Press Release  Governor Healey Files Mass Ready Act to Strengthen Infrastructure and Prepare for Disasters

Braintree — Today, Governor Maura Healey introduced the Mass Ready Act, a historic bill that proposes nearly $3 billion in bond authorizations to strengthen infrastructure and protect Massachusetts communities against increasing extreme weather events. 

This legislation focuses on crucial infrastructure improvements, including upgrades to roads, dams, and bridges, and establishes a Resilient Revolving Fund for these types of projects. It also streamlines permitting for priority housing, culvert replacements and salt marsh restoration projects by cutting redundant reviews and improving coordination. 

The bill invests in farming and coastal economies and provides communities with resources to reduce flood and heat risk. Finally, the Mass Ready Act emphasizes the protection of water and nature by ensuring safe drinking water, restoring our waterways and preserving vital habitats for wildlife.   

Governor Healey made the announcement at Braintree Town Hall, near the site of a recently completed dam removal project that has improved neighborhood safety, restored the natural environment and allowed the river to flow freely for the first time in over 200 years. 

“The Mass Ready Act is an investment in our infrastructure and in our communities,” said Governor Healey. “It will save people money and jumpstart housing by streamlining the permitting process. This legislation will help our communities get ready for the challenges ahead and make sure our families and neighborhoods stay safe.”

“As a former mayor, I have seen firsthand how strained municipal budgets can become, with local governments asked to do more with limited resources. This bill is crucial as it equips our communities with the necessary funding to invest in their water systems and local infrastructure,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “The Mass Ready Act is not just about being prepared – it represents a bold step toward creating a stronger future and making our state more competitive, affordable and appealing for businesses and families.”

“This legislation is about action where it matters,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “Massachusetts wasn’t built for the intense storms, rising seas, and extreme heat we are seeing now. The Mass Ready Act is our down payment on a safe, healthier future – protecting clean air and water, strengthening local food systems, and preserving parks and green spaces for generations to come. These solutions are part of everyday life, and we are making sure no community is left behind.”

“With this bill, Massachusetts once again leads on establishing one of the nation’s first resilience financing funds,” said Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer. “This fund will stretch the state’s dollars to help more municipalities build stronger and smarter. With nation-leading permit streamlining provisions, it will also ensure we build the housing, nature-based solutions, and other critical resilience infrastructure we need faster and more easily. In Massachusetts, we know how to protect our critical ecosystems and build the world we need for a better tomorrow.”  

"The Mass Ready Act paves the way for thoughtful, strategic investments in Massachusetts's greatest resources--our communities, our environment, and the infrastructure we rely on every day," said Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew J. Gorzkowicz. "The bond authorizations and policy measures in this bill will enable us to protect our assets and improve our neighborhoods, and we look forward to deploying Mass Ready Act funds to ensure resiliency across Massachusetts.”

Strengthening Infrastructure

The Mass Ready Act is about strengthening infrastructure to better protect our homes, businesses and communities. Due to increasing rainfall and rising sea levels, floods have become more likely. In Massachusetts, sea levels have risen, on average, over an inch per decade since the 1920s. This bill aims to address these challenges through authorizations that enhance our flood protection efforts, including addressing high-risk dams, inland flood control systems, and coastal and marine infrastructure. The bill also includes authorizations to implement ResilientCoasts recommendations, invest in parks, trails, beaches, and historic sites, improve transportation infrastructure, and manage solid waste and decrease pollution.  

To keep these projects moving quickly, the bill simplifies the environmental permitting process for priority housing and urgent infrastructure needs, including municipal culvert replacements and other natural restoration projects. The bill includes key actions to respond to recommendations from the Governor’s Unlocking Housing Production Commission. It also includes $50 million in reauthorization for the Momentum Fund to continue accelerating the development of mixed-income and multifamily housing.  

Permitting reforms include:

• Allowing priority housing and restoration projects to receive a Chapter 91 license in just 60 days without triggering review under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA);
• Cutting duplicative administrative appeals for wetlands regulations, allowing local appeals for these project categories to go straight to the superior court;
• Adding climate resilience as a goal of the Wetlands Protection Act, simplifying permitting for natural restoration projects; and,
• Removing the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) requirement for priority housing and natural restoration projects, allowing for completion of MEPA review within 30 days rather than up to one year.

The legislation also requires disclosures of flood risk and past damages during home sales and lease signings so renters and homebuyers can make informed decisions and avoid costly damages down the road. Finally, it equips the Board of Building Regulations and Standards to advance climate resilience and housing production through the state building code.  

Investing in Farms and Local Economies  

This authorization also supports investments in our communities where it matters most. It ensures that everyone has access to fresh, locally sourced food, helps towns prepare for climate challenges, supports tree planting, and creates more parks and recreational spaces. 

The Mass Ready Act also establishes the Resilience Revolving Fund, which will help cities, towns, tribal governments, and water and wastewater districts invest in resilience projects. This fund will offer low-interest loans to improve stormwater systems, reduce flood risk, and strengthen other critical infrastructure. This fund will complement other authorizations for local projects, including the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program, the Food Security Infrastructure Grant (FSIG) program, preserving open spaces, restoring watersheds, supporting outdoor recreation, protecting farmland, promoting food security, and keeping agriculture financially stable.

Protecting Water and Nature

The bill allocates authorization to preserve our water and natural resources, which are vital for our well-being. It ensures that residents have access to safe drinking water, maintains the quality of our waterways, and provides wildlife with the habitats necessary for their survival. Authorization highlights include PFAS mitigation and other critical clean water initiatives, land protection and support for the state’s forthcoming Biodiversity Conservation Goals.

The full legislation and key issue briefs are available here. 

Statements of Support:

Braintree Mayor Erin Joyce:

“The Mass Ready Act is a great opportunity for towns like Braintree to get the resources we need to tackle climate challenges head-on. It helps us modernize our local infrastructure and boost our economy. For cities and towns at the forefront of climate impacts, this bill means we won’t have to face these challenges alone. It gives us the tools we need to build stronger communities and protect ourselves for the long term.”

Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra: 

“With storm, heat, and fire events increasing in frequency and severity, Northampton, like all cities, needs to provide resources and refuge for our residents and neighbors. We are working to reduce the impact of these events and make sure people have safe places to go to receive vital services. But all of this requires a massive investment that no city can afford on its own. We are very hopeful that the proposed resilience revolving fund will enable us to make these investments now; to protect our residents and make sure the entire state is more resilient in the face of climate change. Just as the state revolving fund for water and sewer has enabled cities to make critical upgrades to those treatment plants with favorable lending terms, such a mechanism will be essential for cities to address other important infrastructure needs to address immediate climate impacts. We have big plans to make our city more resilient. This revolving fund could be a key to making them a reality. The Governor has also proposed a commission to help us regionally understand the challenges we face and the ways we can work together to solve them. As mayor of a key city in the Connecticut River floodplain, I am eager to contribute and work with our regional neighbors to create and implement solutions together and manage flood protection and prevention holistically.”

Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo:

“Last summer, the City of Salem joined more than twenty other coastal communities to form the Massachusetts Coastal Communities Alliance. This coalition was created to foster inter-municipal collaboration as we all face the growing challenges of rising sea levels, stronger storms, and increased flooding driven by the climate crisis. We know that no one community can tackle these issues alone. The Commonwealth has always been an important partner, supporting our efforts through programs, funding opportunities, and more. However, for us to safely and effectively transition from a strategy of keeping water out to living with water, we need more help addressing the many critical resilience infrastructure needs our communities face. The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ proposed Resilience Revolving Loan Program represents a very important step towards providing those resources.”

Ronald P. O'Hanley, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, State Street:

“The Governor’s bill provides a strong foundation for the sustainable economic growth of Massachusetts, by proposing a creative solution in leveraging private capital to achieve a resilient infrastructure that will help equip businesses of every size and sector with the stability they need to grow and innovate. This investment in long-term infrastructure, workforce development and emerging industries should go a long way to helping the economy of Massachusetts remain competitive.”

James E. Rooney, President and CEO, Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce:

"While the Chamber looks forward to analyzing the details of the bill, we appreciate the efforts of the Healey-Driscoll Administration to promote resiliency, protect our natural resources, and prioritize issues of competitiveness and livability for the Commonwealth's businesses and people.”

Christopher Osgood, Boston Director of the Office of Climate Resilience:

“The Commonwealth’s Mass Ready proposal is a significant step forward towards more resilient cities and towns across the State. The Mass Ready proposal not only is the largest environmental bond bill in the State’s history but also expands critical grant programs for municipalities, proposes updating regulations to ensure new buildings are climate ready, and opens up the opportunity for streamlined permitting to deliver the climate resilience projects that communities are calling for on the timeline we need.” 

Julie Wormser, Cambridge Climate Chief Officer: 

“Mass Ready is just the latest in a string of outstanding climate bills that are driving our transition to renewable energy and preparing our people and places for extreme weather. Both this bill and the recently released Energy Affordability, Independence & Innovation Act show a real understanding of what communities need to move forward.”

Adam Chapdelaine, Executive Director, Massachusetts Municipal Association: 

“The Mass Ready Act offers meaningful opportunities to strengthen the state-local partnership to make Massachusetts and its communities more resilient. Mass Ready will enable and empower municipalities to take action, prepare their communities, and respond to climate change impacts that most directly threaten their local environments and infrastructure. The MMA and local leaders greatly appreciate the administration’s responsiveness to local concerns in the development of Mass Ready, its creative financing solutions, such as a new revolving fund, and its expansion of the successful MVP program.”

Tamara Small, CEO, NAIOP Massachusetts, The Commercial Real Estate Development Association: 

“For too long, desperately needed housing projects have been bogged down in seemingly never-ending permitting delays, often preventing new housing from ever being built. The Healey-Driscoll Administration has prioritized addressing the housing crisis, from creating the Unlocking Housing Production Commission, to passing the Affordable Homes Act, and setting a production goal of 222,000 new units of housing by 2035. Furthering this commitment, the Mass Ready Act proposes expedited pathways to build the housing we need while protecting our environment and advancing resiliency.”

Rebecca Miller, Policy Director, Massachusetts Food System Collaborative:

“The Massachusetts Food System Collaborative is excited to see the local food system woven in as a throughline within the three themes of the Mass Ready Act: protecting water and nature, strengthening infrastructure, and investing in local economies. We are especially excited that the Food Security Infrastructure Grant program will see continued investment, as it has been extremely popular since its inception during the pandemic, and food insecurity remains high among Massachusetts households. We also welcome the continued investments in farmland protection through the Agricultural Preservation Restriction Program and the implementation of the Farmland Action Plan. Both of these programs are critical pieces to slow the dramatic loss of farmland and preserve this vital resource.”

Warren Shaw, President, Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation:

“Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation applauds the Environmental Bond Bill’s $26 million investment in MDAR agricultural programs, particularly its commitment to the Farmland Action Plan and climate resilience grants. These initiatives directly reflect our longstanding policy to ensure farm viability and support for sustainable agricultural practices across the Commonwealth.”

Christopher S. Stark, Executive Director, Massachusetts Insurance Federation:

“We thank the Healey Administration for taking concrete steps to toward a more resilient Commonwealth. The Mass Ready Act sets the tone for a future where we build to standards that can withstand the new normal of increased storms, flooding perils, and other natural catastrophes, which are now causing over $100 billion in insured losses every year. Building codes and flood risk notifications are critical measures that will protect consumers. Meanwhile, insurers will continue our work with the administration to implement our own notifications relative to flood coverages. Together, the provisions of this legislation will provide peace of mind to consumers, ensure our buildings are resilient, and help drive down the cost of future storms.”

Kimberly H. Robinson, Executive Director, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission:

“PVPC is grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and to contribute to the dialogue on advancing regional resilience. We’re especially encouraged to see the Connecticut River Valley efforts, the MVP program, and the Resilience Revolving Fund proposal reflected in this legislation. These tools respond directly to what our communities have told us they need: flexible, locally driven funding to protect vulnerable infrastructure, safeguard natural resources, and prepare for more frequent and severe climate impacts.” 

Steve Long, Director of Policy and Partnerships, The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts:

“The Mass Ready Act delivers smart, bold policies to strengthen climate resilience, protect nature and provide clean water. We appreciate the emphasis on a holistic and integrated approach to climate change that protects public safety and supports nature-based solutions—especially for communities hardest hit by extreme weather. With more funding, better financing, and streamlined support for ecological restoration and housing, we’re proud to back this legislation and partner with communities for a stronger, more equitable future.” 

David O’Neill, President and CEO, Mass Audubon:

“We applaud Gov. Healey for the Mass Ready Act’s focus on the state’s crucial Biodiversity and Climate Resiliency Goals, which will simultaneously protect plants, birds, and other wildlife. This bill also advances regulatory changes so we can accelerate restoration of essential landscapes that will benefit us all. It represents an important down payment on our nature positive future, and Mass Audubon will strongly advocate for its passage and continue to collaborate with the legislature and administration on additional work required to meet the Commonwealth’s overall climate and nature goals.”

Katie Theoharides, President and CEO, the Trustees:

“The Trustees is proud to partner with the state and collaborate on the Mass Ready Act to lend our expertise and voice to the need for a coordinated plan for climate resilience in Massachusetts. We are excited to see new investments for coastal and inland resilience to flooding, land protection, and permitting reform to advance nature-based solutions to climate change.”

Kathy Abbott, President and CEO, Boston Harbor Now:

“Boston Harbor Now is grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration for its leadership streamlining the permitting process and providing funding to enable research and implementation of nature-based research and demonstration projects. Innovative nature-based solutions are critical for flood protection and provide many other co-benefits, including enhancing biodiversity, restoring habitat, creating new recreational opportunities, supporting local economies.”

Nasser Brahim, Director of Climate Resilience, Mystic River Watershed Association on behalf of MVP Coalition:

“This bill represents a pivotal moment for Massachusetts on our path to becoming the most resilient state in the nation. The proposed investments in climate resilience will help fortify our infrastructure, protect our ecosystems, and ensure the well-being of generations to come. The MVP Coalition, a group of municipal, regional, watershed, and conservation organizations from across the Commonwealth, is deeply committed to seeing these resilience investments enacted into law.”

Jeff Brem, Principal, Meisner Brem Corporation, Past President, the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Massachusetts:

“The Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Massachusetts (HBRAMA), whose members build single-family homes, townhomes and apartments throughout the commonwealth, recognizes the need for bold and impactful action to address our housing crisis. The HBRAMA commends the Healey-Driscoll Administration for making housing production a state priority. And we support the Mass Ready Act as an important step in streamlining the cumbersome and complex permitting process that makes it so difficult and costly to develop and build housing in Massachusetts.”   

Rebecca Herst, Associate Director for Resilience, Green Ribbon Commission:

“This bill is a key step in overcoming two of the biggest barriers we face in creating resilient coasts: financing and permitting resilience infrastructure. We are grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration for their commitment to protecting coastal communities, including the City of Boston, from climate impacts through meaningful investment. In particular, we are pleased to see the bill investing $200 million for the Coastal Zone Management Coastal Resilience grants, and $300 million in the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program.”

Kristy Senatori, Executive Director for the Cape Cod Commission:

“I appreciate the Healey-Driscoll administration's approach in addressing water quality, resiliency and housing challenges on Cape Cod and in the Commonwealth. The Mass Ready Act demonstrates a thoughtful effort to balance our environment and economy and recognizes the unique needs of coastal communities. I look forward to working collaboratively with the administration to implement the many provisions of the Act and ensure successful implementation of the programs and funding authorized.”

David Melly, Senior Policy Director, the Environmental League of Massachusetts:

“Massachusetts faces historic challenges when it comes to our conservation, resiliency, and emissions reduction needs. ELM is pleased to see expansions of critical programs supporting municipal vulnerability preparedness and clean water in Governor Healey’s proposal, and we look forward to working with the Legislature to pass an environmental bond bill that meets the scale of this moment with targeted funding and policy.”

Linda Dunlavy, Executive Director, Franklin Regional Council of Governments:

“Through the Mass Ready Act, EEA recognizes the resiliency needs, conditions and challenges of all parts of Massachusetts. All areas of Massachusetts are struggling to prepare for and prevent wide-scale damage caused by microburst storms and climate change. EEA’s commitment to work with us and our municipalities to understand and plan for the power of the Connecticut River and its tributaries – the power of water up and down stream and its impacts on our roads, culverts, bridges, farms, businesses and housing – is particularly appreciated. We also continue to applaud EEA for the creation of the Municipal Vulnerability Program and its current commitment, through this Bond, to prioritized municipal needs and priorities.”

Lizzi Weyant, Acting Executive Director, Metropolitan Area Planning Council:

“MAPC welcomes this once-in-a-generation proposal from the Healey-Driscoll Administration to create a more resilient Commonwealth. Significantly increasing investments in the MVP program, water infrastructure, and coastal resiliency are all critical to ensuring that we can achieve our shared housing and economic development goals. The Administration's proposal shows that we can achieve those goals, protect our residents, and do so in a way that safeguards our environment. As an agency that thinks about the intersection between flooding and housing, we are thrilled that this proposal includes a provision around flood disclosure and permitting, a recommendation suggested by the Unlocking Housing Production Commission.” 

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