Action Alert and Policy Updates

Hi Everyone,

We hope you all are staying warm during this old-fashioned, snowy Massachusetts winter we’re having. In this edition of the Policy & Advocacy Newsletter, we have an action alert related to the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) budget, an update on our priority bills in the state legislature, some results from the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meeting held last month, and a reminder to register for the NOFA/Mass Winter Conference on February 28.

Action Alert: Ask MA House Legislators to vote in support of HIP budget recommendation

It’s budget season on Beacon Hill, which means now is a good time to reach out to legislators to encourage support or changes to specific budget items. Governor Maura Healey released her FY27 budget recommendation on January 28th, outlining the administration’s priorities for the Commonwealth. See the official press release for a good summary of those priorities and particulars about proposed spending changes. Our partners at the Massachusetts Food System Collaborative are holding a virtual briefing on February 25th at 10am to review the many food systems programs that are funded in the budget and how you can get involved in advocacy. Register for the briefing here.

After a couple turbulent years of disruptions to HIP and SNAP, food systems advocates were thrilled to see $29.7 million included for HIP in Healey’s budget proposal, an 18% increase from the $25.2 million in the final FY26 budget. The governor’s budget proposal now moves to the Joint Ways and Means Committee for a series of hearings before being debated in the House in April. Now is an important time to reach out to your state representative to tell them why it’s important to support HIP and ask them to hold the $29.7 million outlined in the governor’s proposal. If you don’t know who your representative is, you can find that information here. If you have time, we also recommend thanking the governor’s office for the funding increase in their budget proposal.

HIP is incredibly important for supporting access to healthy, local food for all Massachusetts residents. It’s also helpful for farm businesses, giving them an additional revenue source. NOFA/Mass thanks the MA Food System Collaborative and all of the coalition partners for their continued advocacy to fund HIP. Check out their Campaign for HIP Funding page. We also highly encourage folks to join the Food System Collaborative’s HIP Lobby Day at the Statehouse on Thursday, March 26th (Farmers are especially encouraged to join!). Sign up here.

State Legislative Update

Last month we mentioned that the two PFAS-related bills we’re advocating for this session were both reported favorably from their committees. We now have good news that nearly all of our other priority bills have successfully moved out of their committees. The following bills have received a favorable report:

• An Act to Protect Pollinators and Public Health (S.587/H.1041)

• An Act to Protect Pollinator Habitat (S.628) – House bill still awaiting decision

• An Act Restricting the Use of Rodenticides in the Environment (H.965) – Senate bill still awaiting decision

• An Act Establishing an Ecologically-based Mosquito Management Program in the Commonwealth to Protect Public Health (H.985) – Senate bill still awaiting decision

• An Act Relative to the Pesticide Board (S.617/H.932)

• An Act Relative to the Pesticide Board (S.567) – No house version of this bill

• An Act Relative to Improving Pesticide Protections for Massachusetts Schoolchildren (H.124) – Senate bill accompanying study order

• An Act Governing the Use of Pesticides containing the Herbicide Glyphosate in the Commonwealth (S.625/H.950)

• An Act Empowering Vulnerable Municipalities to Protect Residents and the Environment from Harmful Pesticides (H.954) – No senate version of this bill

• An Act Relative to the Use of Glyphosate on Public Lands (S.627) – No house version of this bill

• An Act Fostering Agricultural Resilience in Massachusetts (FARM bill) (H.4854/S.2801)

We thank the committee chairs for their favorable reports. We’ll continue working with committee members to maintain forward progress on these bills and those still in their initial committees. Stay tuned for future advocacy opportunities related to our priority bills!

National Organic Standards Board Meeting Update

The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meeting that was rescheduled due to the government shutdown last fall was held in mid January. The board voted unanimously to protect organic integrity by rejecting the use of synthetic, biodegradable plastic polymers as compost feedstock on certified organic land. These materials are not consistent with the Organic Foods Production Act and should not be permitted in organic compost. Allowing these materials risks introducing microplastics and PFAS into organic soils. Organic compost is already being produced successfully without these inputs. We thank the NOSB for voting against the inclusion of such materials in organic compost.

Among other decisions, the board didn’t remove any materials scheduled for sunset in 2027. The NOSB sunset review is a mandatory, 5-year evaluation process for all substances on the USDA National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances to determine if they should remain allowed in organic production. Other topics discussed at the meeting included use of pear ester for insect management, chlorine used in livestock drinking water, integrating livestock with agroforestry, research priorities, consistency in organic seed use, and more. See this summary from our partners at the Organic Farmers Association for more details. And if you’re curious to learn more about the NOSB, check out this Demystifying the NOSB webinar from the National Organic Coalition.