H954 • 2025

An Act empowering vulnerable municipalities to protect residents and the environment from harmful pesticides

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

Sponsor: Carmine Lawrence Gentile
Last action: 2026-02-05
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 empowering vulnerable municipalities to protect residents and the environment from harmful pesticides

An Act empowering vulnerable municipalities to protect residents and the environment from harmful pesticides By Representative Gentile of Sudbury, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.

What This Bill Does

An Act empowering vulnerable municipalities to protect residents and the environment from harmful pesticides By Representative Gentile of Sudbury, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
954) of Carmine Lawrence Gentile and others relative to the powers of cities and town to regulate, restrict or prohibit the use, application or disposal of certain pesticides.
Environment and Natural Resources.
Status: Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means

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

2026-02-05 House
Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Ways and Means
2025-10-16 Joint
Hearing scheduled for 10/27/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-1
2025-02-27 House
Referred to the committee on Environment and Natural Resources
2025-02-27 Senate
Senate concurred

Official Summary Text

An Act empowering vulnerable municipalities to protect residents and the environment from harmful pesticides
By Representative Gentile of Sudbury, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 954) of Carmine Lawrence Gentile and others relative to the powers of cities and town to regulate, restrict or prohibit the use, application or disposal of certain pesticides. Environment and Natural Resources.
Status:
Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

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Bill H.954

The second paragraph of section 1 of chapter 132B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the second sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:-

This chapter shall determine the regulation of labeling, distribution, sale, storage, transportation, use and application, and disposal of pesticides in the commonwealth; provided, however, that this chapter shall establish the minimum standards and restrictions relative to the use and application and disposal of pesticides. Cities and towns which (a) contain sole source aquifer as designated by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency or the commonwealth of Massachusetts or (b) that have a majority of residential drinking water users served by private wells may, by a majority vote of the legislative body and the municipality's board of health, adopt ordinances and by-laws that regulate, restrict or prohibit the outdoor, non-agricultural use and application, and the disposal of all pesticides within the city or town that are more stringent than the standards and restrictions established by this chapter; provided further, that for purposes of this section, “use and application” and “disposal” of pesticides shall not include the transportation of pesticides.

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