Massachusetts Policies
Massachusetts Food and Farmland Protection Act
The Massachusetts Food and Farmland Protection Act is an effort to pull together in one bill many measures that address the issue of agriculture and farmland preservation within Massachusetts. Within this proposed bill is a provision that establishes a preference for locally grown food in state procurement. The bill’s “buy local” provision would only apply if the locally purchased goods are no more than ten percent more expensive than out-of state supplies.
Forty legislative sponsors, including the Senate chair of the Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee, filed the Massachusetts Food and Farmland Protection Act in the spring of 2001. On December 4, 2002, the farm bill was re-filed by Senator Brewer and Representatives Kulik and Rodrigues, as well as a coalition of urban, rural, and suburban legislators and has been assigned House Bill #4516. There is still reason to be optimistic about the bill's chances of success this session.
Massachusetts Preferential Purchasing Law 2006
The following was passed by the Mass. Legislature in July 2006, as part of a larger “economic stimulus” bill.
SECTION 4. Chapter 7 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 23A the following section: Section 23B.
(a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, and to the extent permitted by federal law, a state agency or authority when purchasing products of agriculture as defined in section 1A of chapter 128, including but not limited to, fruits, vegetables, eggs, dairy products, meats, crops, horticultural products or products processed into value added products as part of a Massachusetts farm operation, shall prefer products grown in the commonwealth or products produced using products grown in the commonwealth as well as fish, seafood, and other aquatic products.
(b) To effectuate the preference for those products of agriculture grown or produced using locally grown products, the state purchasing agent responsible for procuring the products on behalf of a state agency or authority shall: (1) in advertising for bids, contracts or otherwise procuring products of agriculture, make reasonable efforts to facilitate the purchase of such products of agriculture grown or produced using products grown in the commonwealth; and (2) purchase the products of agriculture grown or produced using products grown in the commonwealth, unless the price of the goods exceeds, by more than 10 per cent, the price of products of agriculture grown or produced using products grown outside of the commonwealth.
SECTION 33. Said section 4 of said chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following subsection:
(d) A procurement officer may award a contract valued at less than $25,000 for the procurement of products of agriculture as defined in section 1A of chapter 128 including, but not limited to, fruits, vegetables, eggs, dairy products, meats, crops, horticultural products and products processed into value added products as part of a Massachusetts farm operation, that are grown or produced using products grown in the commonwealth as well as fish, seafood and other aquatic products, without seeking quotations as required under subsection (a), and the officer shall follow generally accepted business practices.
SECTION 34.Said chapter 30B is hereby further amended by adding the following section:
Section 20. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary and to the extent permitted by federal law, a governmental body may, by a majority vote, establish a preference for products of agriculture as defined in section 1A of chapter 128 including, but not limited to, fruits, vegetables, eggs, dairy products, meats, crops, horticultural products and products processed into value added products as part of a Massachusetts farm operation as well as fish, seafood, and other aquatic products.