H2177 • 2025

An Act to provide economic security for fishing industry participants

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: Sweezey, Kenneth P.
Last action: 2026-01-29
Official status: Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act to provide economic security for fishing industry participants

An Act to provide economic security for fishing industry participants By Representatives Sweezey of Duxbury and Kearney of Scituate, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.

What This Bill Does

An Act to provide economic security for fishing industry participants By Representatives Sweezey of Duxbury and Kearney of Scituate, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
2177) of Kenneth P.
Sweezey, Patrick Joseph Kearney and others for legislation to authorize the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development to analyze the economic disruption and harm to the financial stability of those engaged in commercial fishing in the Commonwealth.
Labor and Workforce Development.

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

2026-01-29 House
Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Ways and Means
2025-10-08 Joint
Hearing rescheduled to 10/08/2025 from 10:00 AM-12:15 PM in B-1 and Virtual Hearing updated to New End Time
2025-09-25 Joint
Hearing scheduled for 10/08/2025 from 10:00 AM-5:00 PM in B-1
2025-02-27 House
Referred to the committee on Labor and Workforce Development
2025-02-27 Senate
Senate concurred

Official Summary Text

An Act to provide economic security for fishing industry participants
By Representatives Sweezey of Duxbury and Kearney of Scituate, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2177) of Kenneth P. Sweezey, Patrick Joseph Kearney and others for legislation to authorize the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development to analyze the economic disruption and harm to the financial stability of those engaged in commercial fishing in the Commonwealth. Labor and Workforce Development.
Status:
Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

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Bill H.2177

Section 1 - Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, in consultation with the Division of Marine Fisheries, is hereby authorized and directed to analyze the economic disruption and harm to the financial stability of those engaged in commercial fishing in the Commonwealth that results from the inability to earn income as a result of state and federal regulatory actions including but not limited to area closures, gear restrictions, and time limitations, and to develop a plan to mitigate such harm through mechanisms such as modifications to the state's unemployment insurance system to take into account the particular circumstances resulting from such regulatory actions.

Section 2 - In carrying out the provisions of section 1 the Secretary shall take into account the economic hardship occurring as a result of seasonal closures in the commercial lobster fishery for the purpose of preventing harm to North Atlantic Right Whales, in addition to other seasonal closures presently in place or which may occur in the future.

Section 3 - The Secretary shall file any plan developed pursuant to this act, together with any legislative recommendations to carry it out, with the clerks of the House and Senate not later than April 1, 2026.

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