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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2033 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 636
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Liz Miranda
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act to improve environmental justice in the Commonwealth.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Liz MirandaSecond Suffolk 1 of 6
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2033 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 636
By Ms. Miranda, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 636) of Liz Miranda for legislation
to improve environmental justice in the Commonwealth by establishing the Green Zones Act.
Environment and Natural Resources.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2493 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act to improve environmental justice in the Commonwealth.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Whereas Black/African American, Asian, Indigenous, Latino/Hispanic, and
2low-income persons of the Commonwealth have been adversely and disproportionally impacted
3by environmental burdens posed by living and working in environmental justice neighborhoods,
4it is the intention of the general court, to authorize meaningful actions to redress said impacts. To
5achieve the purposes as stated in this section as well as sections 2 and 3, inclusive, this Act shall
6be known as the Commonwealth GREEN ZONES ACT.
7 SECTION 2. As used in sections 1 through 4, inclusive, the following words shall, unless
8the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:— 2 of 6
9 “Environmental Audit” means a comprehensive study undertaken by the secretary for the
10purpose of identifying and quantifying the number and type of environmental burdens as defined
11herein and shall include but not be limited public health data, public safety data, energy burden,
12transportation access data, and land use where such data is useful in quantifying the
13environmental burden within an environmental justice neighborhood.
14 Where clusters of environmental burden and/or opportunity to create environmental
15sustainability and Environmental resilience exist, those areas will be defined as “Green Zones”
16for the purpose of planning and funding.
17 The audit will include determining prior causes of environmental burden, where possible,
18if those conditions still exist, and the ideal future “Green” state.
19 “Environmental Burdens” means (a) any destruction, damage, or impairment of natural
20resources that is not insignificant, resulting from intentional or reasonably foreseeable causes,
21including but not limited to climate change, air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination,
22improper sewage disposal, dumping of solid wastes and other noxious substances, excessive
23noise, activities that limit access to natural resources and constructed outdoor recreational
24facilities and venues, inadequate remediation of pollution, reduction of ground water levels,
25impairment of water quality, increased flooding or storm water flows, and damage to inland
26waterways and waterbodies, wetlands, marine shores and waters, forests, open spaces, and
27playgrounds from private industrial, residential, commercial and government operations or other
28activity that contaminates or alters the quality of the environment and poses a risk to public
29health. 3 of 6
30 “Environmental sustainability” means the ability to maintain an ecological balance in the
31natural environment and conserve natural resources to support the wellbeing of current
32and future generations.
33 “Environmental resilience” means the capacity of an ecosystem to respond to a
34perturbation or disturbance by resisting damage and recovering quickly.
35 “Environmental Justice Neighborhood” means a neighborhood located within a
36municipality designated as an Environmental Justice Community and which meets one or more
37of the following criteria: (i) the annual median household income is not more than 65 per cent of
38the statewide annual median household income; (ii) minority individuals comprise 40 per cent or
39more of the population; (iii) 25 per cent or more of households lack English language proficiency
40or (iv) minorities comprise 25 per cent or more of the population and the annual median
41household income of the municipality in which the neighborhood is located does not exceed 150
42per cent of the statewide annual median household income.
43 “Green Zone” means an area or areas within a targeted environmental justice
44neighborhood identified pursuant to an environmental audit in which specific strategies to
45mitigate, redress and eliminate environmental burdens and the ability to improve and increase
46environmental sustainability and resilience exists.
47 "Lack English Language Proficiency" refers to households that, according to federal
48census forms, do not have an adult proficient in English.
49 “Minority” refers to individuals who identify themselves Latino/Hispanic, Black/African
50American, Asian, Indigenous people, and people who otherwise identify as non-white. 4 of 6
51 “Neighborhood” means a census block group as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau but
52not including individuals who live in college dormitories or individuals under formally
53authorized, supervised care or custody, including but not limited to federal prisons, state prisons,
54or a county house of corrections.
55 ''Officer'', ''officers'' and ''administrative officers'', means, when used without further
56qualification or description, any person or persons in charge of any department or division of a
57city.
58 “Secretary” means the secretary of the executive office of energy and environmental
59affairs.
60 “Targeted Environmental Justice Community” means a municipality designated as an
61environmental justice community and that meets two or more of the following criteria: (i) the
62municipality is comprised of 100 or more block groups; (ii) the percentage of block groups
63defined as environmental justice block groups is not less than 75% of all block groups located
64within the municipality; or (iii) the population of individuals residing within environmental
65justice block groups is not less than 100,000
66 “Targeted Environmental Justice Neighborhood” means an environmental justice
67neighborhood within a Targeted Environmental Justice Community in which areas within the
68environmental justice neighborhood may be designated or otherwise identified as green zones.
69 SECTION 3. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the
70Secretary of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs is hereby authorized and directed to
71conduct an environmental audit of environmental justice neighborhoods located within the
72Commonwealth. 5 of 6
73 (b) In furtherance of conducting the environmental audit, the secretary is hereby
74authorized to create an environmental audit working group, consisting of not less than nine
75persons who live or work in an environmental justice neighborhood, to provide advice to the
76secretary on the conduct of said environmental audit. Said members of the environmental audit
77working group shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for expenses necessarily
78incurred in the performance of serving on the working group.
79 (c) The secretary upon completion of an environmental audit shall transmit the findings
80of said environmental audit, in report format, to the officer of the municipality in which the
81environmental justice neighborhood is located, pursuant to the environment audit, shall identify
82and designate within said environmental justice neighborhoods areas to be known as green
83zones.
84 (d) Pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the secretary shall, bi-annually, not
85later than October 1, shall report to the clerks of the house of representatives and senate, chairs
86of house and senate committees on ways and means, and the chairs of the joint committee on
87environment, natural resources and agriculture the findings of said environmental audit and shall
88cause said environmental audit to be published on the main webpage of the executive office of
89environmental affairs.
90 (e) In addition to conducting an environmental audit, the secretary shall designate green
91zones within targeted environmental justice neighborhoods; provided that in addition to the
92working group created pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, the secretary shall consult and
93otherwise provide opportunities for input by residents of targeted environmental justice
94neighborhoods in the process of designating said green zones. 6 of 6
95 (f) Pursuant to this Section, the Secretary is hereby authorized to enter into an intrastate
96compact with the officer of the environmental justice community for which an environmental
97audit was conducted. Said intrastate compact shall be designed to establish and define the levels
98of cooperation that may be developed in an effort to realize the goals and objectives of green
99zones, so designated, within a targeted environmental justice neighborhood. Said levels of
100cooperation may include, be limited to, the designation of agency staff, the provision of other
101technical assistance, the making of planning grants, and such other means that are otherwise
102authorized by existing state law.
103 SECTION 4. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, this act shall
104take effect immediately.