A bill filed in the Massachusetts House on Jan. 16 would direct state agencies to prioritize preventing the conversion and degradation of natural and working lands and create a municipal, opt‑in ‘‘natural and working lands friendly communities’’ program administered by the secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

The bill, House No. 1005, presented by Representative Joan Meschino of Hull, would add definitions to chapter 21N of the General Laws (including “Nature Services” and “Reforestation”), require agencies to avoid, minimize and mitigate permanent conversion of natural and working lands and wetlands, and instruct the secretary to establish eligibility, reporting and funding rules for an opt‑in municipal program.

Under the proposal, funds and federal grants administered by the commonwealth “shall not be used to permanently convert” natural and working lands or freshwater and coastal wetlands when feasible alternatives exist. The bill directs agencies that control state land or carry out projects that would convert such lands to coordinate with the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to sequence permitting so impacts are avoided, then minimized, then mitigated.

The municipal program would advance multiple state goals, including preventing land loss, promoting carbon sequestration and strategic reforestation, expanding food and shellfish production, and increasing access to nature services in environmental justice communities. Municipalities that opt in would choose and meet a majority of eligibility requirements set by the secretary; one required item is the adoption of a natural resource protection zoning ordinance or bylaw (with a specified exemption for housing for family or family members under chapter 188).

Other possible eligibility options listed in the bill include: a municipal tree retention and replacement bylaw; a local right of first refusal when lands protected under chapter 61 are sold; establishment of a local or regional agricultural commission; inclusion of agriculture in master and open‑space plans; a right‑to‑farm bylaw; groundwater protection or impervious surface limits; stormwater utility programs; fertilizer restrictions and education programs; water banking or conservation bylaws; and landscaping bylaws that reduce tree clearing and promote native vegetation.

Funding for the municipal program may come from the general fund, climate‑ or land‑dedicated trust funds, private investments and federal programs. The secretary may provide incentive payments, grants and loans, give preference in other grant programs, waive local match requirements, and provide a higher reimbursement rate in lieu of taxes for participating municipalities in coordination with the Division of Local Services (chapter 58, sections 13–17). The bill also authorizes an incentive payment for parcels restricted under chapter 61.

The bill requires municipalities to report annually on expenditures received through the program and on the status of bylaws or ordinances required by the program. It sets recertification requirements — after the first year, at five years, and every five years thereafter — and allows the secretary to reassess or grant waivers where appropriate, including adjustments for municipal income factors and environmental justice criteria.

The proposal also directs the Environmental Policy Act office to set, by July 1, 2026, a ‘‘meaningful review threshold’’ that would trigger environmental‑impact review for projects that permanently convert natural and working lands or wetlands, and by July 1, 2025, to develop methodologies for quantifying greenhouse‑gas emissions associated with land clearing and farmland development. The office must publish draft thresholds and methodologies and solicit public comment and input from the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and the Joint Committee on Agriculture before finalizing them.

The bill makes several changes to chapter 21N’s inventory, assessment and reporting requirements to include information on expenditures and participation rates for the proposed program and requires recommendations for updated expenditures and incentives in coordination with the Division of Local Services within the Department of Revenue.

House No. 1005 was filed with the House docket on Jan. 16, 2025, and lists multiple co‑petitioners. The text establishes duties and rulemaking responsibilities for the secretary and the Environmental Policy Act office but does not itself appropriate funds; actual funding levels and program implementation would depend on subsequent appropriations, rulemaking and agency action.