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:

• Protect Nature in Massachusetts (a.k.a. Nature for MA) (Updated July 23, 2026. Was "Nature for All Bill")
  The Protect Water and Nature Ballot Initiative will be Question 6 on the November 2026 statewide ballot in Massachusetts, to fund up to $100 million per year for land and water conservation using existing state sales taxes on sporting goods. The Nature for MA coalition collected more than 122,000 signatures from voters across the Commonwealth to place the initiative on the ballot. Join the Protect Water and Nature YES Campaign Launch on Tuesday July 28 at 10:00 am (originally Wednesday July 22) on the Esplanade! RSVP.

  Passing this measure remains MLTC’s top policy priority for the remainder of this year, and we encourage you and your constituents to join statewide activities to promote a YES vote this November. Stay updated about the Protect Water & Nature ballot initiative at natureforma.org.

• Environmental Bond Bill / Massachusetts Ready Act (Updated July 23, 2026)
  The Massachusetts legislature is working through the Mass Ready Act before sending it to the Governor for signature later this year. The bill is currently in the Conference Committee. MLTC is part of a coalition that has been advocating for this bill in support of state spending on land acquisition, restoration, and water supply protection. See the coalition letter here.

  The coalition supports funding levels and policy provisions in the Mass Ready Act to advance climate resilience, land and water conservation, environmental justice, and public health across Massachusetts, and asked the Committee to strengthen these provisions so the final bill delivers lasting benefits.

  MLTC also joined with many other organizations urging the Conference Committee to reject Senate provisions that would undermine local authority to protect wetlands and water resources. This could increase flood risks, threaten water quality, and force communities to choose between protecting public health and maintaining access to state funding. The letter asked the Conference Committee to retain the House's removal of these sections that are in the Senate bill, so Massachusetts can advance both housing development and climate resilience while preserving local environmental safeguards.

• 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.

   

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.

Prior Policy Priorities >>