The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
PRESENTED BY:
James B. Eldridge
_______________
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 to establish a water infrastructure finance commission.
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PETITION OF:
Name: |
District/Address: |
James B. Eldridge |
Middlesex and Worcester |
Jeffrey Sánchez |
15th Suffolk |
Susan C. Fargo |
Third Middlesex |
Bruce E. Tarr |
First Essex and Middlesex |
Jennifer Benson |
37th Middlesex |
George N. Peterson, Jr. |
9th Worcester |
David M. Nangle |
17th Middlesex |
Denise Provost |
27th Middlesex |
John F. Quinn |
9th Bristol |
James Arciero |
2nd Middlesex |
Thomas A. Golden, Jr. |
16th Middlesex |
John J. Binienda |
17th Worcester |
Stephen L. DiNatale |
3rd Worcester |
Louis L. Kafka |
8th Norfolk |
Kate Hogan |
3rd Middlesex |
James J. O'Day |
14th Worcester District |
Jennifer M. Callahan |
18th Worcester |
Thomas M. Stanley |
9th Middlesex |
Karen E. Spilka |
Second Middlesex and Norfolk |
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS
SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. S02292 OF 2007-2008.]
The Commonwealth of
Massachusetts
_______________
In the Year Two Thousand and Nine
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An Act to establish a water infrastructure finance commission.
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. (a) There shall be a special water infrastructure finance commission to develop a comprehensive, long-range water infrastructure finance plan for the commonwealth and its municipalities.
Section 2. The commission shall consist of the commissioner of environmental protection or his designee, the state treasurer or his designee, 1 member of the senate; 1 member of the house of representatives; 1 person to be appointed by the president of the senate and 1 person to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, each of whom shall be a representative of a planning organization, environmental consumer organization or other public interest organization; 1 person to be appointed by the minority leader of the senate and 1 person to be appointed by the minority leader of the house, each of whom shall be from different geographic regions of the commonwealth and who shall be representatives of the business community; a representative of the Boston Water and Sewer Commission; and 9 persons to be appointed by the governor who shall not be employees of the executive branch and who shall reside in different geographic regions of the commonwealth, 1 of whom shall be a representative of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts, 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Waterworks Association, 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, 1 of whom shall be a representative of Clean Water Action, 1 of whom shall be a representative of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Environmental League of Massachusetts, 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Conservation Law Foundation and 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Water Pollution Control Association. The aforementioned organizations shall provide a list of at least 3 but not more than 5 candidates for consideration by the governor. Each of the members shall be an expert or shall have experience in the field of law or public policy, water, wastewater or storm water planning, design and construction of water, wastewater or storm water projects, utility management, management consulting or organizational finance; provided, however, that at least 1 member shall have expertise in organizational finance. The governor shall designate a member to serve as the chairperson of the commission but the chairperson shall not be the commissioner of environmental protection, the state treasurer or their designees. The members of the commission shall be appointed not later 90 days after the effective date of this act and serve until the completion of the long-range infrastructure finance plan.
Section 3. In the course of its deliberations,
the commission shall make it a priority to examine the technical and financial
feasibility of sustaining, integrating and expanding public water systems,
conservation and efficiency programs, wastewater systems and storm water
systems of municipalities and the commonwealth, including regional or district
systems. Further, the commission shall: (1) examine the water infrastructure
needs of the commonwealth for the next 25 years as they relate to the funding
gap between the water infrastructure needs of the commonwealth and the
existing, available sources of funding; (2) develop mechanisms for additional
funding for water infrastructure by increasing investment in critical water,
wastewater, storm water and water conservation infrastructure; (3) provide
mechanisms for improvements in the handling and management of water programs;
(4) examine the potential threats to public health and public safety from the
existing shortfalls in funding for water infrastructure; (5) examine and
develop recommendations on ways in which the commonwealth and its
municipalities may meet operation and maintenance, and capital improvement and
reconstruction needs for the next 25 years including, without limitation,
recommendations regarding debt reduction, enhancing existing sources of
revenues, developing new sources of revenues, establishing new incentives for
public-private partnerships in the development of real property resources and
funding resources; and (6) examine the expanded use of full accounting systems
and enterprise funding, asset management systems and best management practices,
compliance with chapter 21G of the General Laws and Massachusetts water policy,
and current federal and state funding programs.
The commission shall examine the finances of the various municipalities and
regional water districts, including state and federal aid levels, and make
recommendations for improvements to financial policies and procedures. The
commission shall identify areas where cost savings can be achieved across water
agencies by consolidation, coordination and reorganization. The commission
shall examine the projected federal funding, projected state funding, projected
local funding, projected fee-based funding, debt financing and any other
sources of projected funding to finance water infrastructure needs identified
by the commission.
Section 4. The commission shall develop recommendations as to what funding or finance measures the commonwealth or its municipalities may pursue to satisfy any unmet funding needs identified by the commission. The recommendations shall also include any recommendation for interagency agreements, intermunicipal agreements, consolidations or mergers to enable the commonwealth and its municipalities to make the most effective use of water funding resources. The recommendations shall identify fair and equitable means of financing water infrastructure investments through taxes, fees, user charges or other sources.
Section 5. The commission may hold public hearings to assist in the collection and evaluation of data and testimony.
Section 6. The commission shall prepare a written report detailing its financials relative to identified funding sources and its recommendations, if any, together with drafts of legislation necessary to carry those recommendations into effect. The commission shall submit its initial report to the governor, the secretary of environmental affairs, the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on the environment not later than 2 years after the effective date of this act.
Section 7. Any research, analysis or other staff support that the commission reasonably requires shall be provided by the executive office of environmental affairs and its agencies, with assistance from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.