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| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2574 FILED ON: 1/17/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 673 |
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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 | | Bruce E. Tarr |
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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 establishing the New England Fusion Research Compact. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Bruce E. TarrFirst Essex and Middlesex 1 of 3 |
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| 16 | 16 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2574 FILED ON: 1/17/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 673 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Mr. Tarr, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 673) of Bruce E. Tarr for legislation to |
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| 19 | 19 | | establish the New England Fusion Research Compact. Environment and Natural Resources. |
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| 20 | 20 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 21 | 21 | | _______________ |
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| 22 | 22 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | An Act establishing the New England Fusion Research Compact. |
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| 26 | 26 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 27 | 27 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 28 | 28 | | 1 SECTION 1. The Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, in consultation with |
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| 29 | 29 | | 2the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, is hereby authorized and directed to develop and |
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| 30 | 30 | | 3implement the framework of a regional compact among the states of Massachusetts, New |
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| 31 | 31 | | 4Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, and Connecticut for the purposes of research and development |
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| 32 | 32 | | 5regarding energy produced by nuclear fusion. Said compact shall include, but not be limited to, |
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| 33 | 33 | | 6the mission of the compact, specific focus areas, personnel and financial requirements, and other |
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| 34 | 34 | | 7elements necessary to the operation of the compact. |
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| 35 | 35 | | 8 SECTION 2. The compact shall include the development and implementation of a |
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| 36 | 36 | | 9comprehensive plan to obtain all necessary regulatory approvals for, finance, and operate, one or |
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| 37 | 37 | | 10more nuclear fusion reactors for research, provided that the costs of such actions shall be |
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| 38 | 38 | | 11addressed by a formula to facilitate fair contributions from each member state, together with any |
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| 39 | 39 | | 12gifts or grants, including but not limited to those provided by the United States Department of 2 of 3 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 13Energy. Such plan may include recommendations for regulatory or statutory measures to assess |
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| 41 | 41 | | 14regulated energy companies for costs associated with the compact. |
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| 42 | 42 | | 15 SECTION 3. The secretary shall establish a Fusion Research Council to provide guidance |
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| 43 | 43 | | 16in carrying out the provisions of this act. Said council shall consist of the secretary, who shall |
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| 44 | 44 | | 17serve as its chair, the executive director of the clean energy center, the secretary of economic |
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| 45 | 45 | | 18development or a designee, the commissioner of the department of environmental protection or a |
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| 46 | 46 | | 19designee, and 7 members appointed by the governor, whom shall include individuals |
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| 47 | 47 | | 20representing 3 institutions of higher learning in the commonwealth, 1 of which shall be the |
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| 48 | 48 | | 21University of Massachusetts and 1 of which shall be the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, |
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| 49 | 49 | | 221 member representing employers in the commonwealth, 1 member representing organized |
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| 50 | 50 | | 23labor in the commonwealth, 1 member representing an organization engaged in independent |
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| 51 | 51 | | 24nuclear energy research in the commonwealth, and 1 member representing the taxpayers of the |
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| 52 | 52 | | 25commonwealth. The council shall convene as deemed necessary by its chair, but not less than |
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| 53 | 53 | | 26quarterly. |
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| 54 | 54 | | 27 SECTION 4. The secretary, in accordance with the plan developed pursuant to this act, |
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| 55 | 55 | | 28and subject to the approval of the governor and the great and general court, shall solicit member |
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| 56 | 56 | | 29states for participation in the compact, provided that such states shall designate representatives |
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| 57 | 57 | | 30according to the terms of the compact. Representatives shall serve for a term, and under such |
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| 58 | 58 | | 31conditions, as the state being represented shall establish. |
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| 59 | 59 | | 32 SECTION 5. The secretary shall submit the plan developed pursuant to section 1 in the |
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| 60 | 60 | | 33form of legislation filed with the clerk of the Senate not later than 12 months following the |
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| 61 | 61 | | 34passage of this act, the passage of which shall constitute the approval prescribed in section 4. 3 of 3 |
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| 62 | 62 | | 35 SECTION 6. The secretary shall file reports detailing the progress made in the |
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| 63 | 63 | | 36development of the compact, any costs estimates for its implementation, and any |
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| 64 | 64 | | 37recommendations for legislative or regulatory actions to advance the mission of the compact, not |
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| 65 | 65 | | 38less than every three months, with the clerks of the House and Senate, the Joint Committee on |
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| 66 | 66 | | 39Telecommunications and Energy, and the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means. |
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