Securing the Green Budget

Decarbonizing our economy, protecting our natural resources, and supporting healthy communities requires state agencies that are well-resourced and well-staffed. While the need for their services has grown, our environmental agencies have suffered from decades of significant and sustained underfunding. On average, Massachusetts spends only $32.65 per 1,000 people on parks and recreation, the lowest per person spending in the country and almost half the national average. Additional funding will support public parks and open spaces that are invaluable to our communities as well as the tourism, agriculture, outdoor recreation, fishing, and clean energy industries that are creating jobs and economic growth 

We at ELM advocate for: 

  • Providing sufficient and sustained funding for environmental agencies to meet the scope and scale of our climate, conservation, and adaptation challenges. 
  • Increasing resources for the state agencies overseeing climate and clean energy action to ensure that Department of Public Utilities (DPU), Department of Energy Resources (DOER), and Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) are adequately staffed to facilitate our net-zero transformation.

FY25 Green Budget Priorities

In recognition of the constrained revenue picture faced by the Commonwealth in Fiscal Year 2025 as well as the increasing statutory obligations energy and environmental agencies have taken on, the Green Budget Coalition has worked to develop and support shared priorities that include a mix of targeted, incremental increases for some programs and level funding for others to ensure continuity, stability, and progress toward our climate and conservation goals in a challenging budget environment. 

Targeted Increases to Priority Line Items: 

  • Department of Environmental Protection (2200-0100): $54,555,032 ($2,516,841 increase over FY24) 
  • DCR State Parks and Recreation (2810-0100): $109,984,560 ($4,387,209 increase) 
  • Department of Public Utilities Administration (2100-0012): $20,741,599 ($1,047,005 increase) 
  • Department of Fish and Game (2300-0100): $1,997,635 ($608,387 increase) 
  • DCR Watershed Management (2800-0101): $2,136,595 ($320,000 increase) 

Level Funding with FY24: 

  • Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (2000-0100): $21,446,415 
  • EEA Climate Adaptation and Preparedness (2000-0101): $10,003,414 
  • Office of Environmental Justice (2000-0101): $8,841,066 
  • Division of Ecological Restoration (2300-0101): $5,455,000 
  • Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (2310-0300): $1,576,191