On Wednesday April 15, 2026, the State Senate will vote on the “Mass Ready Act” environmental bond bill. Right now we have an opportunity to add provisions to improve the Ch. 61 Right of First Refusal process, and achieve much-needed expansion of the Conservation Land Tax Credit.
Please email or call your State Senator before April 15th to urge them to support Amendment 30 and Amendment 52.
- Amendment #30 (sponsored by Senator Bruce Tarr) matches language from his long-pending bill to expand the annual cap on the Conservation Land Tax Credit from $2 million to $5 million, to address a waitlist of over two years that limits the effectiveness of this powerful incentive for conservation.
- Amendment #52 (sponsored by Senator Jo Commerford) adds a common-sense requirement for municipalities to hold a public hearing before waiving their Right of First Refusal to acquire land enrolled in Ch. 61, 61A or 61B that faces conversion from forestry, farming or recreation use.
Find your Senator's contact information here. All it takes is a quick call or email to their office!
Sample language for a call or email (feel free to personalize with your own reasons for supporting these proposals):
Dear Senator ________:
I'm contacting you to ask you to please support Amendment #30 to S.3050 (the 'Mass Ready Act'), filed by Senator Bruce Tarr. This amendment would increase annual cap on the Conservation Land Tax Credit (CLTC) program from $2 million to $5 million over three years to eliminate the backlog in qualified applications for this successful program, and strengthen land trusts' ability to encourage private landowners to conserve land for farming, forestry, wildlife, and clean water. The CLTC program allows taxpayers to apply for a state income tax credit for qualified donations of land that has state-certified conservation value to a public agency or land trust. Donors can claim a tax credit equal to 50% of the fair market value of the donation, up to a maximum credit of $75,000. The program operates on a first-come-first-served basis, and there is a waitlist of over two years for landowners hoping to conserve land under this program, which has a chilling effect on landowner participation -- particularly for elderly landowners who are making time-sensitive decisions about their legacies. If expanded, the CLTC will achieve its full potential to serve as a cost-effective, high-leverage tool to help meet the Commonwealth’s conservation goals.
Please also support Amendment #52, filed by Senator Jo Comerford. This amendment would require municipalities to hold a public hearing before waiving their Right of First Refusal to acquire land enrolled in Ch. 61, 61A or 61B that is facing conversion from forestry, farming or recreation use. A weakness of current law is that municipalities are only required to hold a public hearing if they intend to exercise their right of first refusal to acquire properties facing conversion from forestry, farming or recreation use, or assign that right to a land trust or the State. Too often, key municipal boards such as conservation commissions, agricultural commissions, planning boards, community preservation committees, open space committees, are not even aware that the town has a 120 -day window to exercise a right of first refusal to conserve a property that may have significant value to the community. Even more commonly, the public and key community partners such as land trusts are not informed, and thus have no opportunity to offer support -- including financial support -- for conserving the property. Once open space is developed it's lost forever. When communities have the rare opportunity to acquire critical properties, they should invite broad input from municipal stakeholders and the public before they waive that opportunity.
Your Name and Org/Group
[Give your home address or org address, whichever is in their district]
Thank you for taking Action!