| 1 | 1 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2922 |
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| 2 | 2 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 3 | 3 | | _______________ |
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| 4 | 4 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 5 | 5 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 6 | 6 | | _______________ |
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| 7 | 7 | | SENATE, July 31, 2024. |
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| 8 | 8 | | The committee on Senate Ways and Means to whom was referred the Senate Bill to |
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| 9 | 9 | | promote nature-based approaches for resiliency and climate change adaptation throughout the |
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| 10 | 10 | | Commonwealth (Senate, No. 458), - reports, recommending that the same ought to pass with an |
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| 11 | 11 | | amendment substituting a new draft with the same title (Senate, No. 2922). |
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| 12 | 12 | | For the committee, |
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| 13 | 13 | | Michael J. Rodrigues 1 of 2 |
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| 14 | 14 | | FILED ON: 7/31/2024 |
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| 15 | 15 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2922 |
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| 16 | 16 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 17 | 17 | | _______________ |
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| 18 | 18 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 19 | 19 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 20 | 20 | | _______________ |
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| 21 | 21 | | An Act to promote nature-based approaches for resiliency and climate change adaptation |
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| 22 | 22 | | throughout the Commonwealth. |
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| 23 | 23 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 24 | 24 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 25 | 25 | | 1 (a) The executive office of energy and environmental affairs shall, subject to |
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| 26 | 26 | | 2appropriation, establish a pilot program for research activities and demonstration projects for |
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| 27 | 27 | | 3nature-based solutions, as defined in section 1 of chapter 21N of the General Laws. The program |
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| 28 | 28 | | 4shall: (i) define categories of nature-based solutions and develop standards for their use; (ii) |
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| 29 | 29 | | 5coordinate, streamline and expedite the permitting and review process for activities and projects; |
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| 30 | 30 | | 6and (iii) prioritize activities and projects that advance scientific knowledge, provide net |
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| 31 | 31 | | 7conservation benefits, minimize impacts to existing wetlands and mitigate unavoidable impacts. |
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| 32 | 32 | | 8The secretary of energy and environmental affairs may modify specific performance standards |
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| 33 | 33 | | 9for nature-based solutions. |
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| 34 | 34 | | 10 (b) The pilot program shall commence after regulations under subsection (c) are |
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| 35 | 35 | | 11promulgated and shall operate for 5 years. Not later than September 30, 2025, and annually |
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| 36 | 36 | | 12thereafter, the secretary shall file a report with the clerks of the senate and house of |
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| 37 | 37 | | 13representatives and the joint committee on environment and natural resources that: (i) details the 2 of 2 |
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| 38 | 38 | | 14categories of nature-based solutions; (ii) analyzes the approval time for all permits required for |
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| 39 | 39 | | 15each approved research activity or demonstration project; (iii) specifies any specific performance |
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| 40 | 40 | | 16standards modified for each approved research activity or project; and (iv) provides data about |
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| 41 | 41 | | 17the effectiveness of each approved research activity or project. |
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| 42 | 42 | | 18 (c) Not later than March 1, 2025, the executive office of energy and environmental affairs |
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| 43 | 43 | | 19shall promulgate regulations to implement this act. |
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