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H 3293

Utility Terrain Vehicles

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Cal Forrest and 3 co-sponsors

Mass. H.3293 requires contractors on state-funded contracts with 75+ FTEs to employ up to 2% of individuals with disabilities, with state agencies coordinating support services.

Scrivener's error corrected
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Bill Summary · H 3293

Summary — H.3293 (House Docket No. 4057) — “Utility Terrain Vehicles” (scrivener’s error corrected)

Note up front: the official bill text filed as H.3293 contains two conflicting bodies of text. The primary Massachusetts text is titled “An Act relative to the employment of persons with disabilities” (adds Section 38Q to Chapter 7, Mass. Gen. Laws). Interleaved in the legislative file is a separate, unrelated draft of a South Carolina statute regulating Utility Terrain Vehicles (UTVs). The header/title “Utility Terrain Vehicles” appears to be a scrivener’s error; the operative Massachusetts provisions in H.3293 concern procurement and employment of people with disabilities. This summary focuses on the Massachusetts employment provisions and, for clarity, provides a brief note summarizing the unrelated UTV text.

Purpose and intent

  • Primary intent (Massachusetts): Require contractors receiving appropriated funds under Commonwealth contracts to hire and support a portion of employees who are individuals with disabilities, expanding employment opportunities and directing state offices to implement/support the program.
  • Secondary (unrelated) text: Regulate registration and limited roadway operation of UTVs (appears to be a South Carolina draft wrongly included).

Key provisions — Massachusetts (operative in H.3293)

  • New statutory section: Chapter 7, Section 38Q.
  • Hiring requirement: Contractors (or companies/bidders) awarded state-funded service contracts must “employ up to 2% of individuals with disabilities hired within such contract.” (Text reads “up to 2%” — likely intended as a 2% target; see implementation questions below.)
  • Contractor size threshold: Applicable to companies/bidders that employ a minimum of 75 full‑time equivalents (FTEs).
  • Implementation and oversight: The Supplier Diversity Office, in consultation with the Massachusetts Office on Disability, the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, and the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, shall implement and regulate the requirement.
  • Employment supports: These agencies shall arrange employment support services through a network of nonprofit employment providers across the Commonwealth.
  • Covered service types: Examples listed include janitorial/custodial, landscaping, mailroom, food services, fleet management, manufacturing, trash removal, document destruction, electronic scanning, and facility management (HVAC, painting, emergency repairs, snow removal).
  • Definition of “individual with a disability”: Detailed definition referencing severe physical or mental impairments limiting functional capacities relevant to employment outcome and a long-term need for multiple vocational rehabilitation services; enumerates numerous conditions (autism, blindness, cerebral palsy, mental illness, multiple sclerosis, learning disabilities, etc.) and allows assessment-based determinations.
  • Compliance timeline and worker protections: Percentage requirement to be met within one year of contract award; the statute directs minimizing displacement of incumbent workers providing the services.

Who is affected

  • State contractors and subcontractors on contracts that receive appropriated legislative funds and meet the 75 FTE threshold.
  • Individuals with disabilities seeking employment and nonprofit employment providers that deliver support services.
  • State oversight agencies named for implementation and enforcement.

Implementation, timeline, and procedures

  • Compliance expected within one year after contract award.
  • Oversight and support roles assigned to the Supplier Diversity Office and disability/vocational agencies.
  • Text as drafted may require clarifying edits (e.g., “employ up to 2%” language, enforcement mechanisms, recordkeeping, and remedies are not detailed).

Legislative status and actions (selected)

  • Prefiled: 2024-12-05
  • Introduced/read first time: 2025-01-14
  • Referred to committee (State Administration & Regulatory Oversight): 2025-02-27
  • Scrivener’s error corrected: 2025-02-05
  • Senate concurred: 2025-02-27
  • Hearing scheduled: 2025-07-15 (1:00–5:00 PM, B‑1)
  • Later action: Accompanied a new draft (see H.4620) on 2025-10-20
  • Related: HD 4057 (replaces)

Note on the Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV) text

  • The docket also contains a full draft amending South Carolina law (Title 56) to define and regulate UTVs: defines UTV characteristics; requires a $5 permit and registration; limits UTV operation mostly to daylight hours, within 10 miles of owner address, on secondary roads with posted speed limits ≤55 mph; operator age ≥16 with driver’s license; permit renewal every five years; gives political subdivisions limited authority to alter local operation areas and create separated UTV paths; exempts public safety uses. This UTV draft is unrelated to the Massachusetts procurement/employment provisions and appears to have been included by error.

If you want, I can:
- Draft a redline-style list of clarifying edits (e.g., change “up to 2%” to “at least 2%” or specify enforcement), or
- Produce a standalone summary of the UTV draft as a separate bill.

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

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