SAFE has identified five priority bills
SAFE will be lobbying Senator Joan Lovely and Representative Manny Cruz to support five environmental bills that the board has endorsed. These bills collectively improve air quailty, reduce reliance on methane gas to heat and cool buildings, and begin to reduce pollution from our transportation sector.
SAFE Priority Bills 2023-24
Environmental Justice
- H.3187/S.2113 Energy Facilities Siting Reform (Madaro/DiDomenico) – Gives communities greater say over energy facility siting with a focus on environmental justice and public health.
- H.2131/S.1382 Outdoor and Indoor Air Quality for Communities Burdened by Transportation Pollution (Barber,Connolly/Jehlen) – Mandates reducing pollution, including airborne particulates, especially in environmental justice communities.
Buildings
- H.3203/S.2105 The Future of Clean Heat (Owens, Armini/Creem) – To transition off gas and onto sources of non-combusting renewable thermal energy such as geothermal heating. It supports gas companies, their customers, and their workers during and after the transition. It would ban the use of hydrogen and renewable natural gas in the gas distribution system.
- H.3232/S.2365 An Act Establishing a Zero Carbon Renovation Fund (Vargas/Gomez) – Allocate $250 million or more of ARPA funds or other funds to create a Zero Carbon Renovation Fund (in English) (in Spanish).
Transportation
- H.3392/S.2217 (Owens, Armini/Crighton) Setting Deadlines to Electrify the MBTA Commuter Rail – Starting with the Fairmount-Indigo, Newburyport/Rockport (goes through Chelsea and Lynn), and Providence lines.
Download SAFE’s Legislative Agenda, 2023-2024 [pdf]
Other Bills We Support
Environmental and Labor Justice
- H.1865 /S.1179 An Act Relative to a Just Transition to Clean Energy (Decker/Feeney) – Helps workers displaced by the transition from fossil fuels.
- H.3691/S.2127 An Act Relative to Healthy and Sustainable Schools (Decker/Feeney) – Energy audits for all
Renewable Energy
- S.2169 An Act to Expand Offshore Wind Development in the Commonwealth (Pacheco) – Requires electric utilities to expand offshore wind energy procurement
Buildings