The bill establishes the Nature for All Fund in Massachusetts to implement nature-based solutions for climate change, protect biodiversity, and promote equitable access to natural spaces. The fund is dedicated to conserving and improving natural and working lands, with key allocations for creating and enhancing parks, greenspaces, and trails, particularly in underserved communities. It also focuses on conserving and restoring lands to improve water quality and supports biodiversity, climate, and environmental justice initiatives. Additionally, the bill prioritizes the conservation of lands of indigenous cultural significance and seeks to restore access to these lands for indigenous peoples. The fund is designed to receive revenue from specific sales tax sources and can accept private and public gifts, grants, and donations.

A 15-member Nature for All Board is established to oversee the fund's expenditures. This board comprises state officials and public members with relevant expertise and is tasked with ensuring that spending aligns with conservation and environmental justice goals. The board approves regulations and guidelines for fund usage and maintains checks to safeguard existing capital programs. The executive office is required to report annually on the fund's expenditures, emphasizing allocations in environmental justice neighborhoods. Furthermore, the bill allows for the issuance of bonds backed by the Nature for All Trust Fund to finance its initiatives without making them general obligations of the commonwealth. These bond provisions ensure the proceeds' security and outline conditions to protect bondholder interests.

This bill establishes the Climate & Community Resilience Fund, overseen by the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs in partnership with an advisory board. Revenue for the fund comes from a tax established on the premiums paid for home and commercial real estate property insurance. The fee is set at two percent for the first five years and can be adjusted up or down, with a ceiling of an increase of an increment of 0.25 percent per year with an overall cap of 5 percent, as determined by the board. The Department of Revenue, in consultation with the Division of Insurance, may set up an opt-out provision for people, not-for-profit organizations, and small businesses and farms who cannot afford to pay.

The fund is dedicated to supporting equitable climate adaptation strategies, promoting workforce development in green industries, and fostering municipal coordination for community-led solutions. It excludes support for carbon offset markets and certain carbon sequestration technologies.

This bill proposes the creation of a special commission aimed at enhancing pollinator health by studying and expanding native pollinator habitats throughout Massachusetts. The commission is tasked with identifying strategies for habitat expansion in diverse areas including farm fields, forests, residential, urban, industrial sites, energy transmission corridors, and transportation routes. Its goal is to support various pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, ants, bats, and birds. The commission is required to submit its findings and potential legislative recommendations to pertinent committees by March 1, 2026.

Comprised of 11 members, the commission will include state representatives, university experts in pollinator health, and representatives from beekeeping and advocacy organizations. It will conduct a comprehensive review of several key areas: existing laws and regulations on pollinator protection, effective public education and outreach plans from other states, and the adequacy of funding for promoting pollinator habitats. Additionally, the commission will explore data collection strategies on pollinator populations used by other states and assess current best management practices that support pollinator health, including foraging needs and food diversity. It will also examine how lands like transportation and energy corridors can be utilized to boost pollinator forage and populations and develop coordinated public education programs to combat pollinator habitat loss.

The bill focuses on integrating climate resilience into building regulations. The bill allows cities and towns to adopt broadened floodplain maps based on advanced climate science. These maps will supplement existing FEMA flood insurance rate maps to guide building standards in flood-prone areas. Local governments can request the implementation of these expanded maps, with an emphasis on public health, safety, and climate resilience. The bill also mandates the creation of a municipal opt-in specialized stretch resilience code, offering municipalities the option to adopt more rigorous building codes than the current state standards. This resilience code will include guidelines on building elevation, utility placement, and structural resilience to extreme weather, developed with the assistance of an advisory committee. The bill also establishes a statewide climate resilience retrofit program to provide technical and financial assistance for retrofitting buildings to meet the new code, prioritizing environmental justice communities and areas susceptible to flooding. 

The proposed bill in Massachusetts aims to improve conservation and management of the state's natural and working lands by introducing comprehensive strategies and definitions, such as "Nature Services" and "Reforestation." It emphasizes the vital benefits these ecosystems provide and mandates state agencies to incorporate these considerations in their activities. Agencies are encouraged to avoid converting natural and working lands when alternatives are available and to enhance conservation practices.

A key feature of the bill is the creation of the "Natural and Working Lands Friendly Communities Program." This program allows municipalities to voluntarily participate and receive technical and financial assistance for initiatives supporting state conservation goals, including preventing land loss, promoting carbon sequestration, and increasing reforestation efforts. Participating municipalities must meet set criteria to access incentives, grants, and loans, with possible adjustments based on specific local conditions. The program also seeks improved coordination among state agencies to support these communities effectively.

Additionally, the bill mandates the development of methods to assess the environmental impacts of land conversion, particularly focusing on greenhouse gas emissions. The environmental policy act office is tasked with establishing review thresholds for these assessments by 2026. Overall, this bill aims to balance development with environmental preservation, ensuring sustainable land management that supports environmental resilience and climate change mitigation.

The Climate Change Adaptation Cost Recovery Act sets up an assessment on fossil fuel companies to fund climate change adaptation projects. Under this legislation, entities involved in fossil fuel extraction with significant greenhouse gas emissions will make payments to a newly constituted Climate Change Adaptation Fund. These payments will be based on their estimated impact as determined by a climate cost study assessing the economic repercussions of emissions within the state. The bill requires directing at least 40% of these funds towards projects that serve environmental justice populations. An independent evaluation will look at the impact of the program. The bill directs adherence to prevailing wage laws and the use of American-made materials wherever applicable to ensure project compliance and economic integrity.

This bill establishes the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Plus (MVP Plus) grant program in Massachusetts, funding municipalities that achieve MVP Plus certification by implementing climate resilience initiatives. The initiatives may involve climate resilience projects, hiring personnel for project management, or fostering regional collaboration. To be certified as an MVP Plus community, municipalities must complete a vulnerability assessment, adopt a specialized stretch resilience code described below, and implement a range of specified policies, such as stormwater utility programs and floodplain overlay districts. The program encourages regional projects through partnerships with planning agencies and non-profit organizations.

The bill also creates the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Trust Fund to financially support these initiatives, with at least 50% of the funds allocated to MVP Plus communities based on a formula that accounts for factors like population, road mileage, employment, and flood vulnerability. The municipal opt-in specialized stretch resilience code will address advanced climate risk considerations, including flood-proofing and energy resilience.

The bill amends the General Laws of Massachusetts to enhance protection and management of the state's natural and working lands. It introduces definitions for key concepts like "Nature Services" and "Reforestation," highlighting the importance of preserving and restoring natural environments for both ecological and societal benefits. The bill mandates that information on expenditures and participation in the natural and working lands-friendly communities program be included in state reports and assessments. Collaboration with the division of local services is required to recommend updates to incentive rates and expenditures for land conservation initiatives.

A primary goal of the bill is to prevent the degradation and loss of natural and working lands, as well as wetlands, while ensuring equitable access to nature services. The bill restricts the use of state funds for permanently converting these lands unless there are no feasible alternatives, and it mandates coordination to reduce impacts of state projects that might require such conversion. Additionally, a municipal opt-in program is introduced to counter land loss, encourage carbon sequestration, and support both ecological and recreational benefits. This program has specific criteria that municipalities must meet to qualify for assistance.

The bill assigns the Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs the responsibility to create rules for program administration, manage funding, and ensure compliance. Finally, it calls for the development of environmental review thresholds and methodologies to evaluate the greenhouse gas emissions associated with land conversion activities.

This bill establishes the Climate & Community Resilience Fund, overseen by the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs in partnership with an advisory board. Revenue for the fund comes from a tax established on the premiums paid for home and commercial real estate property insurance. The fee is set at two percent for the first five years and can be adjusted up or down, with a ceiling of an increase of an increment of 0.25 percent per year with an overall cap of 5 percent, as determined by the board. The Department of Revenue, in consultation with the Division of Insurance, may set up an opt-out provision for people, not-for-profit organizations, and small businesses and farms who cannot afford to pay.

The fund is dedicated to supporting equitable climate adaptation strategies, promoting workforce development in green industries, and fostering municipal coordination for community-led solutions. It excludes support for carbon offset markets and certain carbon sequestration technologies.

The Climate Change Adaptation Cost Recovery Act sets up an assessment on fossil fuel companies to fund climate change adaptation projects. Under this legislation, entities involved in fossil fuel extraction with significant greenhouse gas emissions will make payments to a newly constituted Climate Change Adaptation Fund. These payments will be based on their estimated impact as determined by a climate cost study assessing the economic repercussions of emissions within the state. The bill requires directing at least 40% of these funds towards projects that serve environmental justice populations. An independent evaluation will look at the impact of the program. The bill directs adherence to prevailing wage laws and the use of American-made materials wherever applicable to ensure project compliance and economic integrity.

The proposed bill aims to create a "Nature for All Fund," focused on implementing nature-based solutions to combat climate change, protect biodiversity, and ensure equitable access to natural environments. Administered by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the fund will be dedicated to developing parks and outdoor spaces, especially in underserved areas, conserving land to safeguard water resources and enhance climate resilience, and achieving environmental justice objectives. Additionally, the bill emphasizes conserving indigenous cultural lands and ensuring community stewardship.

Eligible beneficiaries of the fund include municipalities, regional partnerships, planning entities, watershed associations, land trusts, conservation groups, state agencies, tribal authorities, and other non-profit organizations. The fund will be financed through specific sales tax revenues, as well as public and private contributions.

Oversight will be provided by a 15-member "Nature for All Board," comprising both governmental representatives and members of the public, including those from underserved and indigenous communities. This board is responsible for approving regulations related to fund use, ensuring priorities like environmental justice and indigenous land access are met while aligning with state conservation and resilience goals. The bill includes mechanisms to ensure the fund does not merely supplement existing capital programs and allows for bond issuance as special obligations of the commonwealth, backed by the fund to support its objectives without impacting the state's general fiscal duties.