Bill > H3173

This bill makes the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), the public transportation agency serving the Boston metropolitan area, subject to historic preservation regulations and laws. Specifically, it amends existing law to ensure that the MBTA's authority is subject to the approval, control, or direction of any federal, state, or municipal department, board, or commission that has the power to regulate architectural or historic districts, properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places (a list of significant historical sites maintained by the federal government), the State Register of Historic Places, or local historic registers, as well as properties designated as landmarks by a city, state, or federal entity. This change is declared an emergency law, meaning it takes effect immediately for the public convenience, to ensure the MBTA complies with these preservation rules.