A $2.2 billion environmental bond bill could fund hundreds of projects across the state, ranging from hiking trails to harbor dredging, cleared the Massachusetts House and Senate Thursday night, as formal legislative sessions drew to a close for the year.
“The funding in the environmental bond will enable our next governor to take bold steps on land protection, aquatic restoration and climate change resiliency,” Wayne Klockner, state director of The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts, said in a statement. “The Conservancy looks forward to continued collaboration on bond-funded projects with our partners in state agencies, land trusts and watershed groups and businesses,”
Since the House and Senate each passed similar versions of the bill, a legislative conference committee convened to work out the differences before sending the legislation back to legislators for a final vote. The bill now heads to Gov. Deval Patrick.