Massachusetts House Unanimously Passes Community Preservation Legislation

In an outstanding show of support, on April 23 the Massachusetts House of Representatives voted 153-0 for an amendment that could double the state funding available to towns and cities that adopt the Community Preservation Act (CPA).

The CPA provides a way for communities to create funds for land conservation, historic preservation, recreation, and affordable housing -- needs often not addressed in the regular budget but essential in preserving a community's character, quality of life, and economic vitality. Towns and cities that approve a small CPA property tax surcharge receive an annual distribution from the statewide Community Preservation Trust Fund. When the CPA first passed 12 years ago, the state matched local CPA funds at 100 percent, but the percentage has declined to about 26 percent. More than 40 percent of the municipalities in Massachusetts have adopted CPA.

The amendment is nearly identical to An Act to Sustain Community Preservation (HB 765), which aims to maintain and broaden participation by increasing the state distribution, expanding the acceptable uses for CPA funds, and giving cities more flexibility in how they raise funds. The one change is in the funding source: Instead of an increase in recording fees at the Registry of Deeds called for in HB 765, the amendment provides for a yearly transfer of $25 million from the state's end-of-year budget surplus into the statewide Community Preservation Trust Fund.

The next stop for the CPA legislation is the Massachusetts Senate, which will take up the proposal in mid-May as part of its debate on the state budget. If it passes in the Senate and is signed by the Governor, $25 million from the state's budget surplus would be added each year to the revenue from the existing CPA, beginning with the Fall 2013 CPA Trust Fund payment.

For more information, go to the Community Preservation Coalition website.