§ 35GGG — Community Behavioral Health Promotion and Prevention Trust Fund

[Text of section added by 2018, 208, Sec. 7. See also, Section 35GGG added by 2018, 209, Sec. 3, below.]

Section 35GGG. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a Community Behavioral Health Promotion and Prevention Trust Fund. The purpose of the fund shall be to promote positive mental, emotional and behavioral health among children and young adults and to prevent substance use disorders among children and young adults.

(b) The fund shall be administered, without further appropriation, by the secretary of health and human services who, in consultation with the community behavioral health promotion and prevention commission established in section 219 of chapter 6: (i) shall expend monies in the fund to issue grants to support community organizations to establish or support evidence-based and evidence-informed programs for children and young adults pursuant to subsection (c); and (ii) may expend monies in the fund to support critical public health needs affecting children and young adults. The community organizations may include, but not be limited to, public and private agencies, community coalitions and other entities that offer resources or support to children or young adults. A community organization or coalition may include more than one community.

(c) The secretary of health and human services shall establish application procedures and evidence-based and evidence-informed criteria upon which to base approval or disapproval of a proposal for a grant under this section. The criteria may include, but are not limited to, the following:

(i) programs that educate children and young adults on addiction, substance misuse and other risky behaviors and that identify and support children and young adults at risk for alcohol or substance misuse; (ii) programs that use evidence-based or evidence-informed prevention programs, early detection protocols and policies, risk assessment tools or counseling in a community setting; (iii) support for underserved populations of children and young adults including, but not limited to, children with multiple adverse childhood experiences; (iv) programs that offer culturally and linguistically competent services that meet the needs of the population to be served; and (v) programs that employ the science of prevention, including, but not limited to, consideration of population health, risk and protective factors, social determinants of health, health equity, adverse childhood experiences and trauma-informed care.

(d) The secretary may use the fund for necessary and reasonable administrative and personnel costs related to administering the grants, including providing funds to the department of public health to provide technical assistance, training and guidance to support applicants in completing grant applications and to grantees to develop and evaluate programs. Expenditures made pursuant to this subsection may not exceed, in 1 fiscal year, 5 per cent of the total amount deposited into the fund during that fiscal year. The fund shall consist of revenue from appropriations or other money authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund and revenue from private sources including, but not limited to, grants, gifts and donations received by the commonwealth that are specifically designated to be credited to the fund. Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to further appropriation and any money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years.

(e) Annually, not later than March 1, the secretary shall file a report on its activities with the joint committee on health care financing and the joint committee on mental health, substance use and recovery.

[Text of section added by 2018, 209, Sec. 3. See also, Section 35GGG added by 2018, 208, Sec. 7, above.]

Section 35GGG. (a) There shall be a Global Warming Solutions Trust Fund into which shall be deposited: (i) any revenues or other financing sources directed to the fund by appropriation; (ii) bond revenues or other monies authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (iii) any income derived from the investment of amounts credited to the fund or repayment of loans from the fund; (iv) funds from public or private sources including, but not limited to, gifts, federal or private grants, donations, rebates and settlements received by the commonwealth that are specifically designated to be credited to the fund; and (v) all other amounts credited or transferred into the fund from any other source. The fund shall be administered by the secretary of energy and environmental affairs.

(b) Amounts credited to the fund may be used, without further appropriation, to provide grants or loans to governmental, quasi-governmental or nonprofit entities for costs incurred in relation to implementation of chapter 298 of the acts of 2008, the clean energy and climate plan published by the executive office of energy and environmental affairs and other state and local strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Such expenditures may include, but shall not be limited to: (i) payment of costs associated with planning, monitoring and managing carbon reduction measures; (ii) development and deployment of mitigation strategies and best practices to reduce carbon emissions; (iii) planning, monitoring and managing strategies to adapt to and prepare for the impacts of climate change; (iv) priority adaptation projects with potential co-benefits for climate change mitigation, environmental protection, public health or other factors, as determined by the secretary of energy and environmental affairs; (v) costs incurred by the bureau of environmental health in the department of public health associated with monitoring, studying and reporting on environmental pollutants in the air, water or soil to prevent or minimize environmental harms to public health; and (vi) pilot projects for new technologies or strategies to support carbon emission reductions. The amounts expended from the fund during any fiscal year for the costs of employees shall not exceed 5 per cent of total funds expended from the fund in that fiscal year. Monies deposited into the fund that are unexpended at the end of the fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in the subsequent fiscal year.

(c) Annually, not later than December 1, the secretary of energy and environmental affairs shall report on the activities of the fund to the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate and to the house and senate committees on ways and means. The report shall include an accounting of expenditures made from the fund with a description of the authorized purpose of each expenditure, an accounting of amounts credited to the fund and any unexpended balance remaining in the fund.