Last updated June 18, 2026
State Policy Priorities
Under the guidance of our Policy Committee, MLTC focusses its administrative and legislative advocacy on increasing state investment in land conservation and the work of land trusts, and maximizing the integrity of lands of significant conservation value, including those that have been previously protected.
Legislative Priorities
The 2025-2026 legislative session started on January 2, 2025 and will conclude at the end of 2026. MLTC’s top priorities for the session are:
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The Nature for All Bill (H.901/S.597, Rep Blais, Rep. Montaño & Sen. Feeney) This bill would dedicate a portion of the existing state sales tax for conservation, restoration and improvement of lands and waters to benefit nature and people. The Joint Committee on the Environment held a hearing on the bill on July 1, 2025. MLTC submitted written testimony and also signed on to The Nature for Massachusetts Coalition’s joint written testimony as well. Both House and Senate versions of the bill have attracted a very large number of co-sponsors. On August 11, the Senate bill (redrafted as S.2571 ) was reported out favorably and sent to the Joint Committee on Rules, which gave it an ‘ought not to pass’ recommendation before referring it to the Senate Ways and Means Committee. On March 30, 2026, the House sent its version of the bill to study, ending its chances this session. Last summer while legislative action on the bill was pending, many members of the Coalition mounted a parallel effort to place the matter before voters via initiative petition. In December 2025, supporters submitted well over the required number of certified signatures for the Secretary of State to file language of the ballot measure with the Legislature to give them a chance to pass it into law. Because the legislature appears unlikely to do so, supporters will undertake a final round of signature collection from May 7 to June 14 to place the proposed law on the November 2026 ballot. To add your organization's name to the ballot coalition, fill out this form. See this page to learn about ways to volunteer to help during the campaign. While not legal advice, this article offers a helpful primer on how your organization can advocate for issues like this while protecting your organization's non-profit status.
- Environmental Bond Bill (S.2542)
The state’s annual capital budget for environmental programs is largely driven by the bonding authority set in this bill. The Senate passed its version of the bill in April, and the House passed its version on June 17. A conference committee will now be formed to resolve differences between House and Senate versions before sending it to the Governor for signature later this year. The bills authorize up to $3.6 billion in potential future state spending on environmental projects, including land acquisition, restoration, and water supply protection. A number of policy provisions were attached and will become law if they emerge in the consensus version of the bill. MLTC is part of a large Environmental Bond Coalition that has been advocating for this bill for the past two years. Policy priorities the Coalition hopes to see in the final conference committee bill include key elements of a long-pending drought management bill, provisions streamlining the permitting of wetlands restoration projects, disclosure requirements for properties at high risk of flooding, and key elements of air quality task force legislation. Many Coalition members will urge the conference committee to strike a provision of the Senate bill that would apply a preference in awarding state grants to municipalities with local zoning, wastewater and wetland rules that do not exceed state regulations. Under the guise of streamlining permitting for housing, this provision would disadvantage many communities that have thoughtfully adopted local regulations that exceed state standards for protecting sensitive wetlands and water resources. On June 10 Commonwealth Beacon published a thoughtful Op-Ed by Dot McGlincy on why this proposal is misguided.
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An Act increasing the conservation land tax credit (S.2083/H.3147, Sen Tarr and Rep. Jones)
This bill would expand the annual cap on the state's conservation land tax credit program, resolving a long-standing waitlist for landowners willing to permanently conserve their environmentally significant properties. For more information, see this fact sheet and WBUR coverage from Martha Bebinger on the importance of expanding the tax credit. The Joint Committee on Revenue held a hearing on the bill on July 15, 2025. Mark Wamsley testified on behalf of Kestrel Land Trust and MLTC’s Policy Committee, alongside Zach Sheldon from TNC and landowner Edith Wislocki, who spoke about her experience donating a CR to Rehoboth Land Trust. See MLTC's written testimony here. In spring 2026, the House sent its version of the bill to study, effectively ending its chances as a standalone bill this session. The Senate has extended the reporting deadline for its version of the bill to June 25, 2026. Legislative champions led efforts to pass this measure by attaching it to the Senate version of the Environmental Bond Bill and the House version of the FY27 State Operating Budget. Neither of those efforts were successful. - FY2027 State Operating Budget
A six-member conference committee is currently working to resolve differences between House and Senate versions of the FY27 Operating Budget in order to send it to the Governor for signature later this month. Both House and Senate versions propose significant reductions from FY26 levels in key environmental programs including a cut of at least 7.1% for DCR State Parks, and a 3.8% cut for DEP Administration. As a member of the Green Budget Coalition, MLTC is working with partners to advocate that the Conference Committee stick with the highest possible funding levels for key programs, including the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the Department of Environmental Protection, DCR State Parks, the Department of Fish and Game and The Office of Environmental Justice.
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FY2027 State Capital Budget
While the operating budget covers most staff and annual operating expenditures of state government, the capital budget is where most funding for land acquisition is set. Last year the Healey-Driscoll Administration issued a two-year capital investment plan covering both FY26 and FY27, so numbers for the coming year were actually set last year. FY26 and FY27 allocations can be seen here. Toggling to "View by Plan Item" shows significant reductions in some lines, due in large part to a decrease in federal funding support. Funding for EEA Agency Land Protection Programs is budgeted to drop from $23.3 million this year to $11.4 million next year; EEA Community Investment Grant Programs (including LAND, PARC and Drinking Water Protection) are forecast to drop from $28.3 million to $25.75 million; and EEA Land Protection Grant Programs (available to both municipalities and nonprofits) are slated to drop from $13.3 million to $4.25 million. It should be noted that EEA has some discretion to adjust spending across these lines to respond to areas of greatest need.
Other Bills MLTC Supports
MLTC's Priorities for Administrative Advocacy
Conservation Restriction Backlog
As of June 5, EEA’s Division of Conservation Services (DCS) reports that it was tracking a total of 229 current CR applications. Of those, 63 are currently under EEA review, while the rest are awaiting action by applicants. According to DCS staff, the average time for initial EEA review is now 3-4 months, and all CRs that had waited many months or even years for initial review have now been addressed. MLTC is grateful to EEA for this marked improvement. DCS hopes to open its new CR Tracking System (CRTS) to the applicants this summer. This system will enable electronic submission and tracking of CRs, and provide for document uploads, electronic messaging, and live status updates.
Updating the Model Conservation Restriction
At the invitation of DCS, MLTC nominated a group of experienced land trust and legal practitioners to assist EEA with updating the state’s model Conservation Restriction. The group is holding monthly meetings and expects to wrap up its work by the end of 2026.
Open Space Act (“PLPA”) Implementation
MLTC continues to advocate for effective implementation of An Act Preserving Open Space in the Commonwealth (the "Open Space Act", formerly known as PLPA), which took effect in February 2023. Under the law implementing regulations were supposed to be promulgated by August 2024, but they have yet to be issued, despite EEA having wrapped up three rounds of public comment on draft regulations in spring 2025. On March 6, Dot McGlincy from MACC and Robb Johnson from MLTC were joined by Senator Jamie Eldridge in a meeting with Undersecretary Stephanie Cooper and other EEA staff, where we underlined the public interest in timely promulgation of the regulations. Though officials were unable to commit to a precise timeline, they assured us the regulations would be in full force before bill-filing for the next legislative session begins in December 2026. See our second comment letter from March 2025 here. The state’s Open Space Act webpage provides a variety of important resources on the Open Space Act, including a Tracker with information submitted about proposed Article 97 actions, and list of Article 97 change-of-use petitions that passed in the 2023-2024 legislative session.
Regulatory Changes for Energy Facilities Siting
The Commonwealth has established new siting and permitting processes for clean energy infrastructure , significantly changing the way that proposed solar and battery storage projects will be reviewed. From April to September, the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions (MACC) is holding a monthly series of free noontime information sessions on the new rules. Each session will be recorded and posted on MACC's website. See details.
Meanwhile, in fall 2025, updated regulations took effect for the SMART 3.0 program, which governs state incentives available for the development of certain solar energy facilities. The regulations include a new approach to scoring parcels hosting eligible ground-mount projects, using environmental/land use/electric grid criteria and a system for mitigation fees. Learn more.
Fairness in PILOT Payments
The Commonwealth owns over 500 thousand acres of land across the state, and makes Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) payments to municipalities to help offset some of the revenue lost from having those properties off the tax rolls. Municipalities with the most state-owned land are primarily in Western Massachusetts, but under the current funding formula receive lower payments than communities in the east. Last August the Governor issued an Executive Order establishing a Commission on PILOT for State-Owned Land. Commission members were sworn in on April 13, and the first meeting was held May 20. Wendy Ferris (The Trustees) is the appointed representative from “non-governmental organizations focused on public and private land conservation". The Commission is expected to meet monthly for an unspecified period of time and is charged to produce a final report with findings and short- and long-term policy recommendations to address fiscal and equity concerns. The Commission plans to host public listening sessions across Massachusetts this July, and wants to hear directly from municipal leaders, residents, and other interested stakeholders. To help determine preferred locations, times, and formats for listening sessions, please complete this brief survey: Interest Form: Listening Sessions on PILOT program for State Owned Land. If you choose to provide your name and email address, MA DOR Division of Local Services will notify you once listening session locations and dates have been finalized.
Federal Policy
We will also advocate on select high-priority federal policy matters, with guidance from the Land Trust Alliance and other partners. MLTC has posted some updates on our website related to executive orders and evolving federal requirements.