House concurs with governor on DCR operations cut
On Wednesday, April 29, the state House of Representatives finished its deliberations on the FY2027 budget, H.5500, as drafted by the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Amendment 449, submitted by Environment and Natural Resources Chair Christine Barber, did not pass. The amendment sought to reverse the proposed 8.3 percent cut to the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) Parks and Recreation Operations Account (2810-0100) and level fund it at this fiscal year’s appropriation of $113.8 million. The budget now heads to the Senate $9.4 million short of that figure, at $104.4 million.
While we are disappointed the House did not pass the amendment, we still have an opportunity to convince the Senate to increase this appropriation, and we will be in touch soon to talk about that effort in more detail.
Meanwhile, we want to thank the 47 organizations that signed our letter to Ways and Means seeking a 3.5 percent increase in this account, The DCR Stewardship Council, which submitted its own letter, the nearly 400 people who emailed their state representatives seeking support for Amendment 449, Chair Barber for filing the amendment, and the 74 state representatives who co-sponsored the amendment. If you get a chance, please thank Chair Barber and the co-sponsors, especially if your representative is on the list.
The budget now moves to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, which will craft its version, prior to the full Senate debate and vote. We will reach out to you shortly with details on our collective efforts to get DCR a budget that allows the agency to continue its recent progress.
Senate passes the Mass Ready Act environmental bond bill
On April 15, the state Senate passed its version of the new Environmental Bond Bill (S.3050). While our focus is on the state Department of Conservation (DCR) and Recreation, Mass Parks for All is part of a statewide bond bill coalition with more than 20 other like-minded organizations. We have been working for more than a year to maximize the impact this bill can have to preserve, protect, and enhance our environment at every level.
While we did not get everything we wanted in the bill, we did get some significant increases. Now that the bill has moved to the House, we will have another opportunity to seek increases in the four line items that will have a critical impact on the DCR’s ability to engage in capital improvement projects over the next five years.
First though, we want to thank the hundreds of you who used our portal to email your state senators in support of our requests for increases. This is a significant showing on behalf of DCR and our parks.
In all, ten senators either filed or co-sponsored amendments to the bill. Please send them an email thanking them for supporting our parks. Sen. Jamie Eldridge filed two amendments while Sen. Mike Rush and Sen. Brendan Crighton each filed an amendment. Senators Liz Miranda, Patricia Jehlen, John Keenan, Lydia Edwards, Nick Collins, Michael Moore, and Vanna Howard co-sponsored amendments.
Here are the details:
Amendment 34: DCR Park Projects, line 2840-7028, filed by Sen. Eldridge, seeking $787 million did not pass. But Senate Ways and Means added $25 million to the Administration's figure of $587 million, so it goes to the House at $612 million. Co-sponsors were senators Miranda, Jehlen, Edwards, Collins, and Moore.
Amendment 35: DCR Land Acquisition, line 2800-1123, filed by Sen. Eldridge, seeking an additional $20 million for protecting open space, remains at $40 million, the sum in the bill as filed. Co-sponsors were senators Miranda, Jehlen, Edwards, and Moore.
Amendment 132: MassTrails Grants, line 2000-7078, filed by Sen. Crighton asking for $100 million, was withdrawn. However, Senate Ways and Means, and ultimately the full Senate, agreed to our request to put this funding in a separate line item to make trails grant authorizations easier to track. The original bill placed MassTrails funding in a catch-all line item with several other priorities. Furthermore, the Senate funded it at $50 million, twice as much as the 2018 bond bill. Co-sponsors were senators Jehlen, Keenan, Edwards, Collins, Moore, and Eldridge.
Amendment 206: DCR Parkways, line 2890-7036, filed by Sen. Rush, did not pass. The amendment sought to bump that line from $177 million to $400 million, the portion of DCR’s $1.0 billion deferred maintenance backlog that is parkways related. However, we are encouraged that the House, also on April 15, passed the Transportation Bond bill (H.5375) authorizing $200 million from the Mass Fair Amendment (millionaire’s tax) for DCR transportation. If that passes in the Senate, the two bills combined will provide $377 million in authorizations for parkways. Co-sponsors were senators Howard, Jehlen, Keenan, Edwards, and Collins.
When the bill comes up for discussion and debate in the House, we will reach out again. Until that time, I ask you again to please reach out to the senators mentioned here to thank them for their support for our parks. The links embedded in their names go directly to their email addresses. Thank you again for helping us get this bill across the finish line.
Focus on the Friends event on May 16
Our first Focus on the Friends event at Wachusett Mountain Ski Area is fast approaching. Please join us to celebrate our partnership with state park friends groups and other stakeholders. Learn about how DCR interacts with friends groups, including the MassTrails Grant process. Get an overview of the FY2027 state budget process and the Mass Ready Act, the new environmental bond bill, both of which are still in progress and subject to improvement. Learn how the DCR Stewardship Council, the agency’s advisory board, supports DCR and our parks.
In addition to providing an opportunity for park friends to meet each other, our goal is to strengthen our already considerable success in creating an army of advocates to support DCR for the long haul so the agency never again goes through the fiscal trauma that led Massachusetts to drop to last in the nation in public tax dollars spent on public open space.
If you can attend this free event, please RSVP to Kat Powers.
It’s not too late to serve your parks
While Earth Month has come and gone, there’s still plenty of time to join a Park Serve Day event during the month of May and into early June. You can put in some volunteer hours during the 20th anniversary year of this worthwhile program. So put on some gloves, pick up a rake, a shovel, or a trash bag and get outside for some fresh air, while giving back to the resources that give so much to us.
Remember, the park you save may be your own.
Doug Pizzi is the Executive Director for Mass Parks for All.