Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H4041 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4234 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4041
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Mike Connolly
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act promoting environmental justice in Massachusetts.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Mike Connolly26th Middlesex1/17/2025 1 of 6
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4234 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4041
18	18	By Representative Connolly of Cambridge, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 4041) of
19	19	Mike Connolly for legislation to establish an office of green zone administration within the
20	20	Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Environment and Natural Resources.
21	21	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
22	22	_______________
23	23	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
24	24	(2025-2026)
25	25	_______________
26	26	An Act promoting environmental justice in Massachusetts.
27	27	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
28	28	of the same, as follows:
29	29	1 SECTION 1. The General Laws are hereby amended by inserting after chapter 21O the
30	30	2following chapter:-
31	31	3 CHAPTER 21P. GREEN ZONES.
32	32	4 Section 1. As used in this chapter, the following words shall, unless the context clearly
33	33	5requires otherwise, have the following meanings:
34	34	6 “Environmental justice population”, as defined in section 62 of chapter 30.
35	35	7 “Green zone”, areas of the commonwealth designated by the office of green zone
36	36	8administration based on a scoring methodology that accounts for environmental damage, public
37	37	9health disparities, past harm, energy burden, census tract data and other publicly available
38	38	10information, including, but not limited to, proximity of people who live near a landfill or a
39	39	11covered landfill. 2 of 6
40	40	12 “Green Zone Investment Fund”, a fund established in section 4 to provide grants, rebates,
41	41	13financing and other investments in green zone populations.
42	42	14 “Massachusetts Community Climate Bank”, the entity established, designated or
43	43	15recognized by the commonwealth to finance or facilitate climate-related infrastructure and clean
44	44	16energy projects, with particular emphasis on projects in overburdened and environmental justice
45	45	17populations.
46	46	18 “Undersecretary”, the undersecretary of environmental justice of the executive office of
47	47	19energy and environmental affairs.
48	48	20 “Office”, the office of green zone administration established in section 2 under the
49	49	21direction of the undersecretary.
50	50	22 Section 2. (a) There shall be established within the executive office of energy and
51	51	23environmental affairs, under the direction of the undersecretary of environmental justices, an
52	52	24office of green zone administration.
53	53	25 (b) The office shall oversee:
54	54	26 (i) the development and implementation of a statewide scoring system designed to rank
55	55	27environmental damage, energy burdens and past harm in communities across the commonwealth;
56	56	28 (ii) the designation of green zones based on the ranking system established pursuant to
57	57	29clause (i);
58	58	30 (iii) the administration of the statewide Green Zone Investment Fund; and 3 of 6
59	59	31 (iv) the equitable deployment of clean energy and energy efficiency programs and
60	60	32technologies in communities designated as green zones.
61	61	33 Section 3. The office shall, in partnership with the department of energy resources,
62	62	34develop a scoring methodology that considers public health outcomes, energy burden data,
63	63	35census tract information and other relevant public data to identify and score environmental
64	64	36justice populations. This methodology shall be subject to periodic review and revision as
65	65	37necessary to ensure that investments continue to target overburdened communities effectively.
66	66	38 Section 4. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a
67	67	39separate fund to be known as the Green Zone Investment Fund. There shall be credited to the
68	68	40fund: (i) any appropriations or other money authorized by the general court and specifically
69	69	41designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) funds from public and private sources, including gifts,
70	70	42grants, donations or investment returns as authorized by law; and (iii) interest earned on any
71	71	43money in the fund.
72	72	44 (b) The office, in coordination with the Massachusetts Community Climate Bank, shall
73	73	45administer all disbursements from the fund to eligible recipients for the benefit of designated
74	74	46green zone populations.
75	75	47 (c) The Massachusetts Community Climate Bank, under the direction of the office, shall
76	76	48administer the Green Zone Investment Fund, providing financing, grants, rebates or low-interest
77	77	49loans for projects that meet the requirements established under this chapter.
78	78	50 Section 5. (a) The office shall direct the department of energy resources and other
79	79	51relevant agencies to develop or expand programs to install onsite solar or community solar and
80	80	52energy efficiency measures for at least 250,000 low-income households, or 35 per cent of the 4 of 6
81	81	53total low-income households in the commonwealth, whichever is greater, by 2030. These
82	82	54programs shall have the goal of reducing these households’ energy burden to at or below the
83	83	55statewide average energy burden, as defined by the United States Department of Energy Low-
84	84	56Income Energy Affordability Data (LEAD) Tool.
85	85	57 (b) The office shall require the establishment of a minimum of 400 megawatts of energy
86	86	58storage capacity by 2030. Such storage shall be sited in or directly benefit public facilities,
87	87	59especially those serving as community energy resiliency hubs, or be directly located at low-
88	88	60income households to enhance reliability and resilience in overburdened communities.
89	89	61 Section 6. The office shall coordinate with the department of energy resources, the
90	90	62executive office of labor and workforce development and the office of environmental justice and
91	91	63equity to integrate comprehensive workforce development training into all clean energy and
92	92	64energy storage programs established under this chapter. These training programs shall prioritize
93	93	65recruitment from environmental justice populations and focus on preparing participants for
94	94	66careers in the clean energy sector.
95	95	67 Section 7. The office shall provide outreach and recruitment campaign grants to
96	96	68community-based organizations to increase participation by residents in overburdened
97	97	69communities in clean energy and energy efficiency programs. Such grants shall prioritize the
98	98	70hiring of residents from overburdened communities to conduct grassroots outreach, education
99	99	71and program recruitment.
100	100	72 Section 8. (a) The undersecretary shall appoint a community liaison to act as the primary
101	101	73point of contact between the office and environmental justice populations, ensuring that policy
102	102	74decisions and program implementation incorporate community feedback. 5 of 6
103	103	75 (b) The office shall establish an advisory board consisting of representatives from
104	104	76designated green zone populations. This board shall be responsible for conducting regular
105	105	77reviews of all clean energy and energy storage programs available to overburdened communities,
106	106	78as well as issuing an annual recommendation report to the secretary of energy and environmental
107	107	79affairs and the general court.
108	108	80 Section 9. The secretary of energy and environmental affairs shall ensure that no less than
109	109	8110 per cent of the statewide budget for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs is spent
110	110	82in green zone communities each fiscal year. All programs, incentives and other financing
111	111	83targeted to green zone communities shall be structured to address the unique barriers faced by
112	112	84low-income households and environmental justice populations, including simplified application
113	113	85processes, increased technical support and culturally competent outreach.
114	114	86 Section 10. (a) The secretary of energy and environmental affairs shall promulgate rules
115	115	87and regulations, pursuant to chapter 30A, as necessary to implement the provisions of this
116	116	88chapter. Such regulations shall include, but not be limited to, establishing criteria for project
117	117	89eligibility for Green Zone Investment Fund support, defining monitoring and evaluation
118	118	90requirements for the programs of the office and setting timelines for compliance with the clean
119	119	91energy, energy efficiency and energy storage targets.
120	120	92 (b) The office, in consultation with the advisory board established pursuant to section 8,
121	121	93shall submit an annual report to the governor, the joint committee on telecommunications,
122	122	94utilities and energy, the joint committee on environment, natural resources and agriculture and
123	123	95the house and senate committees on ways and means. Such report shall include: (i) progress
124	124	96updates on meeting the clean energy and energy storage targets; (ii) a detailed accounting of the 6 of 6
125	125	97Green Zone Investment Fund and all projects funded; (iii) evaluations of the scoring
126	126	98methodology; and (iv) any recommendations for legislative or regulatory changes needed to
127	127	99better serve green zone populations.
128	128	100 SECTION 2. This act shall take effect 90 days following its passage. The secretary of
129	129	101energy and environmental affairs may extend implementation deadlines by no more than 90
130	130	102additional days; provided, that a written notice with justification for the extension is submitted to
131	131	103the house and senate clerks.