BOSTON, MA - Clean Water Action launched its 2023 legislative campaign this week, announcing a list of priority bills, the Healthy Futures for All package. Included in the package are 8 bills to protect Massachusetts residents from dangerous toxic substances like lead, PFAS chemicals, and fine particulate air pollution.
The 8 bills all bring urgency to addressing persistent inequities in access to safe water and clean air in the Commonwealth. The Healthy Futures package includes:
- Three bills to protect children, families, drinking water, and farms from toxic PFAS, including a comprehensive ban on PFAS in consumer products and firefighting foam.
- A bill to improve indoor and outdoor air quality for Massachusetts families.
- Legislation to create a Zero Carbon Renovation Fund to help low and moderate income households make the clean energy and energy efficiency upgrades that will lower their electric bill, improve indoor air quality, and fight the climate crisis.
- Critical legislation empowering environmental justice communities to reject certain polluting facilities in neighborhoods already overburdened by pollution.
- Legislation to continue getting the lead out of drinking water, with a focus on schools.
- Legislation banning the construction of polluting “chemical recycling” facilities.
“I’m proud that my bill, An Act relative to chemical recycling, is part of Clean Water Action’s Healthy Futures priority legislation list. I will always stand up for the health of my constituents, and Massachusetts does not want, or need, polluting plastic waste facilities,” said State Representative Jessica Giannino.
“All of these bills are critical because Massachusetts families should not have to wonder whether or not the products they bring into their home, the water coming out of their taps, and the air they breathe on their walk to school are safe. Every child and family deserves a healthy future,” declared Elizabeth Saunders, Massachusetts co-Director.
“Access to clean air and water should be a human right, but too often, Massachusetts has fallen short in delivering these basic necessities to every community. All of the bills in our Healthy Futures package are designed to protect all communities from further harm, regardless of zip code, and to ensure that the benefits of the transition to clean energy are equitably distributed,” added Maureo Fernández y Mora, Massachusetts co-Director.
Following this initial campaign launch, Clean Water Action will be working with legislative allies, coalition partners, and its grassroots membership to build support for all of the bills included in the Healthy Futures package throughout this session.
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Since its founding during the campaign to pass the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, Clean Water Action has worked to win strong health and environmental protections by bringing issue expertise, solution-oriented thinking, and people power to the table.