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S 2246

Relates to exempting from the tax on retail sales the portion of a receipt from the purchase of a motor vehicle which is reduced due to a rebate or discount provided by a manufacturer to the purchaser

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Leroy Comrie

Requires MA transportation planning to meet GHG and VMT targets; mandates 20-year emissions/VMT assessments and linked mitigation, prioritizing disadvantaged communities.

REFERRED TO BUDGET AND REVENUE
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Bill Summary · S 2246

Bill Summary — S.2246

Title: An Act aligning the commonwealth's transportation plans with its mandates and goals for reducing emissions and vehicle miles traveled
Status: Referred to Budget and Revenue (filed 1/16/2025; read/introduced 7/10/2025)
Primary sponsors (as provided): Edward J. Markey; Leroy Comrie
Other petitioners/sponsors listed in bill text: Cynthia Stone Creem and multiple state senators

Purpose / Intent

The bill requires that Massachusetts’ transportation planning and programming — at both the regional (MPO) and state (department) levels — be explicitly aligned with the Commonwealth’s greenhouse gas (GHG) limits for the transportation sector and with state-wide vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) reduction goals. It seeks to ensure projects and programs do not undermine statutory emissions and VMT objectives and to create transparent, enforceable processes for assessing and mitigating transportation-related emissions and VMT impacts.

Key provisions

  • Adds two sections to Chapter 6C (Sections 80 and 81).
  • Definitions: Establishes terms including “emission,” “emissions impact,” “metropolitan planning organization (MPO)” (explicitly including certain regional planning agencies), “mitigation measure,” and “regional planning agency.”
  • Plan/program approval condition: MPOs may not approve Regional Transportation Plans (RTPs) or Transportation Improvement Programs (TIPs), and the state may not approve the Statewide TIP, unless the plan/program (and any mitigation measures linked to projects) “provides a reasonable pathway” to comply with:
    • GHG emissions sublimits for transportation set under Chapter 21N, sec. 3A, and
    • statewide VMT reduction goals set by the Secretary (see below).
  • Emissions and VMT assessments: The Department must establish processes to assess emissions impacts and VMT impacts for projects and mitigation measures, including 20-year emissions estimates and net change in VMT; results must be published online with project summaries.
  • Mitigation measures: Enumerates eligible mitigation types (e.g., transit expansion and service improvements; active transportation; micromobility; transportation demand management; parking management; land‑use changes; traffic operations; natural systems).
  • Interlinked mitigation rules: For a mitigation measure to be treated as linked to a project it must be specified, funded/committed, localized (see below), and bound by procedures ensuring it remains effective.
  • Localization priority for mitigation: (1) within/associated with impacted communities; (2) if infeasible, in areas of persistent poverty/underserved/ historically disadvantaged communities; (3) if infeasible, in the project region; (4) if infeasible, statewide. MPOs/Department must explain feasibility when higher tiers are used.
  • Section 81 (partial text): Requires the Secretary, in consultation with relevant secretaries, to set statewide VMT reduction goals for 2030 and every five years thereafter and to incorporate these goals into transportation-sector GHG sublimits.

Who is affected

  • Metropolitan Planning Organizations (and regional planning agencies treated as MPOs)
  • Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and the Secretary of Transportation
  • Municipalities, regional planning authorities, transit agencies, and project sponsors
  • Developers of transportation projects (highway, transit, active transportation, and multimodal)
  • Communities (notably historically disadvantaged and underserved communities targeted for localization of mitigation)
  • Public and stakeholders (greater transparency and project-level reporting)

Procedural/timeline notes

  • Filed in the Senate (S.2246) and has been referred to one or more committees (Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy; Budget and Revenue; originally read/referred 7/10/2025). A prior hearing was scheduled (05/14/2025) per docket entries. Further committee consideration, amendments, and budgetary review are expected as the bill proceeds.

Potential impacts

  • Could constrain approval of projects that lack credible pathways to meet transportation-sector GHG and VMT goals, favoring investments in transit, walking/biking infrastructure, TDM, parking reform, and land-use strategies.
  • Increases analytical and reporting requirements for project sponsors and MassDOT (20-year emissions forecasts; VMT calculations).
  • Seeks to direct mitigation benefits to impacted and disadvantaged communities, reinforcing environmental justice considerations.
  • May change prioritization of funding and project design, potentially slowing or reshaping certain highway expansions unless coupled with concrete, funded mitigation.

Related / background

  • Related docket entries and prior-session bills noted (SD 1327 replaces; prior-session S.8556, S.3549, S.1259).
  • Interacts directly with Chapter 21N (state GHG law) and federal MPO planning requirements (23 U.S.C. 134; 49 U.S.C. §§ 5301–5340).

If you’d like, I can extract the full draft language of Section 81 (it was truncated in the provided text) or produce a short explainer focused on how this bill would change approval criteria for a typical major highway project.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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