An Act relative to agricultural disaster relief

This bill creates a new Massachusetts Agricultural Disaster Relief Fund to support farmers facing losses from events like natural disasters or other force majeure incidents. The fund will be financed through public and private donations, federal reimbursements, state appropriations, and interest earnings, with the state treasurer managing the money and the state auditor reviewing its records annually. The commissioner of agricultural resources is authorized to use the money to help affected farmers, provided the fund maintains a positive balance at the end of each fiscal year. Unlike other state funds, any remaining money in this fund will not be returned to the general budget but will carry over to the next year for continued use.