LAW, ADVOCACY & POLICY

CRWA Legislative News

CRWA works closely with other environmental groups on legislation that will protect the environment and natural resources in Massachusetts and to oppose bills that would weaken them. We meet with statehouse legislators and testify on bills pending before legislative committees that will impact the Charles River Watershed and water resources throughout the state. We also lobby for increased environmental agency budgets and this year, for the Environmental Bond Bill which would provide millions of dollars for vital state environmental programs over the next five years.  Kate Bowditch, Senior Project Manager, is CRWA’s registered legislative lobbyist. 

In 2007, CRWA joined other leading environmental organizations to develop the Mass Green Agenda, which is a shared set of legislative priorities.  Our goal is to combine our resources to provide a strong and effective voice to preserve our waterways and ocean resources, increase park funding, and to protect our open spaces.  Click here to read the Mass Green Agenda’s 2007 Priorities.  

CRWA worked to draft two important bills that are pending in this legislative session: House Bill 833, An Act to Protect Rivers and Streams, which we worked on with The Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited and the Environmental League of Massachusetts, and Senate Bill 1200, An Act to Assist Public Water Suppliers and to Safeguard Adequate Water Supplies.  H. 833, now before the House Ways and Means Committee authorizes the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife to develop streamflow criteria for our rivers that are protective of natural aquatic life.  Currently, Massachusetts has no such criteria to set restoration goals and to guide decision-making.  S. 1200, Section 3 clarifies the authority of municipalities and other public water suppliers to establish water banking programs to mitigate the impacts of water withdrawals on groundwater, streamflows and water levels in lakes and ponds.    

H. 833, An Act to Protect Rivers and Streams

• Read our July 2007 Action Alert

• Fact sheet on the streamflow legislation (PDF)

• Testimony - coming soon!

• PDF version of the bill - coming soon!

S. 1200, An Act to Assist Public Water Suppliers and to Safeguard Adequate Water Supplies

• Read the text of the bill on the Massachusetts state web site. 

• More information coming soon!

H. 4561, Massachusetts Environmental Bond Bill

• Find out more on the Coalition for the Environmental Bond website
• More information coming soon!

H.799, Massachusetts Conservation Incentives Act  
With development consuming land across the Commonwealth at a rate of more than 40 acres per day, in early March the House Revenue Committee approved a critical new conservation tool designed to encourage the voluntary donation of land for natural resource protection. The Act provides a modest state income tax credit to taxpayers that voluntarily gift certified land to a municipality, the state or a nonprofit conservation organization. For more information, visit the Nature Conservancy website.

• Factsheet on Conservation Tax Incentives (PDF)
• Boston Globe editorial about the Act – PDF

Public Lands Preservation Act
More information coming soon!

H.4527, Massachusetts Ocean Act
Passed September 2007 in the Senate, and February 13, 2008 in the House. The passage of this Act is a landmark achievement in a four year campaign to pass the nation’s first state Ocean Act. When a final bill is produced and signed by the Governor, Massachusetts will lead the nation in developing a comprehensive plan for ocean management and protection in state waters. For more information, visit the Mass Ocean Campaign website.

Updated May 2008