HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4439
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
________________________________________
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, February 29, 2024.
The committee on Labor and Workforce Development, to whom were
referred the petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1179) of Paul R.
Feeney, Paul W. Mark, Walter F. Timilty, Michael D. Brady and other
members of the General Court for legislation relative to a just transition to
clean energy, the petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1180) of Paul
R. Feeney, Paul W. Mark, Walter F. Timilty, Michael D. Brady and other
members of the General Court for legislation relative to clean energy
workforce standards and accountability, the petition (accompanied by bill,
House, No. 1864) of Marjorie C. Decker and others relative to clean
energy workforce standards and accountability, and the petition
(accompanied by bill, House, No. 1865) of Marjorie C. Decker and others
relative to the transition to clean energy and the training of employees on
alternative energy generation and distribution, reports recommending that
the accompanying bill (House, No. 4439) ought to pass.
For the committee,
KIP A. DIGGS.
 FILED ON: 2/5/2024
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4439
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act relative to a just transition to clean energy.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 1E of Chapter 164 of the General Laws is hereby amended by
2 adding the following subsection:-
3 (d) The department shall require each company engaged in the sale or distribution of gas
4 as part of performance based ratemaking, to submit a just transition plan, which must be
5 approved by the department, to address workforce development, maintenance, and attrition, and
6 provide for the following:
7 1. A detailed proposed chronology for transition to net zero emissions energy supply and
8 distribution to be set through performance based ratemaking;
9 2. Sufficient in-house staffing levels, in each relevant classification, to ensure the safety
10 and reliability of the gas company’s pipeline through the projected transition period, including
11 but not limited to, map and record accuracy;
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12 3. Training and workforce development plans providing for gas company workforce
13 needs on residual natural gas and electric as well as alternative energy sources, generation and
14 distribution infrastructure utilized by the gas company to replace and/or complement natural gas;
15 4. Any and all mitigation measures to address the impacts of transition on the gas
16 company’s workforce over the course of the performance based review;
17 5. In the event of the gas company’s anticipated substantial partial or complete cessation
18 of gas operations in Massachusetts during the period in which performance based review is
19 effective:
20 a. Means by which the gas company, and/or its parent corporation intends to avoid
21 burdening the commonwealth, ratepayers, or taxpayers with the social welfare costs resulting
22 from such cessation;
23 b. Measures to ensure the solvency of the local distribution company pension system
24 during and after transition;
25 c. Measures to stem the displacement of local distribution company employees
26 unemployed as a result of transition from the Massachusetts energy sector.
27 6. This subsection shall apply to any distribution, transmission, and gas company
28 organized and doing business in the commonwealth pursuant to the provisions of chapter 164,
29 including any successor company engaged in dual-fuels, joint ventures with renewable energy
30 generators/distributors, or alternative energy companies.
31 7. Nothing in this section shall prohibit or supplant the local distribution company’s
32 collective bargaining obligations relative to the National Labor Relations Act.
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33 SECTION 2. Section 1E of Chapter 164 of the General Laws is hereby amended by
34 striking out, in subsection (b), in line 19 and 27, the date “November 1, 1997” and inserting in
35 place thereof the following date:- January 1, 2022
36 SECTION 3. Section 145 of Chapter 164 of the General Laws is hereby amended by
37 amended by inserting, in subsection (b), as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, the following
38 words:- :-
39 This plan shall include, but not be limited to, provisions to ensure the gas company trains
40 a sufficient skilled workforce to repair and maintain the safety and reliability of its pipeline for
41 the duration of its useful life, until and including its retirement or re-purposing for alternative
42 use.
43 SECTION 4. Section 145 of Chapter 164 of the General Laws is hereby amended by
44 amended by inserting, in subsections (c), as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, the following
45 words:- :-
46 ; and (vii) how the gas company intends to utilize its in-house workforce and outside
47 contractor crews, respectively, to perform construction; (viii) all oversight and quality assurance
48 measures implemented by the gas company on construction during the course of the plan; (ix) all
49 funds to be expended on training for its in-house on the construction and maintenance of its
50 pipeline; (x) any plans for the utilization of pipeline to satisfy the commonwealth’s net zero
51 emissions goals and aggregated data reflecting the projected impact of the plans on the
52 commonwealth’s net zero emissions goals;
53 SECTION 5. Chapter 23 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition,
54 is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
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55 Section 26. Just Transition to Clean Energy
56 (a) Within the executive office of labor and workforce development, there shall be a just
57 transition office. The office shall ensure that workers employed in the energy sector who are
58 displaced due to efforts by the commonwealth or the private sector to reduce greenhouse gas
59 emissions or transition from fossil fuels to clean energy have access to employment and training
60 opportunities in clean energy industries and related fields. The just transition office shall also
61 work with clean energy businesses to ensure they act as responsible employers to further the
62 commonwealth’s workforce and economic development goals. The just transition office shall
63 also work to increase access to employment and training opportunities in clean energy industries
64 and related fields for residents of environmental justice communities.
65 (b) The secretary of labor and workforce development shall appoint the director of the
66 office.
67 (c) There shall be a just transition advisory committee consisting of: (i) the director of the
68 just transition office; (ii) the secretary of labor and workforce development, or their designee;
69 (iii) the commissioner of the department of energy resources, or their designee; (iv) the secretary
70 of the executive office of energy and environmental affairs or their designee; (v) a representative
71 of employers in the gas utility sector appointed by the governor; (vi) a representative of
72 employers in the electric power generation sector appointed by the governor; (vii) a
73 representative of employers in the renewable electricity sector appointed by the governor; (viii) a
74 representative of employers in the energy efficiency sector appointed by the governor; (ix) a
75 representative of employers in the clean transportation sector appointed by the governor; (x) a
76 representative of employers in the clean heating sector appointed by the governor; (xi) a
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77 representative of employees in the gas utility sector appointed by the president of the
78 Massachusetts AFL-CIO; (xii) a representative of employees in the electric power generation
79 sector appointed by the president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO; (xiii) two representatives of
80 employees in the clean energy sector appointed by the president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO;
81 (xiv) a representative of employees in the transportation sector appointed by the president of the
82 Massachusetts AFL-CIO; (xv) the president of the Massachusetts Building Trades Council or a
83 designee, and (xvi) two representative of environmental justice communities appointed by the
84 Secretary of the executive office of energy and environmental affairs.
85 (d) The committee shall be tasked with developing a just transition plan for the energy
86 sector that identifies workers currently employed in the sector by industry, trade, and job
87 classification, and contains relevant information including, but not limited to, current wage and
88 benefit packages and current licensing, certification and training requirements. The committee,
89 through the just transition plan, shall recommend education and training programs to enhance re-
90 employment opportunities within the energy sector, and services to support dislocated workers
91 displaced from jobs within the energy sector as a result of emissions-reducing policies and
92 advancements in clean energy technology. The just transition plan shall also recommend actions
93 to increase opportunities for residents of environmental justice communities to work in clean
94 energy industries.
95 (e) The just transition plan shall include provisions to:
96 (i) educate dislocated workers, in collaboration with employers of dislocated workers and
97 relevant labor unions, on re-employment or training opportunities.;
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 98 (ii) provide training, cross-training, and re-training to workers displaced by gas
99 infrastructure loss in the commonwealth’s local distribution companies and related businesses;
100 (iii) address the workforce development challenges of the fossil fuel energy sector’s
101 shrinking workforce over the course of the commonwealth’s transition to a clean energy
102 economy;
103 (iv) incentivize the hiring of displaced energy sector workers with utilities, clean energy
104 industries, and related industries;
105 (v) collaborate with the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to ensure that training and
106 employment opportunities for displaced energy sector workers are included in their initiatives,
107 incentives, funding opportunities, and projects;
108 (vi) collaborate with the department of public utilities and other agencies regulating the
109 energy sector within the commonwealth to coordinate just transition initiatives, complementing
110 the other regulatory priorities of those agencies;
111 (vii) evaluate options for the establishment of a fund to implement the just transition plan
112 and its components, including potential sources for sustainable short-term and long-term
113 funding;
114 (viii) develop requirements, including the submission of a workforce transition plan, for
115 energy sector employers that are closing a facility or significantly reducing their workforces as a
116 result of efforts by the commonwealth or the private sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
117 or transition from fossil fuels to clean energy;
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118 (ix) identify employers in the energy sector involved or likely to be involved in
119 transitional steps away from fossil fuels and establish requirements and procedures for
120 submission of employee counts and classifications to the office; and
121 (x) increase access to employment and training opportunities in clean energy industries
122 and related fields for residents of environmental justice communities.
123 (f) Employers described in paragraph (ix) of subsection (e) shall submit a workforce
124 transition plan to the office. Workforce transition plans shall be subject to section 10 of chapter
125 66 and shall include:
126 (i) the reasons for the workforce reduction or facility closure;
127 (ii) the total number of workers by job classification and by geographic assignment
128 employed by the employer;
129 (iii) the total number of workers whose existing jobs who will be retained, by job
130 classification and geographic location;
131 (iv) the total number of workers whose existing jobs will be eliminated by the workforce
132 reduction or the closure of a facility, by job classification and geographic location;
133 (v) whether each classification of workers whose jobs are being eliminated will be
134 offered employment in any other job classification or capacity by the employer; how many
135 employees in each classification will be offered employment; and whether the replacement
136 employment offered will provide comparable wages, benefits, and working conditions;
137 (vi) whether the employer is offering severance or early retirement benefits to impacted
138 workers; the value of the severance or early retirement benefits; whether the severance or early
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139 retirement benefits are being provided to all or certain classes of workers; and how many
140 impacted workers intend to utilize these offerings;
141 (vii) whether the employer plans to transfer the work to a separate facility, enter a
142 contracting agreement for work previously performed by company employees, or otherwise
143 outsource work previously performed by company employees; and
144 (viii) whether the employer is a recipient of loans, grants, tax increment financing, or any
145 other financial incentive from the commonwealth, its independent state agencies, departments, or
146 corporations, or any municipality within the last five years.
147 SECTION 6. Chapter 25A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official
148 Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following section:
149 Section 18A. Clean Energy Workforce Standards and Accountability Act
150 (a) For the purposes of this section, the following words shall, unless the context
151 clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:
152 “Applicant”, (1) any natural person or business, whether or not incorporated or
153 unincorporated, who seeks a contract to provide labor or services under this Chapter, and
154 employs another to work in the commonwealth, or contracts with another natural person or
155 business to do so to perform labor, services or otherwise assist in the completion of a project,
156 under a contract, grant, subsidy, or any other arrangement funded in part or in the whole by the
157 commonwealth, or its departments, offices, agencies, subdivisions, and quasi-public agencies,
158 including, but not limited to public authorities, subject to said chapter 150A by chapter 760 of
159 the acts of 1962; and (2) any Public Utilities that are regulated under M.G.L. c. 164. This
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160 definition excludes: (1) the United States or a corporation wholly owned by the government of -
161 the United States; and (2) a public utility, but only when employing workers directly to perform
162 construction and maintenance and other operational duties on its utility infrastructure and
163 buildings.
164 “Project”, initiatives of the commonwealth and its departments, offices, agencies,
165 subdivisions, and quasi-public agencies, including, but not limited to public authorities, subject
166 to said chapter 150A by chapter 760 of the acts of 1962, modernizing and expanding the capacity
167 of its existing energy infrastructure, providing climate change remediation, and/or developing
168 renewable energy generation, transmission and distribution, in furtherance of meeting the
169 commonwealth’s net zero emissions goals.
170 “commonwealth”, the commonwealth and its departments, offices, agencies, political
171 sub-divisions, and quasi-public agencies, including but not limited to quasi-public agencies
172 subject to said chapter 150A by chapter 760 of the acts of 1962 and any quasi-public independent
173 entity and any authority or body politic and corporate established by the general court to serve a
174 public purpose.
175 “Environmental justice population”, shall have the same meaning as defined in section 62
176 of chapter 30.
177 “Municipality at high risk from the effects of climate change”, a municipality that can
178 demonstrate to the department current or future significant changes to its population, land use or
179 local economy resulting from changes in climate.
180 “Labor peace agreement”, an agreement between an entity and any labor organization
181 recognized under the National Labor Relations Act, referred to in this Act as a bona fide labor
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182 organization, that prohibits labor organizations and members from engaging in picketing, work
183 stoppages, boycotts, and any other economic interference in exchange for that entity agreeing not
184 to disrupt efforts by the bona fide labor organization to communicate with, and attempt to
185 organize and represent, the entity’s employees. The agreement shall provide a bona fide labor
186 organization access at reasonable times to areas in which the entity’s emplo