NOTE: this is an archived page of legislative activity from 2021-22. For current legislative activity, click here. The Massachusetts legislature is considering many bills in the 2021-22 session that relate to recommendations made in the 2015 Massachusetts Local Food Action Plan and the 2020 Perspectives on Resilience and Recovery report. This list includes bills that […]
read more…The 2021 MA Food System Forum was held December 3-9. Hundreds of food system stakeholders participated in discussions focused on how the various parts of the food system intersect and support each other, how they sometimes put pressure on each other, and how stakeholder work can help the local food system be more sustainable, equitable, […]
read more…We’re mid legislative-session and the August legislative recess is on deck, but hearings will resume in September. Testimony can be submitted at any time but should be sent before a hearing is concluded.
read more…A number of climate change measures under consideration in the legislature could have significant impact on agriculture and other food businesses. Recently passed by the Senate, An Act Setting Next Generation Climate Policy (S.2477) is a very complex bill that deserves attention from food system stakeholders as it moves through the legislative process. This bill […]
read more…There are at least 120 bills in the current state legislative session that address farm and fishing issues raised in the Massachusetts Local Food Action Plan. The Collaborative has been working with our Agricultural network seeking stakeholder groups’ perspectives on these bills and engaging them in advocacy on bills supported by the Plan. We have […]
read more…The governor has introduced, and the legislature is considering, the quadrennial environmental bond bill. The 2018 version of this spending authorization (H.4599, An Act promoting climate change adaptation, environmental and natural resource protection, and investment in recreational assets and opportunity) proposes funding for many programs supported by Plan recommendations. The Collaborative has been working with […]
read more…by Nathan L’Etoile, Collaborative Steering Committee While speaking at Agriculture Day at the Massachusetts State House in April, Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation President Ed Davidian raised the idea of reducing the impact of the Massachusetts estate tax on our family farms. The idea apparently resonated with Governor Charlie Barker who interrupted, shouting “that’s a great […]
read more…Members of the MA State Legislature have introduced more than 5,000 bills for the 2017-18 session, many of them related to the Commonwealth’s food system. A number of these bills would take action toward the goals of the MA Local Food Action Plan. Legislators are being asked to co-sponsor bills right now. This is an […]
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