SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2723
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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SENATE, April 16, 2024.
The committee on Environment and Natural Resources, to whom was referred the
petitions (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 588) of John C. Velis and Kelly W. Pease for
legislation to study the effect of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in commercial products,
report the accompanying bill (Senate, No. 2723).
For the committee,
Rebecca L. Rausch 1 of 2
FILED ON: 4/8/2024
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2723
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act studying the effect of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in commercial products.
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. used in this chapter, the following words shall, unless the context clearly
2requires otherwise, have the following meanings:—
3 “Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances” or “PFAS”, a class of fluorinated organic
4chemicals containing at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom.
5 “Agricultural products”, any vegetable, fruit, dairy, meat, fish, and poultry, and
6agricultural inputs, such as, but not limited to, feed, water, fertilizer, pesticides, produced and
7sold commercially in Massachusetts.
8 SECTION 2. The department of public health, in consultation with department of
9environmental protection and the department of agricultural resources, shall procure or otherwise
10employ an external research organization, which has the capacity to study per- and
11polyfluoroalkyl substances and the effect PFAS has on agricultural products produced and sold
12in the commonwealth; provided, that the research organization shall have: (1) extensive
13experience with a wide variety of agricultural products and environmental matrices, including, 2 of 2
14but not limited to, plants and animals; (2) a current QAPP (“Quality Assurance Project Plan”)
15through the United States Environmental Protection Agency; (3) current sampling and chain of
16custody protocols; (4) experience handling complex agricultural matrices; and (5) access to state-
17of-the art mass spectrometers. The study shall include findings on the levels of PFAS found in:
18(1) in agricultural products sold in Massachusetts stores; (2) locally sourced agricultural
19products; and (3) agricultural inputs including, but not limited to, feed, water, fertilizer, and
20pesticides. The department shall make said report publicly available with the department’s
21findings on the department’s website.
22 The commissioner shall file a progress report in writing of the findings, including food
23and agricultural sources of contamination, within 365 days of the passage of this act; provided,
24that the report shall be filed with the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint
25committee on environment and natural resources, the joint committee on public health, and the
26joint committee on agriculture on or before August 31, 2025.
27 SECTION 3. This act shall take effect no later than 180 days after passage of this act.