S 2654

SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2654
  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  _______________
  In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
  (2025-2026)
  _______________
  SENATE, October 17, 2025.
   The committee on Environment and Natural Resources to whom was referred the petition
(accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 548) of Joanne M. Comerford, Angelo J. Puppolo, Jr., Marcus
S. Vaughn, James B. Eldridge and other members of the General Court for legislation to expand
access to trails for people of all abilities, report the accompanying bill (Senate, No. 2654).
  For the committee,
  Rebecca L. Rausch
  FILED ON: 10/17/2025
  SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2654
  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  _______________
  In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
  (2025-2026)
  _______________
An Act expanding access to trails for people of all abilities..
  Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1SECTION 1. Chapter 21 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
2 section 2G the following section:-
3Section 2H. (a) There shall be a trail access advisory council to serve as a public resource
4 for outdoor trail accessibility. The council shall consist of the secretary of the executive office of
5 energy and environmental affairs or a designee, who shall serve as chair; the commissioner of the
6 department; and not more than 11 additional members appointed by the chair, in consultation
7 with the commissioner, who represent related stakeholder groups or organizations or possess
8 experience or expertise relevant to the council’s scope of work stated herein. In making
9 appointments, the chair shall undertake reasonable measures to ensure geographic, racial and
10 ethnic diversity. Not less than one-third of the council’s membership shall be individuals who
11 self-identify as having a disability.
12(b) Members of the council shall be appointed for terms of 3 years or until a successor is
13 appointed. Members shall be eligible for reappointment. In the event of a vacancy, the secretary
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14 of the executive office of energy and environmental affairs shall, within 60 days of the
15 occurrence of a vacancy, appoint a new member to fulfill the remainder of the unexpired term.
16 The council may request administrative support from the department.
17(c) Council members may be eligible for compensation at a rate fixed by the council, as
18 approved by the chief financial officer of the executive office of energy and environmental
19 affairs, to ensure appropriate funds are available to cover the costs. Council members shall be
20 eligible for compensation only to the extent otherwise permitted by chapter and upon providing
21 the necessary documentation required to process any such payment. Any request for
22 compensation shall be made by the council member to the executive office of energy and
23 environmental affairs within 30 days of being incurred. Requests made after this time may be
24 ineligible for payment.
25(d) The council shall: (i) serve as a resource for municipalities and members of the public
26 on matters related to universally accessible trail design and construction; (ii) assess and evaluate
27 the status of trail accessibility throughout the commonwealth, including any changes in trail
28 accessibility; (iii) hold public hearings and informational events as requested or appropriate; (iv)
29 make policy recommendations to the legislature on trail accessibility, if any; and (v) annually,
30 not later than February 1, file a report of its activities during the preceding calendar year with the
31 joint committee on environment and natural resources and the clerks of the senate and house of
32 representatives; provided, that the report shall include an accounting of accessible trail status
33 throughout the commonwealth; and provided further, that the commissioner shall publish the
34 report on the department’s website.
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35(e) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate
36 fund, to be administered by the secretary of the executive office of energy and environmental
37 affairs, which shall be known as the Massachusetts Trail Access Fund. The fund shall consist of
38 revenues from public and private sources including, but not limited to, appropriations, gifts,
39 grants, donations, reimbursements from the federal government and grants-in-aid or other
40 receipts to further the purposes of the fund in accordance with this section.
41SECTION 2. Members of the trail access advisory council established in section 2H of
42 chapter 21 of the General Laws, as inserted by this act, shall be appointed not later than 3 months
43 after the effective date of this act.
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