An Act relative to custom-built heavy duty vehicles sold in the Commonwealth

This narrow legislation applies the language of the original Right-to-Repair law, passed in 2013, to the newly adopted Right-to-Repair Telematics law.

The requirements of the original 2013 law applied to heavy-duty vehicles, but the legislature expressly excluded those heavy-duty vehicles that were built to custom specifications – an acknowledgment of the unique and different realities of that aspect of the commercial vehicle manufacturing industry. With regard to the Right-to-Repair amendments that passed in November 2020, while heavy-duty vehicles were included in the law's new telematics requirements, the “built to custom specifications” language was omitted.

The bill adds a provision that mirrors the language of the original law, and inserts the following exception to the telematics requirement: "including heavy duty vehicles that are not heavy duty vehicles built to custom specifications sold in the commonwealth for commercial purposes."

An Act relative to life cycle costs for long term pavement solutions

This legislation requires the Department of Transportation to study the long-term cost-effectiveness of pavement alternatives, specifically concrete for use in transportation projects. The language also requires that MassDOT conduct 4 demonstration projects annually that test different pavement designs, and analyze the results.

These results will be reported by MassDOT, and include comparisons of long-term costs, reduction of noise, friction, and ride quality.

An Act relative to transparency in private utility construction contracts

This legislation would require that, after winning a public bid, a company must disclose the bid and notify other responsible bidders of the terms.

An Act to promote safety, efficiency, and accountability in transportation projects through public inspections

This legislation requires that public employees perform construction inspections on all surface transportation projects receiving state or federal funding. This will save the Commonwealth money as private sector engineers are paid at a much higher rate than public construction inspectors. This bill also provides much-needed checks and balances on private construction projects.

An Act relative to smart meters

This legislation establishes ratepayer rights which include requiring utility companies to provide ratepayers with a choice of the type of utility meters to be installed and operated on their places of residence or business, the ability to retain and operate an “electromechanical analog meter” on an ongoing basis at no cost, and the right to replacement of a wireless meter with a non-transmitting electromechanical meter at no cost.