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S 1231

Relates to the creation of the New York farm to school and school garden fund

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Pete Harckham and 1 co-sponsor

Strengthens anti-littering laws by raising fines, directs half to the conservation trust, and allows courts to require offenders to remove litter at their own expense.

REFERRED TO FINANCE
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Bill Summary · S 1231

Summary — S.1231 (Senate Docket No. 1610)

Status: REFERRED TO FINANCE (per provided record)
Introduced: 2025 (docket filing dated 1/16/2025; other records list 4/1/2025)
Primary text: Amends Section 16 of Chapter 270 of the Massachusetts General Laws
Note: supplied metadata contains inconsistencies (see “Legislative status and notes” below). This summary focuses on the bill text as filed in the Massachusetts Senate (titled “An Act relative to preventing ocean littering”).

Purpose

The bill strengthens Massachusetts’ anti‑littering law by (1) substantially increasing civil fines for placing or causing trash to be placed on public highways, public lands, private property, lands dedicated to open space, and in or near coastal and inland waters, (2) requiring half of collected fines be deposited into the Commonwealth’s conservation trust (chapter 132A), and (3) authorizing courts to require offenders to remove the litter at their own expense.

Key provisions and changes

  • Replaces the existing Section 16 of Chapter 270 with a new text that:
    • Prohibits placing, throwing, depositing, or causing the placement of trash, bottles or cans, refuse, rubbish, garbage, debris, scrap, waste or other material on:
    • public highways or within 20 yards of a public highway;
    • other public land;
    • property of another;
    • lands dedicated for open space purposes (including lands subject to conservation or agricultural preservation restrictions under chapter 184).
    • Establishes fines for violations on land/highways:
    • Up to $5,500 for a first offense.
    • Up to $15,000 for each subsequent offense.
    • Establishes fines for violations involving coastal or inland waters (as defined in chapter 131), or within 20 yards of such waters:
    • Up to $6,800 for a first offense.
    • Up to $18,750 for each subsequent offense.
    • Directs that 50% of any fine imposed must be deposited into the conservation trust established in section 1 of chapter 132A.
    • Permits the court to order the violator, at their own expense, to remove the prohibited materials.
    • Retains a defense where the owner of the land gave permission to place the materials.

Who is affected

  • Individuals and entities who place or cause the placement of litter on public highways, public land, private property, conserved/open‑space lands, and coastal/inland waters (including within a 20‑yard buffer).
  • Landowners who may be asked to prove whether they gave permission (a permitted placement is an affirmative defense).
  • Municipalities and state conservation programs, which may receive increased revenue to the state conservation trust (50% of collected fines).
  • Courts and law enforcement, which will administer the higher fines and potential cleanup orders.

Fiscal and enforcement impacts

  • Likely increases revenue to the Commonwealth’s conservation trust (50% of fines).
  • Higher statutory penalties increase the civil cost exposure for violators and may strengthen deterrence.
  • Courts may impose cleanup costs on offenders, shifting remediation expenses to private violators rather than public entities.
  • Potential administrative and enforcement workload increases for courts, law enforcement, and agencies managing the conservation trust.

Legislative status and notes

  • Provided legislative action entries are inconsistent. Entries show referral to Judiciary (2/27/2025), referral to Finance (1/8/2025), and a Senate reading/Armed Services referral (4/1/2025). A hearing is listed for 11/04/2025 (multiple scheduling updates).
  • Sponsors and related-bill metadata appear to reference different jurisdictions (e.g., New York fund title and U.S. Senators listed) and do not match the Massachusetts bill text. Please verify status and sponsorship with the official Massachusetts legislative website or clerk for authoritative tracking and sponsor attribution.

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

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