Bill > H724

This bill modifies the structure and responsibilities of the Middlesex Canal Commission, a body established to oversee matters related to the historic Middlesex Canal. Specifically, it updates the commission's membership by adding representatives from the House of Representatives and the Senate, along with appointees from the chief administrative officials of several municipalities along the canal's route, and includes the commissioners of the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Massachusetts Highway Department (or their designees), as well as the executive directors of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and the Northern Middlesex Council of Government. The bill also clarifies the commission's role in assessing the feasibility of establishing, owning, and operating a Middlesex Canal State Heritage Park and mandates that local boards provide written notice to the commission at least 14 days before approving any activity within 100 feet of the canal's route, with examples of such "appropriate boards" including city councils, planning boards, and conservation commissions.