Legislation related to DMF activities or interests will be posted here from time to time. Please call the Department's Commissioner's Office at (617) 626-1500 for further information. For information on bill movement specific to a bill, please call the House Clerk's office at (617) 722-2356.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
In the Year One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine.

HOUSE BILL 1410: AN ACT PROHIBITING LOCAL CONTROL OF SHELL FISHERIES.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Courtassembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: Sections fifty-two, fifty-three, fifty-four, fifty-five and fifty-sixof Chapter one hundred and thirty of the General Laws are hereby repealed.

HOUSE BILL 696: AN ACT TO ENHANCE THE AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY OF THE COMMONWEALTH.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in GeneralCourt assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: SECTION 1. Chapter 130 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1996 Official Edition, is hereby amended in Section 69inserting at the end thereof, the following sentence:- "This section shall not apply to holders of a shellfish propagation permitor aquaculture permit who have planted their agricultural productfrom seed and have subsequently tagged their harvested productwith a single tag corresponding to their permit number as being agricultural products as defined in section one A of chapter onehundred twenty-eight." SECTION 2. Said Chapter 130, as so appearing, is hereby furtheramended in Section 70 by inserting at the end thereof, thefollowing sentence:- "This section shall not apply to holders of ashellfish propagation permit or aquaculture permit who haveplanted their agricultural product from seed and have subsequentlytagged their harvested product with single tag corresponding to their permit number as being agricultural products as defined in section one A of chapter one hundred twenty-eight." SECTION 3. Chapter 131 of the General Laws, as appearing inthe 1996 Official Edition, is hereby amended by insertingfollowing section 56, the following new section:- Section 56A. This chapter shall not apply to holders of ashellfish propagation permit or aquaculture license. SECTION 4. The Commissioner of the Department of Food andAgriculture is hereby directed to promulgate regulations regulating commercial aquaculture in the Commonwealth. SECTION 5. The Commissioner of the Department of Fisheriesand Wildlife is hereby directed to amend regulations by exemptingholders of a shellfish propagation permit or aquaculture license from commercial fishermen permits, so-called