Bill > S1179

This bill aims to facilitate a just transition to clean energy in Massachusetts. Key provisions include: 1) Requiring gas companies to submit "just transition plans" as part of performance-based ratemaking, addressing workforce development, training, mitigation of impacts on workers, and measures to avoid burdening the state and ratepayers during the transition to net-zero emissions. 2) Establishing an accelerated timeline for gas companies to replace leak-prone infrastructure, with interim targets and potential penalties for missing them. 3) Creating a training fund administered by the state to support apprenticeship programs and the hiring/training of displaced gas and fossil fuel industry workers by alternative energy companies. 4) Providing temporary additional unemployment benefits for adversely affected workers who lose jobs due to the transition, funded by contributions from applicable employers. 5) Establishing a "Just Transition Office" within the state's labor agency to coordinate workforce development, training, and employment opportunities for displaced energy sector workers, with input from a diverse advisory committee. Overall, the bill aims to ensure a fair and equitable transition for workers and communities impacted by the state's shift to clean energy sources.