Bill
H 3726
Massachusetts transportation plans must meet GHG and VMT goals, performing 20-year emissions and VMT assessments and linking project approval to localized, funded mitigation.
Status & procedural history
- Bill number: H 3726 (House Docket No. 2579; replaces HD 2579)
- Introduced: 01/16/2025 by Rep. Jack Patrick Lewis (added co-petitioners through July 2025)
- Referred to: Committee on Transportation (02/27/2025)
- House actions: Introduced, adopted, returned with concurrence (01/16/2025)
- Senate concurred: 02/27/2025
- Hearing scheduled: 09/16/2025 (B-2, 1:00–5:00 PM)
- Classification: Concurrent resolution / bill text inserted into Chapter 6C (statutory changes)
Note on anomalous content
- The file also contains text from a separate concurrent resolution congratulating the T.L. Hanna High School boys golf team (South Carolina). That text appears to be unrelated to the Massachusetts transportation bill and is likely an editorial/filing error. This summary focuses on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts statute text in H 3726.
Purpose and intent
- The bill requires that Massachusetts’ transportation planning (regional and statewide plans and programs) align with the Commonwealth’s greenhouse gas (GHG) limits and with statewide vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) reduction goals. It creates procedural requirements for assessing and publishing the emissions and VMT impacts of transportation projects and for tying project approval to identified, localized mitigation measures.
Key provisions
1. New sections added to Chapter 6C (Sections 80 and 81)
2. Definitions (Section 80):
- Defines “emission” (per chapter 21N), “emissions impact,” “metropolitan planning organization” (MPO) and “regional planning agency,” “mitigation measure,” etc.
- Mitigation measures enumerated: transit expansion and service improvements; active transportation; micromobility; transportation demand management; parking management; land use/density/transit-oriented development; traffic operations improvements; and natural systems (wetland restoration, reforestation, urban green space).
3. Compliance requirement (Section 80(b)):
- No MPO may approve a Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) or Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) under 23 CFR Part 450 unless the plan/program (including any interlinked mitigation measures) “provides a reasonable pathway” to meet:
- GHG emissions sublimits for transportation set under Chapter 21N; and
- Statewide VMT reduction goals established by the Secretary (see Section 81).
- The Department of Transportation (MassDOT) likewise may not approve the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) unless compliant.
4. Emissions and VMT assessments (Section 80(c)):
- MassDOT must establish a process to perform emissions-impact and VMT-impact assessments for projects and mitigation measures.
- Assessments must estimate emissions over a 20-year horizon and the net change in VMT.
- MassDOT must publish project identifications and summaries (including assessment overviews, impacts of projects and interlinked mitigation measures, and project dispositions) on its website.
5. Interlinked mitigation measures (Section 80(d)–(e)):
- A mitigation measure can be considered “interlinked” to a project only if (i) specified project/program, (ii) funding sources are identified and committed, (iii) the mitigation is localized per the statute, and (iv) procedures ensure the mitigation remains in substantially the same (or equivalently effective) form.
- Localization priority: (i) within/associated with communities impacted by the project; (ii) if not feasible, areas of persistent poverty/underserved by transit/historically disadvantaged communities; (iii) otherwise in the project region; (iv) otherwise statewide. MPOs and MassDOT must explain feasibility/rationale when localizing under lower-priority options.
6. Rulemaking: MassDOT may promulgate regulations to implement these provisions.
7. VMT goals (Section 81, truncated in the text provided):
- Directs the Secretary (in consultation with other secretaries) to set statewide VMT reduction goals for 2030 and every fifth year thereafter, to help relieve congestion, improve air quality, and meet GHG limits. (Full incorporation and mechanics are partially truncated in the available text.)
Who would be affected
- Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT)
- Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and regional planning agencies
- Municipalities and communities hosting transportation projects
- Project sponsors, transit agencies, and developers (requirements for interlinked mitigation, committed funding, and localized measures)
- Historically disadvantaged, underserved, and high-poverty communities (explicit prioritization for localization of mitigation)
- Statewide transportation planning, TIP/STIP approval processes, and potentially project schedules and funding decisions
Potential impacts and implications
- Increases alignment between transportation investment decisions and state climate goals (GHG limits under chapter 21N and VMT reduction targets).
- Requires quantified, 20-year emissions and VMT estimates for projects—likely increasing analytical requirements for project approval and transparency via web publication.
- Ties project approval to demonstrable mitigation measures with committed funding and localization, which could shift project design and funding strategies toward transit, active transportation, land use, and demand-management solutions.
- May accelerate focus on community-centered mitigation and equity (explicit prioritization of disadvantaged and underserved areas).
- Could lengthen approval timelines or change project prioritization if mitigation pathways are not demonstrated; rulemaking by MassDOT will further determine implementation details.
Limitations / missing text
- The provided document truncates Section 81 (full mechanics for setting/incorporating VMT goals and enforcement are incomplete). Final statutory effect depends on the remaining text and any implementing regulations.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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