Bill > H2389

This bill requires the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to develop a comprehensive assessment tool to quantify the health impacts and costs associated with energy emissions, focusing on how different energy sources affect public health. The tool will specifically analyze health consequences and costs related to emissions from grid electricity and delivered fuels, with special attention to environmental justice populations, MassHealth, community hospitals, and the state budget. The assessment will use existing health impact methodologies from sources like the EPA's Clean Power Plan and will examine specific health indicators such as premature death, cardiovascular events, chronic bronchitis, asthma, hospital admissions, and lost work or school days. The department must create this tool by drawing expertise from various state agencies, update it every three years, and ensure that any new state policies, regulations, or programs related to energy, buildings, transportation, or waste explicitly consider the tool's health impact findings. Within 12 months of the act's effective date, the department must submit the assessment tool and explanatory materials to key legislative and executive branch leaders, ultimately aiming to provide a data-driven approach to understanding the health consequences of energy-related emissions.

Health and Social Services

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H2389