House Bill No. 3325, titled the Buy Clean Massachusetts Act, was filed Jan. 17, 2025 by Representative Patricia A. Duffy of Holyoke to require manufacturers and contractors on large public projects to disclose environmental product declarations and related supply-chain information and to establish a publicly accessible database of embodied-carbon data.

The bill would require awarding authorities for covered projects to collect product-level data, including product quantity, current environmental product declarations, any health product declarations, manufacturer name and location, and minority- and women-owned business certifications. Those requirements would phase in by project size and date: for projects larger than 100,000 gross square feet the requirement takes effect July 1, 2027; for all covered projects the requirement takes effect July 1, 2029.

If enacted, the measure aims to make embodied greenhouse-gas emissions from construction materials more transparent and to encourage the use of lower-carbon materials in public construction. It would cover specified product categories, set reporting thresholds for covered projects, create a technical work group to develop reporting standards and policy recommendations, and authorize the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance to maintain a public database of submitted data.

Key provisions

- Covered products: The bill lists structural concrete (including ready-mix, shotcrete and precast), reinforcing steel (rebar and post-tensioning tendons), structural steel (hot-rolled sections, hollow sections, deck and plate) and engineered wood products (including cross-laminated timber, glulam, laminated veneer lumber and structural composite lumber).

- Covered projects: The act applies to (1) construction projects larger than 50,000 gross square feet, (2) renovation projects larger than 50,000 gross square feet whose cost exceeds 50% of assessed value, and (3) transportation infrastructure contracts greater than $3 million that include a concrete pay item with an estimated quantity of at least 200 cubic yards. (Some reporting thresholds phase in by project size and date; see clarifying details.)

- Reporting requirements and timing: For selected firms on covered projects, the bill requires submission of product quantities, environmental product declarations (EPDs), health product declarations if available, manufacturer location, and any Office of Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises certification. Selected firms must submit data for at least 90% of the cost of each covered product used in a project. The bill allows a product- and facility-specific report in place of a supply-chain-specific EPD when the latter is not available.

- Database and transparency: Subject to appropriations, the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance must develop and maintain a publicly accessible database (by July 1, 2029, for submissions) that publishes global warming potential reported in submitted EPDs. The division may use nationally or internationally recognized EPD databases to implement this requirement.

- Technical work group and reports: The bill directs the division to convene a technical work group by Dec. 1, 2026, composed of architects, construction industry representatives, manufacturers (including conventional and lower-carbon suppliers where practicable), representatives from the division and the Department of Transportation, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, operational services, environmental groups, and a minority- and women-owned business representative. The work group must submit a manufacturing plan to the Legislature and governor by Sept. 1, 2027, and a policy report, including statutory-change recommendations, by Sept. 1, 2028. The work group’s charter includes identifying barriers and opportunities to expand lower-carbon material production and recommending reporting and specification changes.

- Implementation guardrails and assistance: The bill allows awarding authorities to exempt a covered product for a project if complying would cause significant delay, significantly increase cost, or leave only a single supplier able to provide the product (subject to written justification to the division). Subject to appropriation, the division may provide financial assistance to small manufacturers to offset the cost of producing EPDs.

- Procurement guidance and pre-bid goals: Awarding authorities are directed to include pre-bid specification instructions by Jan. 1, 2030, setting goals for lower-carbon products in major capital projects over $10 million; the bill references alignment with the Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2050 (Dec. 21, 2022). The Operational Services Division is directed to provide technical assistance to municipalities and counties.

What the bill does not decide

The bill text sets reporting, database, and planning requirements; it does not itself mandate a numerical procurement preference or specific embodied-carbon limits. It does not appropriate funds; several provisions (the database and small-business assistance) are expressly subject to funds appropriated for those purposes. The bill also allows exceptions where reporting or specification requirements would cause significant delay, increased costs, or sole-supplier outcomes.

Next steps

House Bill No. 3325 was filed and presented by Representative Patricia A. Duffy and is listed under State Administration and Regulatory Oversight for consideration. The text in the filing records the bill’s definitions, reporting thresholds, timeline for technical work-group deliverables, and the intent to develop model specifications and reporting standards; it does not record committee action or floor votes.