light emitted above a horizontal plane through the fixture’s lowest light-
73	73	40emitting part in its mounted position
74	74	41 (b) State or municipal funds must not be used to install or cause to be installed a new
75	75	42permanent outdoor fixture or to pay for the cost of operating a new permanent outdoor fixture,
76	76	43for the specific purposes listed below, unless the following conditions are met:
77	77	44 (i) Fixtures used for roadway lighting or parking-lot lighting, whether mounted to poles,
78	78	45buildings or other structures, must be fully shielded unless they are ornamental lighting fixtures,
79	79	46or are fixtures used to light tunnels or roadway underpasses;
80	80	47 (ii) Ornamental lighting fixtures must emit fewer than 500 lumens of uplight; 4 of 6
81	81	48 (iii) “Fixtures used for roadway lighting must not be more numerous than is necessary for
82	82	49adequate vehicular and pedestrian safety, as determined by the current lighting-needs criteria
83	83	50published by the Federal Highway Administration and the Illuminating Engineering Society;”
84	84	51 (iv) Building-mounted fixtures must be fully shielded unless they are façade lighting
85	85	52fixtures;
86	86	53 (v) Façade lighting fixtures must be selected and installed to direct the light onto the
87	87	54intended target, and must be shielded, so that glare, sky glow, and light trespass are minimized;
88	88	55 (vi) Fixtures used to light historic structures, flags, monuments, statuary and works of art
89	89	56must be selected and installed to direct the light onto the intended target, and must be shielded,
90	90	57so that glare, sky glow, and light trespass are minimized;
91	91	58 (vii) Fixtures used to light athletic playing areas must be selected and installed so as to
92	92	59minimize glare, light trespass and sky glow outside the athletic playing area;
93	93	60 (viii) Fixtures installed for any purpose must have a correlated color temperature that is
94	94	61not greater than 3000 K unless (1) an exemption up to 4000 K is granted, in which case a public
95	95	62safety need must be demonstrated; or (2) the fixtures are used exclusively for the decorative
96	96	63illumination through color of certain building façade or landscape features; or (3) the fixtures are
97	97	64used to illuminate athletic playing areas.
98	98	65 (ix) Lighting installed for any purpose should provide maintained illuminance levels
99	99	66equal to the minimum values recommended by the Illuminating Engineering Society for the
100	100	67intended application and may not exceed those recommended minimum values by more than 50 5 of 6
101	101	68percent unless a demonstrated and verified need exists for higher levels to ensure safety or
102	102	69security.
103	103	70 (c) This section shall not apply: (i) if it is preempted by federal law; (ii) if the outdoor
104	104	71lighting fixture is used temporarily for emergency, repair, construction or similar activities; (iii)
105	105	72to navigational and other lighting systems necessary for aviation and nautical safety; (iv) if a
106	106	73compelling and bona fide safety or security need exists that cannot be addressed by another
107	107	74reasonable method; (v) to the replacement of a previously installed permanent outdoor fixture
108	108	75that is destroyed, damaged or inoperative, has experienced electrical failure due to failed
109	109	76components, or requires standard maintenance; (vi) to festoon lighting as deﬁned in the NFPA 70
110	110	77National Electrical Code, or (vii) to fixtures installed for any specific purpose that is not listed in
111	111	78(b) above.
112	112	79 (d) The department of energy resources, in consultation with the department of
113	113	80transportation, shall:
114	114	81 (i) develop and promulgate regulations to implement and enforce this section; provided,
115	115	82however, that if a municipal or county ordinance or regulation specifies lower illuminance levels,
116	116	83the illuminance level required for the intended purpose by the ordinance or regulation shall be
117	117	84used; and
118	118	85 (ii) develop and promulgate regulations to ensure that the use of state or municipal funds,
119	119	86including, but not limited to, operating costs for new permanent outdoor fixtures for roadway
120	120	87lighting or parking-lot lighting installed by electric distribution companies and municipal
121	121	88aggregators, comply with this section. 6 of 6
122	122	89 SECTION 2. The department of transportation shall review and issue a report on existing
123	123	90roadway lighting and lighting operational costs. The report shall include a review of standards
124	124	91and other criteria for roadway lighting and an analysis of lighting operational costs; a review of
125	125	92roadway lighting’s impact on human health, human safety, and environmental impact; actions
126	126	93taken by the department to comply with current standards; procedures and accepted best
127	127	94practices relative to roadway lighting; and a plan to reduce lighting operational costs through the
128	128	95replacement of existing high-wattage, unshielded fixtures with lower-wattage, fully shielded
129	129	96fixtures and the replacement of unnecessary roadway lighting with the installation of passive
130	130	97safety measures. The department shall issue its report to the department of energy resources and
131	131	98the clerks of senate and the house of representatives not later than January 1, 2024.
132	132	99 SECTION 3. The department of public utilities shall, subject to its ratemaking authority:
133	133	100 (a) develop a rate for part-night service that applies to dimmable and controls-operated
134	134	101fixtures used for unmetered roadway or parking-lot lighting.
135	135	102 (b) develop a rate for unmetered roadway or parking-lot lighting fixtures utilizing less
136	136	103than 25 watts of electricity.
137	137	104 SECTION 4. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on January 1, 2024.