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