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Campaign Tip: Making Your Committee Legal
"Making sure your ballot measure committee is legal may seem complicated, but it often boils down to answering three key questions: who, what, and when. Who do you contact? It may be the town clerk, county election office, or secretary of state, but someone will walk you through the steps to register. What information do you need? Find out exactly what information you need to keep track of from the very beginning. When do you register? Learn what triggers that legal registration -- whether a date or a dollar amount.
There's no excuse for being not legal -- or not getting engaged in a conservation funding ballot measure. Have fun!"
-- Peggy Chiu, General Counsel, The Conservation Campaign
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A Super Tuesday for Conservation Measures
The first 2012 results for conservation ballot measures came in on Super  Tuesday, and offer a promising outlook: All four measures on the ballot were approved. Three more conservation funding measures, including renewal of the open space levy in Erie, Colorado, are up for a vote in early April. Check our website for the results!
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 Call for action on New York environment fund
The We Love New York campaign is calling on advocates to ask Governor Cuomo and legislative leaders to maintain proposed funding of $134 million for the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) during final budget negotiations, and to support a new plan unveiled by legislators to grow the EPF in the future by dedicating unclaimed bottle deposits to the EPF. These funds would be added to the existing funding source, the real estate transfer tax. Land conservation advocates in New York are also opposing the Senate's proposal to cut $2 million for land acquisition under EPF. A recent study by The Trust for Public Land found that with every $1 invested in land and water protection under EPF $7 is returned to the state's economy. For phone numbers and talking points, click here. |
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As deadline nears, Massachusetts advocates push to pass "An Act to Sustain Community Preservation"
 A bill to strengthen the Massachusetts Community Preservation Act, HB 765, has broad legislative support and has made significant progress so far, but still has a number of hurdles to clear before landing on the governor's desk. Advocates led by the Community Preservation Coalition have been meeting weekly with legislators to move the bill through before the session ends on July 31. The CPA allows municipalities to create their own funds for open space conservation, outdoor recreation, historic preservation, and affordable housing. These local funds are generated by a small property tax surcharge accepted by local voters, and are augmented by annual state distributions, but the match rate has declined from 100 to 26 percent in recent years. HB 765 raises the minimum annual guaranteed state match to 75 percent and makes other changes to broaden participation.
Meanwhile, more communities are looking at adopting the CPA. Measures are on the ballot in April in Canton and Freetown, and other communities are considering putting CPA up for a vote in November. Some 40 percent of the communities in the state, a total of 148, have already adopted the CPA.
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Community support of preservation fund key to upgrade of town's bond rating
Our Massachusetts partner, the Community Preservation Coalition,
reports that Northampton's recent decision to maintain its Community Preservation Act property tax surcharge -- by a vote of nearly 70 percent -- was a major factor in an upgrade of the town's financial rating by Moody's. Bumping the rating up several notches cuts the interest the town pays on borrowing. It will provide immediate savings on a new $19 million bond for a CPA land purchase and police station. Read more...
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