Press Release: 4/10/2026

Massachusetts Senate to Debate Environmental Protection, Infrastructure Bill

 

April 8, 2026

 

Ways and Means Committee advances Mass Ready Act, a $3.64 billion bond bill

(BOSTON—4/8/2026) The Massachusetts Senate next week will debate the Mass Ready Act, a $3.64 billion bond bill that guards infrastructure from climate change and severe weather, protects drinking water, and fosters environmental protection. The bill also supports the environment with reasonable limits on wasteful single-use plastic products.

The legislation responds to an increasingly littered natural world by removing single-use plastic bags from retail checkout counters. Instead, shoppers would be able to walk away with a reusable plastic bag or a recyclable paper bag.

Massachusetts residents likely use more than 2 billion plastic bags every year, according to one estimate. A plastic bag tossed to the side of a road can pose immediate risks, such as the suffocation or starvation of wildlife, while also fragmenting over time into microplastics that pollute.

The Committee on Ways and Means voted this morning to advance the Mass Ready Act—S.3050, An Act to build resilience for Massachusetts communities—to the full Senate, which scheduled debate for next Wednesday, April 15.

The legislation’s bonding authorizations contain $450 million to protect clean drinking water and water infrastructure, as well as $120 million for remediation of PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in public water supplies and private wells.

The bond bill also allows the state to borrow up to $200 million for coastal infrastructure projects to respond to increasing coastal hazards—rising sea levels, storm surges, and erosion. Eligible projects could include recommendations of the state’s ResilientCoasts plan such as redesigning seawalls, raising roads, and restoring natural salt marshes.

As a changing climate brings severe flooding to more areas of Massachusetts, home sellers and landlords would be required to disclose certain flood information to prospective buyers or tenants under one section of the bill. Another policy preserves the public’s access to state-owned beaches even as rising tides have the power to move entire beaches and alter the oceanfront map.

The legislation would authorize up to $500 million in borrowing to support the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program, which aids towns and cities as they plan to combat extreme weather events such as floods and droughts; $789 million to maintain Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) properties and roads; and $521.6 million for state and municipally owned dams. Full details are available in a fact sheet in the Senate press room.

The bill is based on legislation originally filed last year by Governor Maura Healey, which was recommended by the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets on January 27, 2026. The Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources advanced the Governor’s bill with a 13-0 vote on November 25, 2025, following an opportunity for public input at a hearing held July 15, 2025.

All committee votes are publicly posted on the Legislature’s website.