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| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1024 FILED ON: 1/15/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 555 |
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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 | | Cynthia Stone Creem |
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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 to establish a grant and loan program for low-noise, low-emissions landscape |
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| 13 | 13 | | maintenance equipment. |
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| 14 | 14 | | _______________ |
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| 15 | 15 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 16 | 16 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Cynthia Stone CreemNorfolk and Middlesex 1 of 2 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1024 FILED ON: 1/15/2025 |
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| 18 | 18 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 555 |
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| 19 | 19 | | By Ms. Creem, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 555) of Cynthia Stone Creem for |
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| 20 | 20 | | legislation to establish a grant and loan program for low-noise, low-emissions landscape |
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| 21 | 21 | | maintenance equipment. Environment and Natural Resources. |
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| 22 | 22 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 23 | 23 | | SEE SENATE, NO. 451 OF 2023-2024.] |
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| 24 | 24 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 27 | 27 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 28 | 28 | | _______________ |
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| 29 | 29 | | An Act to establish a grant and loan program for low-noise, low-emissions landscape |
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| 30 | 30 | | maintenance equipment. |
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| 31 | 31 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 32 | 32 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 33 | 33 | | 1 Chapter 21A of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section: |
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| 34 | 34 | | 2 Section 29. (a) There shall be within the executive office of energy and environmental |
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| 35 | 35 | | 3affairs a grant and loan program to provide incentive funds to small businesses and |
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| 36 | 36 | | 4municipalities to transition landscape maintenance equipment to low-noise, low-emissions |
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| 37 | 37 | | 5equipment. |
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| 38 | 38 | | 6 (b) To be eligible for a grant, small businesses and municipalities shall surrender gas- |
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| 39 | 39 | | 7powered landscape maintenance equipment for a one-for-one replacement with low-noise, low- |
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| 40 | 40 | | 8emissions equipment. 2 of 2 |
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| 41 | 41 | | 9 (c) Grant and loan funds awarded pursuant to subsection (a) may be used for: |
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| 42 | 42 | | 10 (1) purchasing electric landscape maintenance equipment; |
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| 43 | 43 | | 11 (2) training landscaping staff on the use and care of electric landscape maintenance |
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| 44 | 44 | | 12equipment; |
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| 45 | 45 | | 13 (3) operational costs that may be accrued through the transition from gas-powered |
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| 46 | 46 | | 14landscape maintenance equipment to electric landscape maintenance equipment; and |
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| 47 | 47 | | 15 (4) any other cost associated with the transition from gas-powered landscape maintenance |
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| 48 | 48 | | 16equipment to electric landscape maintenance equipment, as determined by the secretary. |
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| 49 | 49 | | 17 (e) Loans awarded pursuant to subsection (a) shall carry 0 percent interest. |
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| 50 | 50 | | 18 (f)(1) There is hereby established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a |
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| 51 | 51 | | 19separate fund to be known as the Low-Noise, Low-Emissions Landscape Maintenance |
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| 52 | 52 | | 20Equipment Trust Fund, in this section called the fund. The secretary shall be the trustee of the |
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| 53 | 53 | | 21fund and may expend amounts from the fund without further appropriation. |
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| 54 | 54 | | 22 (2) Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to further appropriation and money |
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| 55 | 55 | | 23remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be |
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| 56 | 56 | | 24available for expenditure in the subsequent fiscal year. |
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| 57 | 57 | | 25 (3) The secretary shall report annually, on or before August 1, to the house and senate |
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| 58 | 58 | | 26committees on ways and means and the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on |
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| 59 | 59 | | 27environment, natural resources, and agriculture regarding expenditure activity within the trust |
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| 60 | 60 | | 28fund. |
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