Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts Senate Bill S60 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. 1051 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
3	3	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 60
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Dylan A. Fernandes
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 address the impact of climate change on farms and fisheries.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Dylan A. FernandesPlymouth and Barnstable 1 of 3
16	16	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1051 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
17	17	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 60
18	18	By Mr. Fernandes, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 60) of Dylan A. Fernandes for
19	19	legislation to address the impact of climate change on farms and fisheries. Agriculture.
20	20	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
21	21	_______________
22	22	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
23	23	(2025-2026)
24	24	_______________
25	25	An Act to address the impact of climate change on farms and fisheries.
26	26	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
27	27	of the same, as follows:
28	28	1 SECTION 1. Chapter 29 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following
29	29	2section:-
30	30	3 Section 2RRRRR. Agriculture and Fishery Vulnerability Preparedness Grant Fund
31	31	4 (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate
32	32	5fund to be known as the Agriculture and Fishery Vulnerability Preparedness Grant Fund. The
33	33	6fund shall be administered by the secretary of energy and environmental affairs, in consultation
34	34	7with the commissioner of the department of agricultural resources and the commissioner of the
35	35	8department of fish and game. The fund shall be credited with: (i) revenue from appropriations or
36	36	9other money authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the
37	37	10fund; (ii) interest earned on such revenues; and (iii) funds from public and private sources such
38	38	11as gifts, grants and donations. Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to further
39	39	12appropriation and any money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to 2 of 3
40	40	13the General Fund; provided, however, that such contributions shall not be further restricted by the
41	41	14donor or used by the commonwealth for any other purpose. Any bond proceeds deposited into
42	42	15the fund shall be kept separate from any and all other funds deposited into the fund.
43	43	16 (b) The public purpose of this fund shall be to administer the agriculture and fishery
44	44	17vulnerability preparedness grant program to support farms and fisheries in Massachusetts to
45	45	18engage in the process of (i) planning climate change adaptation and resiliency initiatives, (ii)
46	46	19seeking resources to support implementation, and (iii) implementing priority projects. In
47	47	20furtherance of this public purpose, the secretary, in consultation with the departments, shall
48	48	21administer the fund as grants to farms and fisheries to support controlled climate growing,
49	49	22energy efficiency, renewable energy, climate resilient management practices, nature-based
50	50	23solutions to climate impacts, infrastructure needs to support climate resilience, development and
51	51	24implementation of data collection and monitoring to measure the impact of these investments,
52	52	25and other eligible purposes as determined by the secretary and the commissioners.
53	53	26 (c) Program funds may also be used to establish and provide technical assistance to
54	54	27support farms and fisheries to prioritize and submit applications, plan climate change adaptation
55	55	28and resiliency initiatives, and identify and seek funding sources to support project
56	56	29implementation.
57	57	30 (d) Program funds shall be awarded to applicants from each eligible sector as categorized
58	58	31by farm or fishery proportionate to the amount of funds requested by applicants in each eligible
59	59	32sector.
60	60	33 (e) The secretary shall promulgate rules and regulations for the administration and
61	61	34implementation of subsections (a) and (b). The secretary shall file any policies, rules and 3 of 3
62	62	35regulations with the joint committee on agriculture for review and comment at least 30 days
63	63	36before the effective date of the policies, rules or regulations.
64	64	37 (f) The secretary shall file a quarterly report with the house and senate committees on
65	65	38ways and means, the joint committee on agriculture, and the clerks of the house and the senate
66	66	39on the following: (i) a list of grant applicants and the counties in which they are located, (ii) list
67	67	40of grant recipients and the counties in which they are located, (iii) the amount of funds requested
68	68	41by applicants, (iv) the associated grant amounts, (v) the applicant’s sector as categorized by farm
69	69	42or fishery, (vi) an annual statement detailing the sources and uses of funds, (vii) a forecast of
70	70	43future payments based on current binding obligations, and (viii) a detailed breakdown of the
71	71	44purposes and amounts of administrative costs charged to the fund. The report shall include a
72	72	45description of technical assistance services provided as part of this program.
73	73	46 SECTION 2. Section 1 shall take effect immediately upon the passage of this act.