BOSTON — House and Senate negotiators have reached a final deal on a climate change proposal that was stuck in limbo since the chaotic end of formal legislative sessions.
On Thursday, a six-member legislative committee tasked with hammering out differences between competing bills approved by both chambers announced that it has “reached an agreement in principle” on a final proposal. Once the bill is filed, it will be subject to an up or down vote in both chambers before heading to Gov. Maura Healey’s desk.
“Massachusetts must continue to be a national leader in the effort to combat climate change, a prerequisite for which will be transitioning to a clean energy economy and creating high-quality jobs in the process,” state Rep. Jeffrey Roy, D-Franklin, a member of the committee, said in a statement.
Roy said House and Senate negotiators are “working diligently to file the conference report in the coming days, with the goal of sending these critical reforms to the governor’s desk for her signature as soon as possible.”
Both the House and Senate passed climate change bills aimed at streamlining the permitting process for clean energy projects to hit the state’s emission reduction goals, but differences between them needed to be worked out before landing on Healey’s desk.
It was one of several bills for which passage was uncertain amid the chaos of the Legislature’s end of formal sessions July 31.
Exactly what’s in the final bill is unclear, since lawmakers conducted their negotiations behind closed doors. Details about the compromise bill weren’t disclosed Thursday.
The Senate’s bill, which was approved in June, included a ban on retail electric suppliers that critics say are using high-pressure tactics and deceptive door-to-door marketing to dupe largely poor and elderly consumers into switching to a new supplier, ultimately charging them more for electricity or natural gas.
A report released by Attorney General Andrea Campbell found that between 2015 and 2023 Massachusetts residential customers who purchased electricity from retail suppliers, other than regional or local utilities, paid an estimated $577 million more than they would have paid if they had kept their old service.
But industry groups have pushed back against the claims, arguing that a ban would effectively shut down the burgeoning retail energy market and deprive consumers of choice.
The Senate plan also included an update of the state’s bottle bill, expanding the list of containers eligible for a bottle deposit, and increasing the deposit amount from 5 cents to 10 cents. It also called for a ban on carry-out plastic bags at retailers statewide, and would require stores to charge 10 cents for recycled paper bags.
The House plan, approved in July, called for overhauling the process of siting and permitting for wind, solar and other clean-power projects and expanding the amount of renewable energy resources. It also sets aggressive new procurement goals for clean energy and battery storage.
Environmental groups, along with Healey, have been pressuring lawmakers to advance the bill before the Dec. 31 end of the two-year session. They welcomed the emergence of the bill, but many said they are in the dark about what it includes.
“For Massachusetts to truly be a leader on climate change, equitable siting reform and curbing the expansion and overspending in our gas system must be priorities for lawmakers,” Caitlin Peale Sloan, vice president of the Conservation Law Foundation of Massachusetts, said in a statement.
“We’re eager to see what is included in this bill and will continue to advocate for the necessary changes to slash climate-damaging pollution, meet our climate targets, and ensure new clean energy infrastructure avoids burdening those of low- to moderate-income and communities of color,” she said.
Massachusetts already enacted some of the toughest environmental regulations in the country with a goal of reaching “net-zero” greenhouse gas emissions related to 1990 levels by 2050.
A 2021 law signed by then-Gov. Charlie Baker requires the state to accelerate a shift away from fossil fuels to cleaner energy as part of an effort to meet its ambitious benchmarks to reduce carbon emissions.
The state’s carbon reduction “blueprint” calls for tougher efficiency standards for appliances, development of offshore wind and expanded solar energy use, tapping into hydropower while aggressively enforcing emissions limits on electric power, transportation, heating and cooling, and other sectors of the economy.
But environmental groups say the state needs to take more aggressive steps to meet its green energy goals as scientists warn that the warming planet is approaching a “tipping” point.
Republicans and other critics argue that the state’s aggressive push to reduce its carbon footprint will shift too much cost to consumers, and could impact existing base load energy supplies before more green sources of power are brought online.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.