Advocates campaigned to protect pollinators in Massachusetts. Photo: EcoPhotography
With the federal government slashing good environmental policies right and left, we’re doubling down on defending the environment here at home. This Massachusetts legislative session, our advocates campaigned to protect pollinators, fund projects to protect us from the impacts of climate change, support clean, affordable energy, and more. We’re spotlighting four of the more than 30 bills we advocated, testified, and organized for.
Protecting Energy Efficiency & Affordability Wins
From the start of the session, affordability was a hot topic at the state house. Governor Healey filed her energy affordability bill last summer, launching a legislative roller coaster. Last fall, a committee released a new version that destabilized the state’s cost-saving energy efficiency program, Mass Save, and proposed to roll back the state’s climate targets that CLF worked hard to secure years ago.
Through immense and coordinated advocacy, we succeeded in removing most of the worst provisions – except one that did end up passing the House: a $1 billion cut to Mass Save. On the Senate side, we supported a number of affordability and clean energy policies, like phasing out the Gas System Enhancement Program, a financial mechanism that benefits the gas industry and shifts costs onto ratepayers. We’re closely monitoring the forthcoming final version of the bill and continuing to advocate for even stronger policies.
Investing in a Resilient Future
Every five years (…or so) the governor files an environmental bond bill to fund the state’s environmental projects and to create a slew of environmental policy. The process kicked off last summer with the governor’s rollout of the Mass Ready Act, which contained a number of CLF priorities: Informing residents about flood risks, accounting for climate change in the state building code, and funding biodiversity protections.
This bill remained a top priority for CLF throughout the session, and we secured wins including $15 million for thermal energy networks (clean, local geothermal!) in the Senate. The final version is still being hashed out in conference committee, where CLF continues to advocate for priorities like improving air quality.
Introduced Pollinator Protection
This legislative session, CLF filed and led the campaign for the Pollinator Protection Act, which would ban the sale and use of pesticide-coated seeds for certain crops. We focused this session on educating lawmakers about the issue, building a coalition, and learning from our neighbors in Vermont and New York who have already passed similar legislation.
While the bill didn’t pass this session, we made good progress for the first go-round and introduced many legislators to the problem. We plan to refile in January and build on this session’s success.
Nature for All
The Nature for All ballot measure proposes a creative avenue to expand and protect green spaces across the state – repurposing an existing tax on sporting goods, like tents and fishing gear, to fund new projects without increasing our tax burden by a penny. The proposal could raise up to $100 million every year. That money would protect forests and rivers, create new parks and trails, and much more. CLF has spent years as part of a coalition promoting this proposal, which we first put forward as legislation.
The work isn’t over, because the work is never done. Legislative advocacy means continuing to campaign even when the legislative session goes into overtime, trying again and again when our bills don’t pass the first time, and using every avenue available to make change. CLF will keep going until Massachusetts’ residents and environment have the laws we deserve.
