Massachusetts Bill HB 3762
Currently there are five bills pending in the Massachusetts State Legislature that pertain to outdoor-lighting regulation. Pushed by NELPAG members Mario Motta and Kelly Beatty, these bills collectively have more than 45 cosponsors in the House and Senate. The bills also have support of Mass Audubon and Mass Sierra Club. Three of them are nearly identical in wording:
House Bill 3762 — Sponsored by Rep. Mary Grant, this bill is titled "An Act to promote energy efficient lighting, conserve energy, regulate outdoor night lighting, and reduce light pollution." If enacted, it would require state- and municipally-funded projects to use fully-shielded exterior lighting in new or replacement installations, and to install that lighting only where it is needed. It would also require Mass Highways to review and update its criteria for roadway lighting.
House Bill 3764 — This bill is identical in wording to HB 3762 and was filed in parallel as the submission deadline was approaching last December.
Senate Bill 1481 — A Senate bill, submitted by Sen. Cynthia Creem, is titled "An Act to promote energy efficient lighting." Its wording is nearly identical to two House bills above, though it omits a short section requiring lighting assessments in environmentally sensitive areas.
On April 15, 2009, the Joint Committee on Telecommunication, Utilities and Energy convened a public hearing for these three bills, along with HB 3064 (see below). NELPAG members Mario Motta and Kelly Beatty testified in support of the bills, as did Reps. Grant and d'Amico. Eventually the committee should close ranks around a single bill and report it out — favorably, we hope — to the House and Senate's respective Ways and Means Committee.
Note: Two other outdoor-lighting bills have been filed: HB 731 (sponsored by Rep. Sean Garballey) and HB 3064 (sponsored by Rep. Steven d'Amico). Both of these are "refiled bills," carryovers from the 2007-08 legislative session that duplicate the wording used in HB 808. NELPAG applauds the intent of these bills, but it does not support them because their provisions were updated substantially to create the wording for the other House and Senate versions above.
For more information about the status of these bills, contact NELPAG members Mario Motta ( mmotta@massmed.org ) or Kelly Beatty ( kbeatty@darksky.org ).