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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 777 FILED ON: 1/13/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1051
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Dawne Shand and Jennifer Balinsky Armini
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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 create a commission to determine the feasibility of voluntary acquisition of flood risk
properties and structures.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Dawne Shand1st Essex1/13/2025Jennifer Balinsky Armini8th Essex1/13/2025James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/19/2025Michael O. MooreSecond Worcester3/3/2025 1 of 4
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 777 FILED ON: 1/13/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1051
By Representatives Shand of Newburyport and Armini of Marblehead, a petition (accompanied
by bill, House, No. 1051) of Dawne Shand, Jennifer Balinsky Armini and others for an
investigation by a special commission (including members of the General Court) relative to the
voluntary acquisition of flood risk properties and structures across the Commonwealth.
Environment and Natural Resources.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act to create a commission to determine the feasibility of voluntary acquisition of flood risk
properties and structures.
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. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, there shall
2be established a commission known as the voluntary acquisition of flood risk properties
3commission, which shall assess the advantages and disadvantages of voluntary acquisition of
4flood risk properties and structures across the commonwealth, examine the feasibility of such a
5program, and identify the components of such a program. The climate chief in the office of
6climate innovation and resilience, the secretary of energy and environmental affairs, and the
7director of the Massachusetts emergency management agency shall collectively implement and
8oversee the commission’s work.
9 (b) The commission shall consist of the following members or their designee: the climate
10chief in the office of climate innovation and resilience, who shall serve as co-chair, the secretary
11of energy and environmental affairs, who shall serve as co-chair; the director of the 2 of 4
12Massachusetts emergency management agency, who shall serve as co-chair; the secretary of the
13executive office of housing and economic development; the director of the bureau of relocation;
14the commissioner of the department of environmental protection; the director of coastal zone
15management; the director of the division of ecological restoration; the director of the department
16of conservation and recreation flood management program; the minority leader of the senate; the
17minority leader of the house; and the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on
18environment, natural resources and agriculture.
19 (c) The commission shall include ten (10) additional members appointed by the chair; 1
20of whom shall be a representative of a statewide land conservation organization, 1 of whom shall
21be a representative of a river protection organization, 1 of whom shall be a representative of a
22statewide wildlife protection organization, 1 of whom shall be a representative of an
23environmental justice organization, 1 of whom shall be a representative of a housing justice
24organization, 1 of whom shall be a representative of an organization with expertise in
25homeowner property and casualty insurance licensed in the commonwealth, 1 of whom shall be
26a representative of an organization with expertise in mortgages, 1 of whom shall have academic
27expertise in climate data and flooding, 1 of whom shall be a representative of a regional planning
28agency in a flood risk area and 1 of whom shall be a professional engineer licensed in
29Massachusetts. The members of the commission shall be appointed not later than 30 days after
30the effective date of this act and shall serve until the completion of the report described in
31paragraph (g).
32 (d) The chairs of the joint committee on public safety and homeland security, and the
33chairs of the joint committee on housing, or their designees, shall be observers to the commission
34and shall be invited to all meetings of the commission. As properties are identified, the 3 of 4
35commission shall include as observers to its meetings about these specific structures, the state
36representative, state senator, and the town/cities’ municipal chief, or their designees, who
37represent the potentially affected areas, and shall extend invitations to all relevant meetings of
38the commission involving their districts.
39 (e) The commission shall seek and use the best available climate data and models, and
40sea level rise, tidal, coastal, riverine flooding data, and models, to present an understanding of
41the current and future flood risk to inland and coastal property in the commonwealth.
42 (f) The commission shall examine and make recommendations regarding the feasibility
43and establishment of a flood risk reduction program that focuses on the voluntary acquisition of
44flood risk properties and structures, that ensures that structures would be demolished, and the
45land would be permanently conserved and restored to serve as a natural buffer against future
46storms and floods, and accessible to the public when safe. Such an analysis would also describe
47the necessary components of such a program, including a process for, and the feasibility of,
48relocating homeowners and/or tenants.
49 In determining the feasibility of such a program, the commission shall consider the
50following: (i) creating program eligibility and whether it is restricted to residential property;
51(ii) identifying program funding, including but not limited to the calculation of fair market value,
52cost effectiveness, the availability of federal funding and flood insurance, and funding sources
53for education, outreach, acquisition, demolition, restoration, and relocation; (iii) determining
54priority acquisition areas (including clusters of flood-prone homes and neighborhoods); (iv)
55identifying factors that affect program outcomes with regard to the sale of property and the
56consensual and voluntary relocation of owners and tenants; (v) assessing disproportionate 4 of 4
57impacts of floods and relocation on low-income homeowners and tenants; (vi) determining the
58feasibility and affordability of voluntary and consensual relocation of homeowners and tenants;
59(vii) describing criteria to select participating neighborhoods and communities, including
60prioritization of low and moderate income property owners, environmental justice populations,
61and unintended consequences of targeting such communities; (viii) recommending eligible
62entities that could acquire and own conserved properties in flood risk areas; (ix) facilitating
63safety and public access in flood risk areas; (x) assessing the opportunity for significant
64environmental enhancement to public health, safety and welfare and fish and wildlife habitat;
65(xi) identifying nature-based solutions to protect, restore, and create sustainable resilient natural
66areas and outdoor recreation opportunities on acquired property; (xii) making recommendations
67on how to offset community disruption resulting from said program while prioritizing
68community preservation; and (xiii) assessing the potential benefits of such a program to
69impacted communities and the Commonwealth.
70 (g) All meetings of the commission shall be open to the public. The commission shall
71hold at least one public listening session with a remote participation option. The commission
72shall convene its first meeting no later than September 1, 2025.
73 The commission shall file a report along with findings, recommendations, and
74accompanying drafts of legislation necessary to carry those recommendations into effect, if any,
75with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate, the joint committee on
76environment, natural resources and agriculture, the joint committee on public safety and
77homeland security, and the joint committee on housing, not later than June 1, 2026.
78 SECTION 2. Section 1 shall take effect on July 5, 2025.