Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts Senate Bill S537 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2452 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
3	3	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 537
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	William J. Driscoll, Jr.
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 to strengthen the Commonwealth's strategic preparedness stockpiles.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :William J. Driscoll, Jr.Norfolk, Plymouth and Bristol 1 of 3
16	16	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2452 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
17	17	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 537
18	18	By Mr. Driscoll, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 537) of William J. Driscoll, Jr. for
19	19	legislation to strengthen the strategic preparedness stockpiles. Emergency Preparedness and
20	20	Management.
21	21	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
22	22	SEE HOUSE, NO. 732 OF 2023-2024.]
23	23	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
24	24	_______________
25	25	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
26	26	(2025-2026)
27	27	_______________
28	28	An Act to strengthen the Commonwealth's strategic preparedness stockpiles.
29	29	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
30	30	of the same, as follows:
31	31	1 Chapter 111 of the 2020 Version of the Massachusetts General Laws are hereby amended
32	32	2by inserting, following Section 5S, the following new section:-
33	33	3 Section 5T. (a) The department shall, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Emergency
34	34	4Management Agency (MEMA), and other relevant stakeholders, shall establish a permanent
35	35	5emergency stockpile of strategic emergency readiness supplies, including but not limited to,
36	36	6Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), medications, testing kits, and others deemed important for
37	37	7emergency preparedness by the department and MEMA to be used and dispensed in the event of
38	38	8public health emergencies at the local, state, and national levels. 2 of 3
39	39	9 (b) The department, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Emergency Management
40	40	10Agency (MEMA), the executive office of technology services and security, the department of
41	41	11elementary and secondary education and other stakeholders, as necessary, to conduct demand
42	42	12planning and stockpile modelling for emergency readiness supplies, including PPE, medications,
43	43	13testing kits, and others to be included at the discretion of the department. The department shall
44	44	14conduct demand planning and stockpile modeling for three separate stockpiles – one for use by
45	45	15the Commonwealth’s healthcare settings, including primary care offices, outpatient treatment
46	46	16centers, hospitals, emergency rooms, and others the department deems fit; one shall be education
47	47	17settings, including both public and private institutions, such as pre-K programs, K-12 schools,
48	48	18technical schools, colleges, and universities; and one shall be for use to the general public during
49	49	19major local, regional, state, and national disasters.
50	50	20 Said demand planning and supply modeling shall include 1) recommendations on the
51	51	21types of PPE and other emergency supplies to be included in each stockpile, 2) the anticipated
52	52	22demand for emergency supplies across a number of public health emergency scenarios, 3) the
53	53	23recommended quantities to be held in the stockpile for each type of supply, 4) the anticipated
54	54	24costs of procuring, managing, and maintaining said quantities, 5) methods to rotate supplies and
55	55	25minimize risk of supplies expiring, 6) mechanisms for municipalities and schools to access these
56	56	26supplies in the event of a local or regional public health emergency, 7) distribution planning,
57	57	27including the identification of emergency dispensing sites and possible mobile distribution
58	58	28programs to allocate the supplies in each stockpile to the relevant groups in the event of local,
59	59	29state, or national emergency declaration, and 8) possible strategies that could be used to reduce
60	60	30the costs of these supplies, including, but not limited to, the use of vendor-managed inventory
61	61	31programs. 3 of 3
62	62	32 No less than one year after the passage enactment of this act, the department of public
63	63	33health shall file a report of its findings to the office of the House Speaker, the office of the Senate
64	64	34President, chairs of the joint committee on public health, the chairs of the joint committee on
65	65	35COVID-19 and emergency preparedness and management, and the clerks of both chambers of
66	66	36the legislature.
67	67	37 Every two years thereafter, the department shall, in collaboration with the Massachusetts
68	68	38Emergency Management Agency, the executive office of technology services and security, the
69	69	39department of elementary and secondary education and other stakeholders, as necessary, reassess
70	70	40the prior scenario planning, demand planning, and stockpile modeling, and make adjustments as
71	71	41needed, or, if not needed, reaffirm the validity of the existing models.
72	72	42 (c) Every quarter, the department shall report to the office of the Speaker of the House,
73	73	43the Senate President, the joint committee on Ways and Means, the joint committee on public
74	74	44health, and the joint committee on COVID-19 and emergency preparedness and management, on
75	75	45the current supplies within the stockpile and funds on hand for the stockpile.
76	76	46 (d) In maintaining and securing supplies, the department shall seek to maximize available
77	77	47federal and state funding for this program.