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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2456 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 135
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Steven J. Ouellette
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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 protecting the viability of farms in the Commonwealth.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Steven J. Ouellette8th Bristol1/16/2025 1 of 2
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2456 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 135
By Representative Ouellette of Westport, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 135) of
Steven J. Ouellette relative to the impact of proposed rules and regulations on commercial
agricultural operations. Agriculture.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 98 OF 2023-2024.]
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 protecting the viability of farms in the Commonwealth.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 Chapter 30A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby
2amended by adding at the end thereof the following:-
3 Section 18. All state and regional agencies, boards and commissions shall, before any
4rule, regulation, or other regulatory requirement is promulgated, make public and post in writing
5whether such rule, regulation, or other regulatory requirement will potentially have an adverse
6impact on commercial agricultural operations based in the Commonwealth. For the purposes of
7this section, “agricultural” shall mean pertaining to agriculture as defined in section one A of
8chapter one hundred and twenty-eight. Further, if such rule, regulation, or other regulatory
9requirement is determined to have such a potential impact on agriculture, the responsible agency,
10board, or commission, in conjunction with the department of food and agriculture, shall conduct 2 of 2
11an impact assessment to determine the extent of such impact, including, but not limited to, the
12effect on future land use and related environmental impacts, including costs, and submit to the
13joint committee on natural resources and agriculture and to the house and senate committees on
14ways and means a copy of their findings at least forty-five days prior to promulgation.
15 All city and town agencies, boards, and commissions shall, before enacting any rule,
16regulation, law, bylaw, ordinance, or other regulatory requirement that will potentially have an
17adverse impact on commercial agricultural operations based in the Commonwealth, complete a
18form prescribed by the department of food and agriculture at least ninety days prior to final
19enactment of the regulatory requirement. In the case of by-laws, ordinances, and other
20requirements subject to review by the Attorney General, such form shall be submitted to the
21department of food and agriculture on the same date a by-law, ordinance, or other requirement is
22submitted to the Attorney General. No regulatory action described in this section, except those of
23an emergency nature expiring in six months or less for the purposes of protecting health and
24safety of persons, shall take effect until the provisions of this section have been complied with.
25 If the impact assessment yields that such proposed rule, regulation, or other regulatory
26requirement will have a negative impact of $500 per year and/or 20 hours per year in labor in
27cost a copy of these findings shall be submitted to the board of agriculture for comments and
28suggestions to mitigate such cost or negative impact and their findings are to be returned to the
29joint committee on natural resources and agriculture and to the house and senate committees on
30ways and means no more than 15 days prior to promulgation.