[ Text of section added by 2023, 7, Sec. 29 effective May 30, 2023. See 2023, 7, Sec. 298.]

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  Section 4S. (a) There shall be within the executive office for administration and finance an infrastructure cost council consisting of at least the following 13 members: the secretary of administration and finance who shall serve as chair; the secretary of economic development; the secretary of energy and environmental affairs; the secretary of housing and livable communities; the secretary of transportation; the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on state administration and regulatory oversight; 1 person to be appointed by the attorney general; and 5 people to be appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall be selected from a list of 3 people provided by the Massachusetts Association of Regional Planning Agencies, 1 of whom shall be a representative from the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, 1 of whom shall be a representative of a telecommunications company doing business in the commonwealth, 1 of whom shall be a representative from the Massachusetts Municipal Association and 1 of whom shall be a representative of a regulated utility operating in a service area within the commonwealth. The governor may also appoint additional members of regional and local economic development groups and members of the business community to serve on the council. Members of the council shall serve for a term of 1 year or until a set of infrastructure cost projections has been approved by the governor under this section.

  The secretary of administration and finance, with the assistance of the infrastructure cost council appointed under this section, shall develop consensus demographic projections for the commonwealth, including distinct projections for the various regions of the commonwealth. These projections shall be used as the basis for developing infrastructure cost projections for the commonwealth, for both publicly-owned and privately-owned infrastructure, for a period identified by the council of not less than 10 years. As used in this section, the term "infrastructure” shall mean surface transportation infrastructure and the infrastructure necessary to deliver water and wastewater services, telecommunications services, gas, oil and electricity.

  The office of performance, accountability and transparency established in section 4A shall provide staff support for the study required by this section. Every regional planning agency formed under chapter 40B shall provide its current set of demographic projections used for regional planning. Any metropolitan planning organization that uses a set of demographic projections that is different from those of its regional planning agency shall also provide its current set of demographic projections. All regulated utilities shall provide necessary information required by the council. The council may take precautions to ensure the confidentiality of any competitively-sensitive information submitted.

  In developing its consensus demographic projections, the council shall compare, contrast and reconcile all of the demographic projections and other information it receives. It shall strive to reconcile differences among those projections so that the consensus demographic projections for the commonwealth are based on a common and consistent set of assumptions.

  Each council shall conduct at least 1 public hearing. The secretary shall file a report with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives and with the chairs of the house and senate committees on bonding, capital expenditures and state assets within 12 months of the appointment of each council. The report shall also be published on the website of the commonwealth.

[ There is no subsection (b).]