Legislative Hearing To Put Conservation Back Into State Green Bond
When: Wednesday, March 6 at 4 p.m.
Where: Room 35 – State House
Why: Let the legislature know you support House Bill 7550 which would return money for land preservation to conserve important landscapes, watersheds, and farms to the “Green Bond” that will be on the 2024 state-wide general election ballot.
Attend the hearing in person, or send written testimony.
How to Send Written Testimony (2 methods)
Method 1: Make a PDF of your written testimony, and email it directly to the House Finance Committee Clerk: Christopher O’Brien at housefinance@rilegislature.gov anytime before Tuesday afternoon (March 5th).
Include your name and address in the email and explain that you are in favor of House Bill 7550 and why.
Sample Email To Send
Send your own message or feel free to use all or parts of the below email.
Sample email to send to housefinance@rilegislature.gov
Subject: Support House Bill 7550
Include in the body of the email:
House Bill 7550, which would add $16 Million to the Green Economy Bond
I am for this bill
Your name
Your home address including town and state
Dear Chairman Marvin Abney and members of the House Committee on Finance:
Over the last 50 years, rural communities have grown at much faster rates than the state as a whole. Much of the state’s forests and farmland have already been developed. As land in Rhode Island is perceived as a bargain to out-of-state buyers, it is still being developed at a fast pace. We don’t have much time left to protect Rhode Island’s most important forest and farmland and to create open space corridors to allow some of our wildlife to adapt to climate change.
I fully support this bill that would add $16 Million to the Green Bond to ensure that there is funding to conserve important forests, farmlands, and open spaces across Rhode Island. When this money is matched with municipal, private, and federal funding sources it will make a real difference to preserve what makes Rhode Island such a wonderful place to live and visit.
I support:
- $5 Million for the farmland preservation program that is critical to preserving some of the last important farms in the state.
- $5 Million for the State Open Space Program to acquire and conserve lands of statewide interest and significance, including ecologically valuable land that enhances state management areas, parks, and important forest lands.
- $ 3 Million in Local Open Space Matching Grants to municipalities, land trusts, and non-profit conservation land organizations to preserve valuable open space in local communities across RI.
- $3 Million in funding for forest health and habitat management on State lands, so RIDEM can work to improve wildlife habitat and connectivity, increase forest fire prevention strategies, remove dead and hazard trees, and write and implement forest stewardship plans in state management areas.
For all these reasons, I urge the committee to include $16 Million in additional funding for the FY 2025 Green Economy Bond.
Thank you,
Your name
Cc: Representative Meghan Cotter,
Representative Tina Spears
- e-mail your testimony to House Finance Committee Clerk: Christopher O’Brien at housefinance@rilegislature.gov
- Also e-mail your testimony to the bill’s author, Richmond Representative Meghan Cotter.
- If you live in Charlestown, send a copy to Charlestown’s Representative Tina Spears.
- If you don’t live in Charlestown, find other State Representative e-mails here: https://www.rilegislature.gov/representatives/default.aspx
- If possible, please send your testimony as a PDF file.
- Use Support House Bill 7550 in the file name and subject line so the clerk knows what bill you are testifying on and if you are for or against.
Method 2: If the above is too complicated for your device, the bill’s author, Richmond Representative Meghan Cotter has set up an easy-to-use online tool to create a message to the committee.
The meeting will be live-streamed at https://capitoltvri.cablecast.tv/, but you cannot provide testimony via the live stream.