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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2778 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3568 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Aaron L. Saunders |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act relative to prohibiting public utility and ratepayer funding of clearcutting forests and |
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| 13 | 13 | | woodlands. |
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| 14 | 14 | | _______________ |
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| 15 | 15 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 16 | 16 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Aaron L. Saunders7th Hampden1/16/2025 1 of 2 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2778 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 18 | 18 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3568 |
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| 19 | 19 | | By Representative Saunders of Belchertown, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3568) |
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| 20 | 20 | | of Aaron L. Saunders relative to prohibiting public utility and ratepayer funding of clearcutting |
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| 21 | 21 | | forests and woodlands. Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. |
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| 22 | 22 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 23 | 23 | | _______________ |
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| 24 | 24 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 25 | 25 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 26 | 26 | | _______________ |
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| 27 | 27 | | An Act relative to prohibiting public utility and ratepayer funding of clearcutting forests and |
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| 28 | 28 | | woodlands. |
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| 29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 30 | 30 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1 SECTION 1. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2of energy resources and department of public utilities shall amend any rules, regulations, and |
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| 33 | 33 | | 3tariffs pursuant to section 11 of chapter 75 of the acts of 2016 or successor statute to prohibit |
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| 34 | 34 | | 4from qualification any solar facility, including any solar energy generating source, that (1) has |
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| 35 | 35 | | 5not received a statement of qualification, or similar official notice of approval, from the |
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| 36 | 36 | | 6department prior to January 1, 2025 and (2) is greater than or equal to nameplate capacity of |
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| 37 | 37 | | 7500kW if such facility meets any of the following criteria: |
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| 38 | 38 | | 8 (i) is located within a parcel that includes priority habitat as delineated by the division of |
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| 39 | 39 | | 9fisheries and wildlife under chapter 131A |
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| 40 | 40 | | 10 (ii) is located within an area of critical environmental concern as designated by the |
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| 41 | 41 | | 11secretary of energy and environmental affairs 2 of 2 |
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| 42 | 42 | | 12 (iii) is located within forest land as defined in section 2 of chapter 61 of the general laws |
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| 43 | 43 | | 13 |
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| 44 | 44 | | 14 SECTION 2. A prohibition established in Section 1 shall not apply to facilities located |
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| 45 | 45 | | 15within a brownfield or within eligible landfills as determined by the commissioner of the |
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| 46 | 46 | | 16department of energy resources; nor shall such prohibition apply to building mounted facilities or |
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| 47 | 47 | | 17facilities sited upon previously developed land. |
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