Bill
SD 1269
Allows municipal lighting plants to sell, rent, or lease equipment for emergency mutual aid and extends workers’ compensation protections to employees involved.
Overview
- Purpose: To enhance the ability of municipal lighting plants to provide emergency mutual aid by allowing equipment exchanges and extending workers’ compensation protections to employees involved in mutual aid operations.
- Bill status: Proposed legislation in the current session. The version provided indicates the bill was filed on January 16, 2025 (Senate No. 2252). Status updates (e.g., passage, committee action) are not included in the text provided.
Key Provisions
1) Equipment sales, rental, and leases for emergency mutual aid
- Amendment to Section 133 of Chapter 164 of the General Laws.
- Adds a sentence stating that any municipal lighting plant providing emergency mutual aid may sell, rent, or lease equipment, fixtures, and goods of any description related to providing emergency mutual aid.
- Purpose: Improve the availability of assets (tools, equipment, materials) needed during emergencies.
2) Workers’ compensation coverage for mutual aid employees
- Amendment to the fifth paragraph of Section 133.
- Provides that any employee of a municipal lighting plant providing emergency mutual aid shall be covered by Chapter 32 (workers’ compensation), Sections 1–28 (as amended), with the same rights and privileges as if performing duties within the scope of employment, including voluntary assignments authorized by the employer.
- Purpose: Ensure wage/medical benefits and protections for employees who participate in mutual aid activities.
3) Extension of coverage to employees of utilities
- In the sixth paragraph, after the word “utility,” insert “or its employees.”
- Purpose: Explicitly extend the mutual aid protections to the employees of the utility involved.
Who Is Affected
- Municipal lighting plants that participate in emergency mutual aid.
- Employees of those municipal lighting plants engaged in mutual aid activities (now with workers’ compensation protections).
- The language also contemplates scenarios where a utility is involved, extending protections to its employees.
Procedural and Timeline Aspects
- The bill is a proposed act in the Massachusetts General Court (2025–2026 session).
- The version presented shows initial filing on January 16, 2025 (Senate No. 2252). The introduced date in the user-supplied note (November 29, 2025) may reflect a later docket or misunderstanding; the text provided confirms an initial filing in January 2025.
- As a proposed bill, it would require passage by both chambers and approval by the Governor to become law. No specific effective date or funding provisions are stated in the text provided.
Potential Impacts
- Operational: Municipal lighting plants could more readily share or monetize emergency-related equipment, potentially improving mutual aid capacity during storms or other emergencies.
- Economic/financial: Possible revenue from selling or leasing surplus equipment; cost implications for administration of such sales/rentals.
- Labor/benefits: Expanded workers’ compensation protections could affect human resources policies and insurance considerations for participating employees.
Next steps
- For readers seeking status updates, potential fiscal impact statements, or committee actions, consult the Massachusetts Legislature’s bill tracking system or official summaries for the current session.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
Sign in to ask a question.
