This bill addresses the presence and management of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) within the agricultural sector. It grants immunity to farmers from civil liability for PFAS-related damages stemming from standard agricultural practices; establishes the Agricultural PFAS Relief Fund and the Agricultural Fertilizer Purchasing Fund, which helps farmers cope with fertilization costs due to restrictions on PFAS-contained products.

This bill contains a number of provisions concerning Massachusetts' agricultural economy. It directs the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, along with other state agencies, to create and update a resilience plan every five years. It establishes a full-time food system coordinator position, who will lead state food program oversight, enhance interagency collaboration, and present findings and recommendations periodically.

The bill calls for a comprehensive policy to optimize the distribution of local food through state food assistance programs, including partnerships with regional food banks and state departments to monitor and improve local food distribution, enhancing transparency through metrics and recommendations. It also establishes the Food Security Infrastructure Grant Program, to increase access to healthy local foods and support Massachusetts' food supply and distribution networks through capital needs grants. In addition, the bill creates the Next Generation Farmers Fund, offering grants to educational institutions and community organizations, with an emphasis on assisting historically underserved communities. It also amends regulations to include "agritourism" and supports agricultural preservation through enhanced valuation practices for agriculture-related infrastructure and land.

Requires the Council to appoint a full-time Food System Coordinator with access to relevant agency meetings to advise the Council; inventory food-related programs across all agencies; facilitate interagency communication and resource collaboration; develop and track metrics for food system goals; identify duplicative efforts, strengthen complementary programs and projects, identify service gaps, and make recommendations; and inform coordination of outreach to underserved communities.

Requires the Coordinator to submit a report one week before each Council meeting detailing findings, progress updates, and recommendations.

Revises the Food Policy Council to a 20-member body composed of four legislators (including one House and one Senate member appointed by their respective minority leaders); the Commissioners of Agricultural Resources, Public Health, Elementary and Secondary Education, Environmental Protection, and Transitional Assistance; the Secretary of Economic Development; the Director of the Division of Marine Fisheries; an expert in healthy soils practices appointed by the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs; the Director of the University of Massachusetts Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment; and seven Governor appointees representing farming, food distribution and processing, direct-to-consumer marketing, local public health addressing food safety and nutrition, experts in food safety and in food processing and handling, and community-based nutrition and public health efforts.

Authorizes compensation for advisory committee members at a rate set by the Council and approved by the Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Agricultural Resources, contingent on legal eligibility, required documentation, and submission of requests within 30 days.

Establishes a year-round Healthy Incentives Program, operated by the Department of Transitional Assistance in partnership with the Departments of Agricultural Resources and Public Health, under which SNAP purchases of fruits and vegetables-fresh, canned, dried, or frozen-at participating vendors trigger a matching benefit credited to the recipient's EBT card within departmental limits; prioritizes vendor expansion in areas with limited access to fresh, local produce and historically underserved communities, and requires collaboration with local food coalitions and nonprofits for equitable outreach.

Creates the Healthy Incentives Fund, administered by the Commissioner of Transitional Assistance, to receive appropriations, gifts, grants, donations, federal reimbursements, and other receipts, and authorizes applications to federal nutrition incentive programs, including the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program, with proceeds deposited into the Fund.

Requires annual reporting on households served (including size, age, and racial demographics), transactions, vendors (including names), municipal distribution of participants and vendors, vendor applications denied for funding or administrative reasons, plans and metrics to address underserved areas, and recommendations, and directs the Department of Transitional Assistance to promulgate implementing regulations.

Establishes a full-time Food System Coordinator within the council, subject to appropriation, to access relevant agency meetings; advise departments in inventorying food-system programs across agencies; facilitate interagency communication and resource collaboration; develop and track metrics; identify duplicative efforts and strengthen complementary initiatives; identify service gaps and recommend remedies; and submit findings, progress updates, and recommendations one week before each council meeting.

Expands the council from 18 to 20 members by adding the Director of the Division of Marine Fisheries (or designee) and the Director of the University of Massachusetts Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (or designee). Authorizes compensation for advisory committee members at a council-set rate with approval by the Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Agricultural Resources, contingent on required documentation submitted within 30 days and only as permitted by law, with late requests potentially ineligible.

Prohibits land application of biosolids and bars sale or distribution of any fertilizer, soil amendment, mulch, topsoil replacement, or similar product derived from or containing biosolids; requires manufacturers to certify to the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Agricultural Resources that products are biosolids-free, and conditions fertilizer licensing and registration on such certification, effective June 30, 2028.

Requires the Department of Environmental Protection to investigate the economics and operations of sludge management and to develop a comprehensive statewide master plan with goals and benchmarks, technical assistance and a template for local POTW plans, consideration of specialized landfills and toxicity-reduction technologies, and resource estimates; and establishes a grant program to help wastewater treatment facility owners reduce sludge volume and influent toxicity.

Creates the Agricultural PFAS Relief Fund-financed by recoveries tied to biosolids-related contamination, appropriations, grants, federal funds, and interest-to support PFAS testing, farm business adaptations, education, worker health needs, remediation and protective infrastructure, and public testing capacity; and establishes the Agricultural Fertilizer Purchasing Fund to provide noncompetitive assistance to commercial farmers for higher fertilizer costs beginning in fiscal year 2027. Grants farmers immunity from civil liability for PFAS-related harms arising from standard agricultural practices or outside contamination, excluding producers or distributors of PFAS-containing materials (including biosolids), industrial waste actors, incinerator operators, and those who knowingly land-apply biosolids after June 30, 2028; exempts PFAS-affected farmland from conveyance and rollback taxes when removed from classification due to regulatory action; and mandates 100 percent reimbursement, discounted for inflation, of municipally certified additional sludge disposal costs.

Creates three grant programs to bolster the food system: a Food Security Infrastructure Grant Program for capital projects improving access to healthy, local food and strengthening supply and distribution; a Next Generation Farmers Fund, credited with $3 million annually from the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund, for agricultural workforce training with priority for underserved populations, homeless veterans, hands-on and climate-smart training; and a Vacant Lots to Urban Agriculture Fund to convert vacant lots-prioritizing environmental justice populations-through planning, land acquisition or leasing, infrastructure, start-up costs, pilot projects, tax-title transitions to agriculture, and conservation easements, with multilingual outreach and regulations. Increases the allowable price preference for agricultural products grown or produced using locally grown inputs from 10 to 20 percent and requires annual reporting on distribution of local food through state-funded food assistance programs; directs the Office of the Inspector General to publish which governmental bodies adopt the preference and to conduct periodic public information campaigns.

Strengthens farmland preservation and planning by directing a committee to set publicly reviewed goals for enrolling land in Agricultural Preservation Restrictions and to report annually on progress, requiring fair-market valuations to include easements and on-parcel infrastructure, granting the Department of Agriculture a right of first refusal-subordinate to municipalities-on sales or conversions of classified farmland, and mandating a centralized, publicly accessible registry and interactive map of agricultural and horticultural land.

Clarifies and supports agricultural land use by defining agritourism and ensuring zoning exemptions continue when agritourism is a secondary use; requires periodic review of limits on renewable energy generation on farmland to support farm viability; directs the Emergency Management Agency to integrate food production, transportation, storage, and distribution into emergency planning; expands a state council's membership by adding the Director of the Division of Marine Fisheries and the Director of the Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment and permits compensation for its advisory committee; revises the University Extension Board of Public Overseers; and authorizes transfer of cranberry water-use permits for mitigation.

Restructures the Food Policy Council to 20 members, adding minority-party legislative appointees; the Commissioners of Agricultural Resources, Public Health, Elementary and Secondary Education, Environmental Protection, and Transitional Assistance; the Secretary of Economic Development; the Directors of the Division of Marine Fisheries and the University Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment; an expert in healthy soils; and seven gubernatorial appointees representing farming, food distribution/processing/marketing, direct-to-consumer marketing, local health departments on food safety and nutrition, food safety, food processing and handling, and community-based nutrition and public health.

Authorizes compensation for advisory committee members at council-set rates with approval by the Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Agricultural Resources, requires submission of documentation, and sets a 30-day deadline for payment requests, with late requests potentially ineligible.

This bill contains a number of provisions to strengthen Massachusetts' agricultural economy. It directs the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), along with other state agencies, to create and update a resilience plan every five years. It establishes a full-time food system coordinator position, who will lead state food program oversight, enhance interagency collaboration, and present findings and recommendations periodically.

The bill calls for a comprehensive policy to optimize the distribution of local food through state food assistance programs, including partnerships with regional food banks and state departments to monitor and improve local food distribution, enhancing transparency through metrics and recommendations. It establishes the Food Security Infrastructure Grant Program, to increase access to healthy local foods and support Massachusetts' food supply and distribution networks through capital needs grants.

The bill creates the Next Generation Farmers Fund, offering grants to educational institutions and community organizations, with an emphasis on assisting historically underserved communities. It also amends regulations to include "agritourism" and supports agricultural preservation through enhanced valuation practices for agriculture-related infrastructure and land.

This bill addresses the presence and management of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) within the agricultural sector. It grants immunity to farmers from civil liability for PFAS-related damages stemming from standard agricultural practices. The bill also establishes the Agricultural PFAS Relief Fund. This fund will provide financial assistance for testing, remediation, and education initiatives concerning PFAS, as well as for necessary infrastructure modifications. Additionally, an Agricultural Fertilizer Purchasing Fund will help farmers cope with fertilization costs due to restrictions on PFAS-contained products.

The bill prohibits the application of biosolids on land and restricts the sale of fertilizers containing PFAS unless they are certified free from such substances, requiring testing and public disclosure of results. Also, lands withdrawn from agricultural use due to PFAS will be exempt from conveyance and roll-back taxes.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is designated to develop and enforce regulations on biosolid use, while promoting transparency and public safety. Local communities will be reimbursed for any additional costs of sludge disposal. The bill also mandates a detailed study on state sludge management to reduce sludge volume and toxicity. Supported by a grant program for municipalities to enhance waste management practices, this initiative requires a comprehensive sludge management plan to be submitted by the end of 2026, identifying financial and legislative requirements.

Establishes a year-round Healthy Incentives Program that provides a matching benefit-credited to recipients' EBT cards within Department-set limits-when SNAP benefits are redeemed for fruits and vegetables, and requires the Department of Transitional Assistance, in partnership with the Departments of Agricultural Resources and Public Health, to prioritize vendor expansion in areas with limited access to fresh, local produce while collaborating with local food coalitions and nonprofits for equitable outreach.

Creates the Healthy Incentives Fund, administered by the Commissioner of the Department of Transitional Assistance and supported by public and private sources including appropriations, gifts, grants, donations, and federal reimbursements or grants-in-aid; authorizes applications to federal programs, including the USDA's Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program, to bolster matching benefits.

Requires annual reporting on participation metrics, transactions, participating and rejected vendors by municipality, plans and timelines to identify underserved areas and expand activity with siting metrics, and recommendations; and directs the Department to promulgate implementing regulations.

Establishes a Food Security Infrastructure Grant Program, subject to appropriation, to fund capital projects that strengthen food supply and distribution and expand equitable access to healthy, local food; creates a Next Generation Farmers Fund, administered by the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development and credited with $3,000,000 annually from the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund for agricultural workforce training, with priority criteria and annual award limits of at least $3,000,000 for agriculture training and not more than $500,000 for forest-products training; and creates a Vacant Lots to Urban Agriculture Fund to convert vacant properties into farms, community gardens, and related enterprises, prioritizing environmental justice populations and providing multilingual outreach.

Grants the Department of Agricultural Resources a subordinate right of first refusal, with consultation and hearing, to purchase or meet a bona fide offer for land under the farmland taxation program; requires appraisals for agricultural preservation restrictions to include the value of easements and on-parcel infrastructure; and directs the Agricultural Lands Preservation Committee to set and publicly update enrollment goals for agricultural preservation restrictions with annual progress reporting.

Raises the allowable preference for procurement of locally grown or produced agricultural products in state and municipal purchasing from 10 to 20; requires the State Purchasing Agent to report annually on the amount, types, sources, and program-level distribution of local food in state-funded food assistance programs with recommendations to increase it; and directs the Office of the Inspector General to report and conduct periodic public information campaigns on municipal purchasing preferences. Requires the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency to integrate agricultural, seafood, and processed-food production into emergency preparedness planning; mandates a central registry and interactive map of agricultural and horticultural land; clarifies agritourism in zoning and directs regulation; authorizes transfer of cranberry water-withdrawal permits for mitigation; orders periodic review of renewable-energy limits on farmland; restructures the University of Massachusetts Extension Board of Public Overseers; defines "Regenerative agriculture"; and requires a comprehensive study of safety-net benefits for farmers and farm workers, with multiple implementation deadlines.

Prohibits land application of biosolids and bans the sale or distribution of fertilizers, soil amendments, topsoil replacements, mulch, and similar products derived from or containing biosolids, effective June 30, 2028; requires manufacturer certification and conditions fertilizer licensing and registration on biosolids-free attestations.

Requires the Department of Environmental Protection to investigate statewide sludge disposal needs and, after public hearings, develop and maintain a comprehensive master plan with goals, benchmarks, and financing estimates; prioritizes technical assistance and funding for owners of publicly owned treatment works, provides a template local plan, identifies technologies and practices to reduce sludge volume and toxicity, and establishes a grant program to help wastewater facilities research, implement, and overhaul systems.

Grants farmers immunity from suit and civil liability for PFAS-related harms tied to standard agricultural practices or outside contamination, while excluding PFAS material producers and distributors (including biosolids), industrial waste entities, incinerator operators, and those who knowingly land-apply biosolids after June 30, 2028.

Creates an Agricultural PFAS Relief Fund for testing, operational adaptation, health needs, remediation, and public testing capacity, and an Agricultural Fertilizer Purchasing Fund to offset higher fertilizer costs; bars conveyance and rollback taxes when land exits agricultural use due to PFAS-related regulatory action; and reimburses municipalities 100 percent, discounted by inflation, for certified additional sludge disposal costs.

Establishes multiple grant and financing mechanisms to bolster the food system-creating a Food Security Infrastructure Grant Program for capital projects that strengthen supply and distribution and expand equitable access to fresh, local food; creating the Next Generation Farmers Fund for agricultural workforce development with priority for underserved populations, programs serving homeless veterans, and climate-smart training; and establishing the Vacant Lots to Urban Agriculture Fund to plan, acquire or lease land, build infrastructure, and launch pilots that convert vacant lots-especially in socially or economically disadvantaged communities-into urban agriculture. Creates a Massachusetts farm-to-school grant program to build schools' and licensed childcare programs' capacity to purchase ingredients grown, raised, caught and processed in-state, and codifies a Healthy Incentives Program that provides SNAP matching benefits for fruit and vegetable purchases while prioritizing vendor expansion in underserved areas. Requires the Emergency Management Agency to develop and regularly update a coordinated plan to support agricultural, seafood and processed food production to mitigate supply-chain disruptions; mandates an annual statewide report on the volume and sourcing of products of agriculture distributed through state-funded food assistance programs; and directs the Department of Agricultural Resources, in consultation with the Department of Revenue, to maintain a central registry and interactive, parcel-level map of agricultural and horticultural land. Defines agritourism and protects it under local zoning on land primarily used for commercial agriculture subject to agency regulations; updates review criteria for the Agricultural Preservation Restriction program; authorizes transfer of cranberry water-withdrawal registrations and permits for mitigation by other permitted or registered users; requires periodic review of restrictions on renewable energy generation on farmland with recommendations to balance farm viability and climate goals; directs recurring outreach on governmental procurement preferences for agricultural products; and reconfigures the University of Massachusetts Extension board's membership and governance.

Establishes a Food Security Infrastructure Grant Program to fund capital projects that strengthen food supply and distribution and expand equitable access to healthy, local food; creates the Next Generation Farmers Fund for agricultural workforce development and the Vacant Lots to Urban Agriculture Fund to convert vacant lots-prioritizing disadvantaged communities-into urban agriculture; and requires a recurring plan to support agricultural, seafood and processed food production to mitigate supply-chain disruptions. Requires the Office of Business Development to convene a food tourism task force to identify state-operated and state-owned venues, develop a brand, and connect vendors for marketing and sales; mandates an annual report detailing distribution of products of agriculture through state-funded food assistance; launches a farm-to-school grant program to increase school and childcare purchasing of in-state ingredients; and strengthens the Healthy Incentives Program by providing SNAP recipients additional EBT benefits and prioritizing vendor access in underserved areas. Defines and regulates Agritourism and protects it as an allowed use under local zoning on land primarily devoted to commercial agriculture and related activities; and authorizes municipalities to exempt, for up to five years, the increased property value from constructing or reconstructing agricultural structures and buildings, with roll-back taxes if the use later changes. Directs periodic review of limits on renewable energy generation on farmland to improve farm viability while considering renewable energy goals; bars conveyance and roll-back taxes when PFAS-related regulatory actions make agricultural use economically infeasible without owner misconduct; establishes a central registry and interactive map of agricultural and horticultural land; updates Agricultural Preservation Restriction evaluation criteria; and permits certain cranberry water-withdrawal rights from 2003-2005 to be transferred for mitigation.