Bill would create "green plus community" designation and direct municipalities to cut building emissions 20% in five years

A bill filed in the Massachusetts House on Jan. 15, 2025, would create a "green plus community" designation that requires municipalities to file an application, establish a greenhouse gas baseline for buildings and other local sources, and put in place a plan to reduce community emissions by not less than 20% within five years of joining the program. The bill also raises the program funding level to $40 million and directs that at least $10 million of that go to green plus communities.

The measure matters because it ties a new, municipality-level designation to grant preference and directs state tracking and resources to support local emissions inventories and early implementation. Municipalities that opt in could receive priority for state funds intended to support building energy reductions, and the bill requires the state to create a tracking system within one year of enactment for community-wide greenhouse gas emissions.

Under the bill, a municipality or other governmental body seeking the green plus designation must (1) file an application with the division designated by statute; (2) establish a greenhouse gas emissions baseline inventory for residential, commercial and industrial buildings within the municipality, and may include transportation, waste and other local emissions sources; (3) adopt and begin implementing a comprehensive plan within one year of initial participation designed to reduce the baseline inventory by a division-approved percentage not less than 20% within five years; (4) adopt the municipal opt-in specialized stretch energy code referenced in subsection 14 of Section 6 of chapter 25A; and (5) fulfill other qualifications of the existing green community program or be served by a municipal lighting plant. The bill gives preference to municipalities that include additional emissions sources in their baseline inventories.

The bill requires the secretary to adopt a tracking system for community-wide greenhouse gas emissions — including building, transportation, energy, land use and waste sectors — not later than one year after adoption of this section. The bill also gives the secretary authority to adapt requirements if a municipality demonstrates that unusual circumstances make strict compliance impracticable and proposes alternative measures that the secretary finds advance the program's purposes as effectively.

Representative Joan Meschino of Hull filed the bill (House No. 3529) with additional petitioners listed on later dates. The bill is referred to the committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy for consideration; it does not enact these provisions until passed by the Legislature and signed into law.

If enacted, the funding change in the bill would approximately double the currently listed program cap in the text from $20 million to $40 million and reserve at least $10 million for green plus communities.