Upgrade Your Website Traffic with These Tricks

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Your company website is the first impression nearly all of your customers have of your business. If it’s not optimized for search engines, though, potential customers may never see you. Search engines have artificial-intelligence “bots” that scour the internet for websites that match a user’s search query, and the more attractive your website is (Search Engine Optimized, or SEO), the closer to the top of the rankings it will be and the more traffic you’ll receive.

If you’re struggling with visitors to your small business website, there are a few tricks you can employ to increase unique site visitors.

Checklist For SEO

On-page SEO doesn’t just mean a great website. It’s also a website that’s constructed properly and easily found. Here’s a handy checklist:

  • Use a good server to host your site
  • Make sure you have the correct domain name for your site and enable encryption
  • Ensure that you’ve enabled HTTPS and all your links are HTTPS encrypted
  • Make sure there’s only one version of your site
  • Set up authenticated emails so your customers can contact you
  • Fix or remove broken links, and remove irrelevant content
  • Enable data compression and caching
  • Link your website and share it on social media
  • Use the Google Search Console webmaster tool to register your site

Focused Content Strategy

Quality content adds value to the user experience and enhances your SEO. Your ideal customer isn’t just searching your website arbitrarily – they have a need and are looking for specific ways to have it met. When you offer how-to video guides for your products, well-written blogs about trends in your industry, or even detailed e-books, you’re creating a website that’s rich in useful information.

Not only will this strong content strategy increase your visibility, but you’ll also position yourself and your business as a trusted authority in your field. When your customers trust you and depend on your insight and information, they’ll become repeat customers.

Use the Right Keywords

The right terms in your content attract the attention of search engine bots and help boost your rankings. Large companies can afford to dismiss more niche keywords and long-tail strings of keywords and phrases, but smaller businesses can’t.

Focus your content on more specific keywords and ones that relate more specifically to your business and brick-and-mortar address. Location-specific keywords are important, too, so be sure to use your city and state, plus nearby towns, in your content.

Acquire Both Active and Passive Links

Good content won’t just earn you new site visitors. You’ll also acquire backlinks, where other sites link your content to their site. These links add value to your SEO and improve your position as a trusted authority.

Not all links are good ones. Types of links that improve the value of your website include:

  • Links pointing to your website naturally, offering helpful information to the user
  • Links from websites related to your industry
  • Links to specific content on your site that other website owners find useful

Stay Up-To-Date With SEO Changes

The algorithms that major search engines use change from time to time, and an SEO strategy that worked a few years ago may not be effective now. Google programs its bots to provide results that match important keywords and relevant, fresh content. Keep your site updated, and look for changes announced by the major search engines.

A great website is perhaps the single best marketing tool for your small-to-medium business. Making sure that it’s visible to new and returning users through smart and effective SEO can help your business grow.

Baker Taps GOP Rep. Harrington For Court Post

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Article Source: SHNS

Author: Sam Doran

Departure Would Drop Republican Ranks to 28 In 160-Seat House

The Republican ranks in the Massachusetts House may soon grow even lighter as Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday nominated a Groton GOP lawmaker for a court post.

Baker nominated Rep. Sheila Harrington, the ranking Republican member of the Judiciary Committee, to serve as clerk magistrate of the Gardner District Court.

Harrington’s nomination needs confirmation by the Governor’s Council, which approves the vast majority of court appointments.

Councilor Eileen Duff on Wednesday scheduled a public hearing on Harrington’s nomination for Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 10 a.m.

An attorney, Harrington was first elected to the House in 2010 in a district that runs along the New Hampshire border, including Ashby, Townsend, Pepperell, Dunstable, Groton, and part of Ayer. She served on the six-member conference committee that crafted the compromise version of a sweeping criminal justice reform bill in 2017-2018.

She narrowly won her most recent reelection bid in 2020, keeping her First Middlesex House seat with 51.5 percent of the vote against Democratic challenger Deborah Busser, also of Groton.

Harrington broke with the GOP caucus last year as the only Republican to vote against restoring an eight-year term limit for House speakers, and again as the sole Republican to vote in favor of the House’s vaccine mandate for lawmakers and staff working in-person at the State House.

The House Republican caucus has already dropped by six members in the last four years. The roster has stood at 29 members, or around 18 percent of the House, since Rep. Brad Hill resigned last September for a post on the state Gaming Commission.

A 1985 New England School of Law graduate, Harrington, 61, has operated her own law office in Groton and Harvard since 2000, according to her resume, focusing on family law, personal injury, and general litigation, and real estate conveyancing.

She was previously a partner in firms Alter & Harrington and Casey & Harrington, and was an associate in the Fitchburg law offices of George Watts and the Harvard firm of Robert Casey Jr. She was also a liability claims supervisor in the bodily injury claims unit at The Travelers Companies.

The top clerk position in Gardner opened up last spring, according to the governor’s nomination letter, when Clerk Magistrate Whitney Brown departed to accept a District Court judgeship. Unlike judgeships, which come with a mandatory retirement age of 70, clerk magistrates receive a lifetime appointment.

Surprising Advice About Your Content Marketing

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You’ve probably heard that content is king multiple times already, and you’re almost getting tired of hearing it. But with consumer demand for custom content continually increasing, you must get your content in order if you want to reap the right benefit. Statistics from SEMrush show that more than 80% of companies have a content marketing strategy. Moreover, most of your site visitors only end up there after looking at some specific details they need. Therefore, you have to get your content marketing right to boost your traffic and increase conversions.

Unfortunately, even with content marketing being a critical aspect in any enterprise, research shows that only 32% of marketers consider themselves effective at it. We have come up with four critical things in content marketing that will help you improve your strategy. Keep reading for more insights.

You Need a Strategy for Content Marketing to Work

Content marketing isn’t just about writing and doing more writing and waiting for the desired results. You’ll have to take your time and think about what your content strategy should be before you write your first post. Also, you have to know your target audience, the message that will resonate with them, and the added value of your products or services. If you don’t know who you want to attract to your site and what they expect from you, there are fewer chances of turning your traffic into conversions.

Regular Blogging Can Increase Your Traffic Up to Five Times

About 89% of marketers used blog posts as part of their content marketing strategy in 2020 to build more brand awareness. However, if you think that having a blog and updating it from time to time will deliver success in your content marketing strategy, think again. You have to be consistent in blogging to increase traffic to your website. Your audience love to go through interesting blogs and active ones too. Post to your blog at least 16 times a month while still maintaining the highest quality in each piece for better results. Besides, this is a clever way of showing your audience that your company is active since you’ll always have something to show and tell your clients.

Which Social Media Platform is Best for Your Content?

We can all agree that technology and the internet keep evolving at a very high rate. Also, today’s audience, especially the young generation, keeps switching from one platform to another. You will find that millennials love Instagram, salespeople like LinkedIn, and we know that most of our Chamber members are active users of Facebook and/or Twitter. Therefore, you need to do in-depth research to understand your target audience to have an effective content marketing strategy. When you have the right information about your target audience, you will know the social media platform to focus on when creating content.

Contrary to what social media experts might tell you, there is a single platform that is best for your content: your blog. Google will crawl and index your content more frequently if you have a blog and use it to post your most timely content. After posting your content to your blog, post to your social sites as outposts that engage your audience and lead to better relationships.

Content Marketing is a Daily Task

Content marketing isn’t a one-time thing or something you can do once a week or a month. This is especially true when you are sharing your content on social media. You will need to constantly supervise your content, even past the usual working hours and during the weekends. This is because you don’t want a negative comment attracting many eyes, especially those who haven’t used your products or services. Also, keeping in mind that your site is accessible from any part of the globe, you don’t know when someone will read your post.

Marketing experts say content marketing is a core factor of any good marketing strategy. By taking into account the above details, you will see significant improvements in your content marketing plan. Don’t just embrace it because every marketer does it but do it right to get the right outcomes.

North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce selected for National Workforce Training Program

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North Central Massachusetts One of Seven Regions Selected to Increase Access to High-Quality Credentials for Adults of Color

The North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce is one of seven organizations selected by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) to participate in the ACCE’s Equitable Credential Attainment Cohort program, an 18-month program to help strengthen chamber of commerce partnerships with community colleges and community organizations to increase the number of adult learners of color who earn an industry-relevant credential or degree. The ACCE Foundation (ACCEF) and American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) identified a virtual cohort of teams from seven cities or regions across the U.S., with each team comprised of a chamber, a community college partner and an organization that directly represents minority communities.

The North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce will team up with Mount Wachusett Community College and the Spanish American Center. Together, the team will identify and break down the barriers for adult learners of color to significantly increase the number of those completing high-quality, relevant short-term credentials and degrees in the region.

As one of six other regions across the U.S. selected for the program, the North Central Massachusetts team will attend monthly, virtual meetings to learn from national subject matter experts, obtain customized technical assistance, and engage in peer-to-peer learning activities to create a strategy for longer-term collaboration to build momentum after the grant period ends.

“This is a great opportunity for our region to contribute to the national dialogue related to upskilling and the resources that are being reallocated to fund short-term credentials,” said Roy M. Nascimento, President and CEO, North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce. “By teaming up with Mount Wachusett Community College and the Spanish American Center, we will identify how best to support our region’s adult learners of color by utilizing the knowledge and best practices proven in other areas across the country to ensure success of the program to help us make an impact for those who live in North Central Massachusetts.”

“Mount Wachusett Community College has a strong and long-standing partnership with the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce as well as the Spanish American Center,” said Jim Vander Hooven, President, Mount Wachusett Community College.  “We are fortunate to have such an engaged and forward-thinking Chamber in our region. We look forward to contributing to the success of the Equitable Credential Attainment cohort program and to ensuring the workforce and economic health of our region,” added Vander Hooven.

“The Spanish America Center is continuously assessing the needs of our community and adjusting the services we provide in order to best meet these needs, one of which is supporting the career aspirations for those we serve,” said Neddy Latimer, Executive Director, Spanish American Center. “By partnering with the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce and Mount Wachusett Community College, we will be able to enhance our commitment of advancing the community by ensuring that all those who seek an industry-relevant credential or degree will have the opportunity to do so.”

To support the development of these partnerships, and to increase the number of workers with in-demand credentials and degrees, Lumina Foundation has provided a grant to jumpstart progress.

“We are grateful for Lumina Foundation’s continued support for the catalytic leadership chambers of commerce provide in the communities they serve,” said ACCE President & CEO Sheree Anne Kelly. “Strong cross-sector partnerships are crucial to addressing workforce challenges, building resilient local economies and creating opportunities for everyone to thrive.”

The other communities participating in the program include Aurora, Illinois; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Cleveland, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa; Fargo, North Dakota; and Tallahassee, Florida.

Report: Price Pressures Ripple Through Economy

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Author: Colin A. Young

Source: State House News Service

White House: Inflation Too High, But Moving In Right Direction

For businesses and consumers across New England, almost everything is more expensive right now and that dynamic has wide-reaching ripple effects that turn up in reports the Federal Reserve compiles from banking and business contacts.

“Retailers raised their prices somewhat in recent months in response to rising input costs and robust demand, although one experienced some consumer pushback after its latest price move,” the Fed wrote in the latest Beige Book, which summarizes recent business activity in New England and around the country.

For the companies that manufacture goods, there have been “intense input pricing pressures, with increases as high as 30 percent over the year,” especially for materials like foam, steel, aluminum, wood, cornstarch, adhesives and cardboard, the Fed reported. Some New England manufacturers have significantly raised the prices of their final goods to compensate, but the Fed said at least one of its sources “said it was trying not to raise prices.”

Down the line, retailers selling those goods are facing freight and shipping costs that have “stabilized at very high levels” and contributed further to moderately higher prices for consumers, but reports from retail contacts were “mostly positive” in the last month, the Fed said.

“A clothing retailer enjoyed a robust seasonal surge in sales above its already-strong performance in the first 3 quarters of the year, as recent sales exceeded comparable 2020 levels by low double-digit percentages,” the Beige Book’s New England report said. “A furniture seller saw revenue above pre-pandemic levels, but its sales volume dropped in recent months relative to the record-setting levels posted in the summer of 2021.”

That prices have been rising comes as no surprise to consumers. The pocketbook pressure was quantified Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reported that the U.S. Consumer Price Index increased 7 percent over the last year — the steepest climb in prices since 1982.

White House officials said Wednesday that inflation is “still too high, but moving in the right direction,” citing a month-to-month deceleration.

“I would note that we saw, in prices from November to December, a decline in the rate of growth of the prices for food at home, which is a technical way of saying food that people buy in the grocery store. And we saw a drop in the price of energy, both at the gas pump but also natural gas and winter heating costs,” National Economic Council Director Brian Deese said, according to a White House transcript. “And many of you focused on the annual 7 percent rate. If we are trying to look at where we are headed, the month-to-month changes are more instructive.”

On Thursday, Council of Economic Advisers Chair Cecilia Rouse highlighted that a separate measure, the Producer Price Index showed “a slowdown in producer price increases in December, relative to the month before, and the lowest monthly increase … since November 2020.”

A tight labor market has contributed to the stress on businesses and consumers, though an economics and policy researcher told Massachusetts officials Wednesday that the jobs picture here has “improved significantly over the last year and a half to two years” but remains about 172,400 jobs short of pre-pandemic highs.

“We’re still below peak on our 2020 job numbers, but we’re approaching that and hopefully we would see full recovery at least later this year or early in 2023,” Mark Melnik, the UMass Donahue Institute’s director of economic and public policy research, said during an economic overview hosted by MassEcon.

The Fed largely backed up Melnik in the Beige Book, saying that a few of the firms it contacted “described moderate-to-aggressive hiring plans” for 2022, though at least one said it intended to shed workers this year.

Despite concerns that they would lead to a mass exodus from the workforce, the Fed said it has seen no evidence that vaccine mandates led to more people quitting their jobs in New England.

“Three contacts from diverse sectors said that it had recently become easier to hire workers, while others reported that hiring remained difficult but had not deteriorated. Elevated turnover remained a problem for several firms, but one noted that vaccine mandates had not resulted in increased quits. Wages posted strong gains on average, with year-over-year raises ranging from only slight to a robust 10 percent.”

How Entrepreneurs Use Networking

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An essential skill for any entrepreneur the ability to create meaningful connections via networking, also called network development. Creating connections with customers both old and new is important but creating a network of other entrepreneurs and business owners provides value customers can’t provide. Typically this comes in the form of insights and ideas from various industry experts looking to exchange tips and advice.

In it’s simplest form, networking is defined as making social connections with a business objective. If your goal is to receive more value than you give in the process, your efforts will have only short term rewards. With that in mind, go about your network development with long-term goals of giving more than you receive.

At this juncture, you may be wondering how you can go about network development. Every year, businesses across the world come together in different forums. Some of the participants of these events is a group of highly-skilled entrepreneurs with a common idea. They aim to generate, share, and develop ideas as well as meet potential investors and industry experts. The entrepreneurs want to add the right people around them and form meaningful relationships.

Finding Potential Networking Groups

For most people, networking is talking to friends and family members as part of their social network. Networking as a business has a more focused approach on finding like minded individuals even if the company they represent is in a different industry. Creating a network with as many points of view as possible is ideal in helping find solutions to future problems. If an entrepreneur has never looked into creating a network, we’ve put together some tactics to help them approach networking and how to leverage it.

Social Media and Entrepreneur Events

Network development doesn’t always start in-person, but it sure can kick off your efforts with some big wins. Find events that will attract your peers in your area. Call us at the Chamber for suggestions.

For networking in the digital realm, social media has become a powerful tool for entrepreneurs to make connections. Depending on a brand’s identity and target demographic, different platforms will produce better results than others.

Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are great at connecting business owners together. If you’re looking for something a bit more professional and targeted than a Facebook group, the reigning king to beat for networking as an entrepreneur is LinkedIn, a social media platform created specifically for businesses to interact. Direct communication between entrepreneurs is as easy as searching for others in your industry to get started.

How To Use a Network of Entrepreneurs

The first point we want to point out isn’t about how to bolster business using a network but instead how to maintain motivation. Networking builds relationships that often turn into friendships which is important to help balance the grind needed to be successful and avoid burnout.

These friends are also the ones that may present the most opportunity. An opportunity can come in the form of new sales avenues, investment options, joint ventures and customer or client leads. Depending on the industry, qualified referrals may also come down the funnel which turns into easy conversions later on. Having access to a network of entrepreneurs and their clients comes with increased visibility, especially when communication between business owners happens publicly online or in-person.

When a network is established and leaned into, entrepreneurs can surround themselves with positive influences and even find mentors eager to share their knowledge with fresh minds. The more information gathered, the more confidence an owner has in executing business plans and decisions. We’re excited to see new entrepreneurs attending networking events within our community and how they’ll use them to expand their business.

Baker-Polito Administration Secures Contract for 26 Million Rapid Antigen Tests

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Today the Baker-Polito Administration announced an order was placed with iHealth to supply the state with 26 million rapid antigen tests over the next 3 months. The tests will be prioritized to support K-12 schools and childcare settings. The agreement allows for shipments of tests to arrive on a rolling basis in the Commonwealth, but the Administration warns that the timing and shipment amounts will vary depending on international shipping and production variables.

The Baker-Polito Administration also released a public health advisory this week to advise all residents on when to seek tests for COVID-19. The advisory advises all residents to seek COVID-19 tests when exhibiting COVID symptoms, or five days following a known close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID pursuant to MA DPH quarantine and isolation protocols, updated as of December 29 in accordance with the new CDC guidance.

The new isolation protocols do not require a COVID-19 test to exit isolation after having COVID. This general rule also applies to childcare and K-12.  Additional information on testing protocols for specific situations in childcare can be found here and for K-12 can be found here.

The new quarantine protocols recommend, but do not require, all exposed individuals get a test five days after exposure.  Exposed individuals do not need to quarantine in the following circumstances:

  • If fully vaccinated and not yet eligible to receive a booster OR
  • If fully vaccinated and have received their booster OR
  • If they had COVID and it is less than 90 days since they were diagnosed.  For more details visit here.

DPH advises that a positive COVID-19 rapid antigen does not need to be confirmed with a PCR test.

DPH recommends individuals that have COVID symptoms and test negative with a rapid antigen test should isolate and either repeat an antigen test or get a PCR test in 24-48 hours if they continue to exhibit symptoms. Additionally, DPH does not advise employers, or schools and childcare, to require a test as a condition of returning to work or school.

View the public health advisory here.

Vaccination and getting a booster remain the best possible protection against COVID. There are almost 1,000 locations in the Commonwealth for residents to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or booster. Visit VaxFinder.mass.gov to book an appointment.

Massachusetts National Guard

Governor Baker also today activated 500 additional members of the Massachusetts National Guard to support the state’s health care system. This order expands the National Guard activation of 500 members announced on December 21 to support non-clinical functions in the Commonwealth’s hospitals. Prioritized uses for the newly activated 500 members will be to provide additional non-clinical staffing at community hospitals and high-volume emergency departments, public hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and dialysis centers. These guard personnel will be deployed beginning the week of January 17.

Baker-Polito Administration Launches Tool for Residents to Access COVID-19 Digital Vaccine Card

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“My Vax Records” Provides New Option to Access Vaccine History and QR Code to Verify COVID-19 Vaccination

The Baker-Polito Administration today announced a tool that gives residents a new way to access their COVID-19 digital vaccine card and vaccination history. The new tool, called My Vax Records, allows people who received their vaccination in Massachusetts to access their own vaccination history and generate a COVID-19 digital vaccine card, which would contain similar vaccination information to a paper CDC card. The COVID-19 digital vaccine cards produced by the system utilize the SMART Health Card platform and generate a QR code that can be used to verify vaccination.  The Administration is not requiring residents to show proof of vaccination to enter any venue, but this tool will help residents who would like to access and produce a digital copy of their record.

Access the new tool at MyVaxRecords.Mass.Gov.

How It Works: The new tool is easy to use: a person enters their name, date of birth, and mobile phone number or email associated with their vaccine record. After creating a 4-digit PIN, the user receives a link to their vaccine record that will open upon re-entry of the PIN.

The electronic record shows the same information as a paper CDC vaccine card: name, date of birth, date of vaccinations, and vaccine manufacturer. It also includes a QR code that makes these same details readable by a QR scanner, including smartphone apps. Once the SMART Health Card is received, users are able to save the QR code to their phone, such as the Apple Wallet, screenshot the information and save it to their phone’s photos, or print out a copy for a paper record. The system follows national standards for security and privacy.

This system provides an optional way that residents can access their vaccination information and a COVID-19 digital vaccine card. This will provide residents with another tool to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, should it be requested by businesses, local governments, or other entities.

The system leverages the Massachusetts Immunization Information System (MIIS), the official database used by health care providers across the state to record vaccination information. The system relies on hundreds of providers inputting demographic and health information. Some users may not be able to immediately find their record, or may find an incomplete record. Residents whose record cannot be found or is incomplete can either contact their health care provider or contact the MIIS team to update their records. Learn more about the tool and view frequently-asked-questions at www.mass.gov/myvaxrecord.

Massachusetts has worked with VCI,™ a voluntary coalition of public and private organizations which developed the open-source SMART Health Card Framework in use by other states. The VCI coalition is dedicated to improving privacy and security of patient information, making medical records portable and reducing healthcare fraud.

My Vax Records is just one way residents can obtain their COVID vaccination record. Pharmacies that administered the COVID vaccine and many health care providers also are making SMART Health Cards available, or are providing additional options. Learn more.

Scholarships Available through the North Central Massachusetts Chamber Foundation

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The North Central Massachusetts Chamber Foundation is pleased to announce that applications for its 2022 Scholarship program are now being accepted.  Each year, the Chamber Foundation distributes approximately 25 scholarships to local high-achieving high school students in North Central Massachusetts.  Since the establishment of its scholarship program, the North Central Massachusetts Chamber Foundation has awarded over a million dollars in scholarships.

Students interested in applying for a 2022 scholarship through the North Central Massachusetts Chamber Foundation should contact their high school guidance department to submit an application.  Deadline for applications is Tuesday, March 1, 2022.  A limited number of scholarship applicants are submitted by each school in the Chamber’s service area each year and then reviewed by a committee of Chamber members.

Many of these awards are made possible through contributions from members of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce.  Scholarships endowed through the Chamber Foundation are often named in honor of prominent members of the North Central Massachusetts business community whose philanthropy and commitment to the community have helped shape North Central Massachusetts.

The Chamber’s Foundation is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization focused on assisting in the betterment of the region through charitable activities.  Funds raised by the Foundation are utilized primarily for education/workforce development initiatives and charitable activities in North Central Massachusetts, including scholarships to eligible applicants pursuing education and grants to support economic and community development projects.

For more information on the North Central Massachusetts Chamber Foundation’s scholarship program or a list of the named scholarships, please visit northcentralmass.com or call 978.353.7600 ext. 222.

State Borrows from California to Speed Transition to Electric Trucks

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Fifty-Three Percent Truck Emissions Cut Projected by 2050

As it aims for Massachusetts to phase out sales of traditional gas-powered medium- and heavy-duty vehicles over the next three decades, the Baker administration is adopting greenhouse gas emissions standards and regulations from California meant to accelerate the switch to electric vehicles.

The Department of Environmental Protection last week filed emergency regulations and amendments to immediately adopt the Golden State’s Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) policy, which requires an increasing percentage of trucks sold between model year 2025 and model year 2035 to be zero-emissions vehicles. DEP’s amended regulations also incorporate California’s revisions to greenhouse gas standards for model year 2025 and a “Heavy-Duty Omnibus Regulation,” to establish lower greenhouse gas and nitrogen oxides emissions standards for conventional trucks and heavy-duty vehicles.

The administration said the adoption of California’s regulations, which is required in certain circumstances under Massachusetts law, will help reduce pollution that harms the environment, promote the adoption of electric trucks and “lead to reduced fuel consumption and fuel costs and maintenance due to more fuel-efficient engines and vehicles and next-generation zero-emission trucks.”

“Massachusetts continues to take aggressive action to reduce emissions from the transportation sector, and addressing pollution from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and advancing the market for clean trucks is an essential part of this effort,” Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides said. “Reducing emissions from trucks will help support public health by improving air quality, reducing the risk from exposure to toxic diesel pollution, and reducing emissions that contribute to climate change.”

Emissions from transportation totaled an estimated 30.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents in 2018, more than any other single sector and equal to roughly 42 percent of all emissions that year, DEP said. Baker administration energy officials have said that medium- and heavy-duty vehicles account for about 14 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts. The transportation sector is one of a handful for which the Baker administration must establish legally binding 2025 and 2030 emissions sublimits by July 1.

DEP said in a summary of the changes that the adoption of the California regulations is projected by 2050 to lead to a 51 percent reduction in regional medium- and heavy-duty vehicle nitrogen oxides emissions, a 23 percent drop in particulate matter emissions and a 53 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared with today’s levels.

The Massachusetts Clean Air Act requires that the Bay State “shall adopt motor vehicle emissions standards based on the California’s [sic] duly promulgated motor vehicle emissions standards” unless DEP determines, after a public hearing and based on “substantial” evidence that emissions standards and a compliance program similar to California’s “will not achieve, in the aggregate, greater motor vehicle pollution reductions than the federal standards and compliance program.”

DEP said that its analysis of the California regulations concluded that they “are clearly more stringent and provide, in the aggregate, greater emission reductions than the current federal program, and therefore must be adopted by MassDEP.” The regulations were filed Dec. 30 on an emergency basis, the agency said, because they must be in place two years before the first affected model year begins. Model year 2025 starts Jan. 1, 2024.

Members of the public will have a chance to weigh in on the changes during a Feb. 1 virtual public hearing and can submit written comments via email to ngoc.hoang@mass.gov until 5 p.m. on Feb. 11, DEP said.

DEP acknowledged that the amendments “will increase the upfront cost of new [medium- and heavy-duty] vehicles” but said the owners of those vehicles will realize savings over time from having switched to a zero-emissions vehicle. In all, the changes are projected to lead to costs of $1.054 billion by 2050, the agency said.

The amended regulations are also expected to lead to health care cost savings “in the range of $363 million to $818 million from 2025 through 2050, with the majority of benefits due to avoided premature deaths, avoided hospitalizations for cardiovascular illness and avoided emergency room (ER) visits,” the administration said.

“In addition to reducing criteria pollutant emissions and GHG, the regulations will lead to reduced fuel consumption and fuel costs due to more fuel-efficient engines and vehicles, and next generation zero emission trucks, which will positively affect consumers, most businesses and fleet owners,” DEP said.

Zero-emission vehicles are a major part of the Baker administration’s strategy to meet reduced greenhouse gas emissions goals. The 2050 decarbonization plan the administration released in late 2020 said that reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent from 1990 levels by 2030 — the administration’s goal before a climate law set the required 2030 reduction at 50 percent — would “require that about 1 million of the 5.5 million [passenger vehicles] projected to be registered in the Commonwealth in 2030 be” zero-emission vehicles.

In coordination with more than a dozen other states, Massachusetts has already set a goal that at least 30 percent of all trucks sold by 2030 and 100 percent of trucks sold by 2050 be zero-emission vehicles.

Colin A. Young/SHNS