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Beacon Hill Weekly Roundup - 10/9/09
Jack Clarke, Director of Public Policy & Government Relations
Jennifer Ryan, Assistant Director for Legislative Affairs
This Week:
Endangered Species Act Update
This week's hearing on House Bill 4167/Senate Bill 2169, which would gut the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act, was packed with close to a hundred people. Many were brought in by an individual from western Massachusetts who is against the program and wore buttons saying "No One is Above the Law, Not Even the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife". Several legislators testified either in support of the bill as written or asking for administrative and regulatory changes to the program, including the lead sponsors and several of the cosponsors of the bill. Mass Audubon, along with more than ten other environmental organizations, testified against this radical rollback of protections provided by the Massachusetts legislature for threatened plants and animals. Sixty-eight environmental organizations and former state senator Pamela Resor signed a letter in opposition to the bill. Mass Audubon's testimony.
Joint letter signed by 68 organizations. The hearing made the local news in Springfield:
http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/news/massachusetts/wwlp_mass_movetochangeendangeredspecieslaw_200910071236 And the local public radio station:
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wfcr/news/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1563095/WFCR.Local.News/Battle.over.Mass.Habitat.Rules
State Policy News
Bay State to be Model for Energy Efficiency The state Energy Efficiency Advisory Council voted this week to approve an energy plan expected to make Massachusetts the most energy efficient state in the country. An expansion of the 2008 Green Communities Act, the plan marks an agreement between the Patrick Administration and Attorney General Martha Coakley to set electricity savings targets, which will be met through increased efficiency measures. These savings goals will be the focus of a three-year energy plan to be presented to the Department of Public Utilities later this fall. Under the plan, utilities must offer increased incentives for investments in energy-efficient versions of systems like lighting, heating, and air conditioning, and offer more savings through updated energy assessments. View the press release for more information. Endangered Species Review In an effort to increase awareness of the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program's (NHESP) regulatory activity, the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has recently posted an annual report to their website. The report provides a summary of habitat/species protection measures, conservation permits issued, and other regulatory actions taken over the past year. NHESP is responsible for the conservation and protection of hundreds of species that are not hunted, fished, trapped, or commercially harvested in the state. You can view the summary at: http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/regulatory_review/pdf/reg_rev_annual_report.pdf.
Time to Recycle the Bottle Bill?
This week also marked the hearing for the updated "Bottle Bill", which aims to expand Massachusetts' recycling policies. The bill, titled An Act to Improve Recycling Rates in the Commonwealth (H. 3515), is an update to the 25-year-old legislation on which our current recycling system is based, under which plastic soda and soft drink bottles can be redeemed for nickel deposits at recycling centers. Today nearly 70% of the bottles it includes are redeemed for recycling. An average of 2 billion plastic containers per year have been recycled since the program's origin. These are heartening statistics; however, the program is in need of updates. H. 3515 takes into account the vast growth in popularity of bottled water, fruit juice, and sports drinks, which currently cannot be redeemed for bottle deposits. Incorporation of these types of bottles into the redemption system is expected to double the rate at which they are recycled. There is no reason for these additional bottles to be excluded from recycling programs - they have simply been overlooked for too long, and it is time to improve our standards. View Mass Audubon's testimony in support of this bill for more information.
CPA Hearing
Mass Audubon testified in support of An Act to Sustain Community Preservation (S. 90), which strengthens the Community Preservation Act (CPA). Since being signed into law in late 2000, CPA has been adopted by 142 communities, representing 40% of the Commonwealth's cities and towns. Using CPA funds, municipalities have preserved more than 10,000 acres of open space, including important wetland resources such as lakes, rivers, and saltwater ponds. Additionally, thousands of affordable housing units have been created or rehabilitated, and funding has been approved for over 1,300 historic preservation projects. The ability of towns to fund these types of projects, however, is threatened by a steep decline in funding from the statewide CPA Trust Fund. S. 90 will ensure that trust fund distribution never dips below 75 percent of what is raised locally, allowing communities to continue to preserve natural and historic resources, protect open space, and expand recreational and affordable housing opportunities. Thanks to the legislators who testified on the CPA bill's behalf: Senator Cynthia Stone Creem
Senator Kenneth Donnelly
Senator James Eldridge
Representative James Cantwell
Representative Carolyn Dykema
Representative Stephen Kulik
Representative Timothy Madden
Representative Sarah Peake
Representative David Sullivan
Representative Alice Wolf
Calendar
Mass Audubon's Free Workshop Series: Get involved and make a difference! This fall, Mass Audubon's Mass Audubon's Shaping the Future of Your Community Outreach and Assistance Program is holding free workshops in communities throughout the state. Make a difference in your town's future -- join us and learn effective strategies for working with your local officials to guide your community's development, ensuring a high quality of life for years to come. Over the past 40 years, the landscape of Massachusetts has been dramatically transformed. In June 2009, Mass Audubon released Losing Ground: Beyond the Footprint, documenting changes in Massachusetts' land-use and exposing the harsh reality of unplanned development's impacts on natural resources and community character. Shaping the Future of Your Community is Mass Audubon's response to the issues revealed in Losing Ground. Working together, we can maintain the Commonwealth's natural heritage for the benefit of this and future generations. Free, pre-registration strongly encouraged. For schedule information or to register, email shapingthefuture@massaudubon.org or visit http://www.massaudubon.org/shapingthefuture/outreach.php Mass Audubon is proud to be an organizational sponsor of the following upcoming event: Worthy Causes Presents Boston Night to Combat Climate Change
Sunday, November 1, 2009
6:00 p.m. -- 10:00 p.m.
Royal Sonesta
Cambridge, MA Honorary co-chairs: Senator John Kerry & Congressman Ed Markey A benefit for Oxfam American & NRDC. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit
http://www.worthycausesinc.org/ Greening the City: Fostering Inspired and Innovative Leadership for Just and Sustainable Urban Communities A conference sponsored by Lesley University's graduate Division of Environmental Studies and Mass Audubon, November 6-8, 2009. Join more than 150 urban environmental leaders from throughout New England at the main campus of Lesley University in Cambridge, MA to explore key strategies for fostering inspired and innovative urban environmental leadership. "Greening the City" is geared toward environmental practitioners and thinkers from nonprofits, higher education institutions, local community groups, government agencies, and businesses. It will feature prominent environmental thinkers and practitioners from academia and government agencies, as well as from for profit and nonprofit organizations. There will be keynote talks, workshops, and an exhibit area, and other interactive ways to engage with the challenges and solutions arising from our increasingly urban world. Keynotes will include well known environmentalists like Julian Agyeman, environmental social scientist, activist and academic from Tufts University. Other keynotes will be announced shortly. The conference is meant to engage in-depth and meaningful dialogue among participants while addressing the difficulties and opportunities faced in cultivating just and sustainable urban communities. Registration required. A Water Resources Conference: Commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Massachusetts Environmental Trust Hogan Conference Center
Holy Cross College
Worcester, MA
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 Established as part of the Boston Harbor cleanup, the Trust has infused over $17 million into projects for water quality, aquatic species, environmental education and more. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Massachusetts Environmental Trust, the Trustees are hosting a one-day conference on Tuesday, November 10, 2009. The conference is intended to bring together practitioners engaged in the work of protecting and restoring water quality and the continuity of aquatic systems. For more information contact Susan Lanza at 617-626-1068 or email Susan.Lanza@state.ma.us
Please contact us if you have any questions at: action@massaudubon.org.
About The Beacon Hill Weekly Roundup
The Beacon Hill Weekly Roundup tracks the legislative priorities of Mass Audubon, focusing on the protection of the nature of Massachusetts. We encourage you to forward this newsletter to friends, family, and colleagues and to enlist their support.
If you are not already a member of Mass Audubon's Action Network, we encourage you to join by filling out our online form or by e-mailing us. Membership dues provide vital support for Mass Audubon's advocacy work on Beacon Hill and across the state. If you are not already a Mass Audubon member please join today.
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Current Legislation
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6 Beacon Street, Suite 1025
Boston, MA 02108
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