We at Sustainable Middleborough believe the place a group like us can have the most impact is on state and local policy. And those are the policies that usually have the most direct impact on us.
Since 2019 we have gotten to know our four state legislators—and their aides—and they know us. Our group has become a well-known part of Mass Power Forward, a coalition of 200 grassroots group like ours that have successfully advocated for several state climate bills that have put us on road map to be carbon free by 2050.
On Wednesday, July 1, 2026, the state Senate energy bill S.3143 passed 32-8, with some good amendments, especially regarding biomass, data centers and utility profits. Fighting to keep biomass, or wood-burning power plants, which are especially harmful for children and adults with asthma, from counting as clean energy for municipal utilities like ours has been priority issue for us since 2019.
Sustainable Middleborough members wrote and called their senators before the vote, along with hundreds of other folks in towns across the state, resulting in a strong bill. Next the Senate bill will be sent along with the state House energy bill that passed in February to a conference committee to create a compromise bill that goes to the governor’s desk.
Watch for action alerts about PFAS next: In this two-year cycle we have also been advocating for bills about PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as forever chemicals) and other toxic chemicals:
Massachusetts is the only New England state and in the minority of states nationwide with no laws banning products with PFAS. Our town has committed $100 million to clean up our water supply. That’s not enough. The state has got to pass a bill to turn off the tap to keep it from coming into our communities.
Now is the time to tell your state legislators what you think! All the issues/bills we have been talking to our state legislators about over the past 1.5 years must be voted on by July 31, or they will die in session.
Find who your state senator and representative are here. For Middleborough/Lakeville:
Sen. Kelly Dooner: (617) 722-1551, kelly.dooner@masenate.gov (Middleborough, Taunton, Berkley, Dighton, Raynham, Rehoboth, Seekonk, Carver, Marion, Wareham).
Sen. Michael Rodrigues: (617) 722-1114, Michael.Rodrigues@masenate.gov (Lakeville, Fall River, Freetown, Somerset, Swansea, Westport, Rochester)
Rep. Norman Orrall: (617) 722-2090, norman.orrall@mahouse.gov
Rep. John Gaskey: (617) 722-2060, john.gaskey@mahouse.gov
Rep. Kathleen LaNatra: (617) 722-2370, kathleen.lanatra@mahouse.gov
A call is most effective. You will likely get a voice mail, or a staffer taking a tally. Say you are a constituent and give your address. Email is next best.
In addition, we have been following and sending you alerts about various energy, environmental, and climate bills. The House has voted on an environmental bill, and the Senate is expected to release its Energy Omnibus Bill shortly. Then the two bills will go to a conference committee for reconciliation.
We will be watching for:
· MassSave energy efficiency funding: we don’t want this cut by $1B in one year, 2027
· Putting ratepayers over energy company profits
· Expanding clean energy while protecting forests
· Stopping gas pipeline expansion
· Stopping utilities from lobbying and marketing with ratepayer funds
· Protecting residents and ratepayers from environmental impacts and costs of data centers
· Making polluters pay for climate damages (H1014/S588)
Two other important bills for us at Sustainable Middleborough:
· S.786/H.3937 An Act creating a climate bank in Massachusetts
· H.3549/S.2288 An Act to remove woody biomass from the greenhouse gas emissions standard for municipal lighting plants
Sign up for our easy-to-use action alerts at the most critical moments in our state’s legislative cycle. We use this list sparingly for events and actions that affect us here in Middleborough.
Tell your state legislators what you think—often!
