May 23, 2012: The Senate is in the midst of budget debates this week, and will take up the CPA legislation today or tomorrow, May 24. In anticipation of the upcoming vote, a number of senators have expressed their support for CPA. For the State House News Service article, click here. 24 Senators have co-sponsored amendment #62, which mirrors the House's version: Senators Creem, Tarr, DiDomenico, Rodrigues, Donnelly, Joyce, Brownsberger, Hedlund, Knapik, Eldridge, Downing, Finegold, Wolf, Welch, Rush, Jehlen, Candaras, M. Moore, Fargo, Keenan, Kennedy, Donoghue, Timilty, and Ross.
In late April, the CPA legislation was filed as an amendment to the House's version of the state budget by House Ways and Means Committee Vice-Chairman Stephen Kulik and House Minority Leader Bradley Jones. It passed in the House by a roll call vote of 155 to 0. The House legislation contains the full text of An Act to Sustain Community Preservation (HB 765), with one exception. The funding mechanism in the amendment that passed is an annual transfer of $25 million from the state's end-of-year budget surplus into the CPA Statewide Trust Fund, rather than an increase in the registry of deeds recording fees. Click here for the State House News article on the House vote.
If it passes in the Senate, and is signed by the Governor, $25 million from the state's budget surplus would be added each year to the revenue from the existing CPA deeds recording fees, beginning with the Fall 2013 CPA Trust Fund payment. All of the other provisions of HB 765 are included in this budget amendment, including the changes to the rules for CPA recreation projects.
You can read the full text of the CPA legislation passed by the House here.