The LSPA's bill S. 2830, which would require insurance companies to provide first- and third-party coverage for home heating oil releases, remains under consideration by the Massachusetts House Committee on Ways and Means. We need your help this coming week.
We are focusing all our attention on urging House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz (D-Boston) and House Speaker Ronald Mariano (D-Quincy) to move this bill to a vote before the legislative session ends on January 3, 2023.
The LSPA continues to work for the passage of our bill to mandate that all homeowners’ policies automatically include coverage for spills and leaks from oil heating tanks. Read our letter in today’s Boston Globe.
The Legislature’s Formal Session ended on July 31, 2022, without passage of the LSPA’s bill, An Act relative to the remediation of home heating oil releases. The LSPA was thrilled that the bill passed the Senate in April 2022 with a unanimous roll-call vote, indicating that Senators wanted to be on-record as supporting our bill. It was then sent to the House Committee on Ways and Means but did not advance in time for closure of the formal session.
This is the furthest our bill has advanced over three sessions and we have not given up on the bill’s passage this session. The informal legislative session ends on January 2, 2023. Once the legislature has made decisions on more complex bills (e.g., economic development bill; FY '22 final supplemental budget), there should be a window for action for us. We don’t expect this to happen until the end of September or early October.
NBC Boston ran this story on September 22, 2021 to again highlight the devastating and costly impacts of residential heating oil spills, especially for those without insurance coverage. The LSPA continues to work with Senator Anne M. Gobi to pass S. 676, our bill that would require insurance companies to provide coverage for the approximately 700,000 homeowners who do not have it. For two sessions, this bill has received a favorable report from the legislature's Joint Committee on Financial Services.
For more information about the LSPA's bill, please read our fact sheet and this additional information which includes TV news coverage.
Now that the Legislature has completed work on the state's FY '21 budget, it will make one last push on passing legislation before the session ends on January 5, 2021.
The LSPA's bill S. 594, which would require insurance companies to provide first- and third-party coverage for home heating oil releases, is still under consideration in the Massachusetts Senate Committee on Ways and Means. We only have four weeks to get this bill a favorable report out of committee and approved by the full Senate before this session ends.
We are asking for one last push by our members who are Massachusetts residents. Please consider writing to your state senator to urge their support of the bill. The more requests from constituents, the more likely our bill will be a priority of the Senate. Check here to find your state senator.
If your state senator is a member the Senate Ways & Means Committee and/or a co-sponsor of the bill,
NOW is the time to get their attention. Attached here is a sample email you can send. All senators' email addresses are on their home page.
If your senator is not a committee member or a co-sponsor, you should still write to urge her/him to encourage the Senate Ways & Means Committee to issue a favorable report on the bill. Here is a sample email you can send. All senators' email addresses are on their home page.
If you have experience with a home heating oil release, especially one in which the homeowner did not have insurance or had a difficult time obtaining coverage, please consider sharing this experience in your letter. Real life examples are most compelling, especially if your client's property is in the district of one of these senators.
For more information about the bill, please read the LSPA's letter and fact sheet, as well as a supporting letter from five state environmental organizations.
Thank you for your support; we will keep LSPA members apprised.
LSPA Legislative Committee Co-Chairs
Spence Smith, LSP, Jacobs
Tim Clinton, LSP, Fuss & O'Neill
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