HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1041 FILED ON: 1/13/2009
HOUSE .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2046
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
PRESENTED BY:
Lori Ehrlich
_______________
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 passage of the accompanying bill:
An Act Relative to Pollution
Health Effects Mitigation.
_______________
PETITION OF:
|
Name:
|
District/Address:
|
|
Lori Ehrlich
|
8th Essex
|
|
Jennifer M. Callahan
|
18th Worcester
|
|
Cory Atkins
|
14th Middlesex
|
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the Year Two Thousand and Nine
_______________
An Act Relative to Pollution Health Effects Mitigation.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 111 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after sectio
n 142O the following section: -
Section 142P.
(a) There shall be a Pollution Public Health Effects Mitigation Trust Fund to support research and education regarding the health impacts of pollution
on citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The fund shall be administered by the commissioner of th
e department of public health.
Expenditures from the fund shall be only for the purpos
es set forth in subsection (d).
(b) Revenues credited to the fund shall
be from the following sources:
(I) funds app
ropriated by the general court;
(2)
funds
received from federal, state or other sources for the purpose of evaluating the health impacts of pollution
;
(3)
costs
recovered or otherwise received from parties responsible for violating the terms of
any valid air emissions permit;
(4)
fees
imposed pursuant to subsection (c); and
(5)
interest
ea
rned on any monies in the fund.
(c) (1
) A
pollution mitigation fee in an amount not exceeding $.0002 cents for each pound of any air pollutant emitted
by any facility.
The fee shall be remitted to the department of revenue on the thirtieth day of each month based on the amount of air pollutants emit
ted during the preceding month.
(2) An owner of a facility shall be liable for the fee until it has
been paid to the commonwealth.
(3) All fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the fund and shall be disbursed for the purpose
s set forth in subsection (d).
The state treasurer shall not deposit or transfer revenues generated pursuant to subsection (b) to the General Fund or any other fund other than the Pollution Public Health
Effects Mitigation Trust Fund.
(4) The commissioner of the department of public hea
lth shall set the amount of the
pollution public health mitigation fee, which shall be not less than .0001 cents for each pound of any air pollu
tant emitted by each facility.
(d) The commissioner of the department of public health
shall use money from the fund:
(1) to provide funds for the study of the public health impacts from air pollutants, including but not limited to acute local impacts such as asthma, upper respiratory conditions or premature death; such research or studies may be conducted by the department or by a qualified independent medical or public health expert, organizat
ion or educational institution;
(2) to educate the public in the vicinity of any existing or proposed facility regarding the actual or potential health impacts associated with air pollutants emitted by such facilities;
(3)
to
provide funds for research regarding methods or technologies for mitigating health impacts associated with the
emission of air pollutants; and
(4)
reasonable
administrative and personnel expenses related to the administration of the fund and enforcement of this chapter.
(e) (1)
The
commissioner of the department of public health shall administer the fund i
n accordance with this chapter.
(2) The department of public health shall develop procedures governing the expenditure of, and accounting for
, money expended from the fund.
(3) The commissioner shall ensure that there are adequate moneys available in the
fund to carry out this chapter.
(4) The department shall maintain accounting records showing the i
ncome and expenses of the fund.
