CLTC update provided by TNC.
The effort to raise the annual cap on the CLTC continues. There are two parallel tracks, with an urgent opportunity to support the standalone bills:
- There are standalone bills in both the House and Senate to raise the annual cap (H.2522/S.1767). These bill were heard by the Joint Committee on Revenue last Wednesday, July 10. Representatives from the Mass Land Trust Coalition, Essex County Greenbelt, and The Nature Conservancy testified in person. We also put together a joint letter of testimony to the Revenue Committee supporting the bills and asking for a favorable report as soon as possible. Please fill out this form if your organization would like to sign-on to the letter by close of business on Wednesday, July 17.
We also urge you to send a short letter of support from your organization. Your stories are critical to bringing the need for, and results from, this program to life. Your organization’s letter could focus on things like: how you use the CLTC; how the CLTC has enabled you to conserve properties that might not have otherwise been conserved; and how the delay caused by the backlog is affecting your work. You could talk generally or give specific examples. Please email your testimony to: Chair Adam Hinds (adam.hinds@masenate.gov), Chair Mark Cusack (Mark.Cusack@mahouse.gov), and staff Danielle Allard (Danielle.Allard@masenate.gov) and Alicia Scahill (Alicia.Scahill@mahouse.gov).
- A CLTC amendment was adopted during the House budget debate. We are still waiting to see if the Operating Budget Conference Committee will chose to include an increase to the annual cap in their final budget deal.
If you have questions about this process or about submitting written testimony, please contact Emily Myron (The Nature Conservancy) at emily.myron@tnc.org.