Legislature OKs Town Contributions to Land Trusts

摘要

Clarifying a critical issue for conservation advocates, this session the state legislature passed SB 381, which explicitly authorizes towns to contribute from their conservation funds to projects sponsored by private land trusts without holding a legal interest in the property being conserved.The bill resolves a gray area in the law that had long divided municipal attorneys and had already been the subject of several unsuccessful legislative efforts. Specifically, the bill added language to the statestatute governing town conservation commissions (RSA 36-A) that authorizes them to contribute from their conservation funds to "qualified organizations" for acquisitions of property interests (fee or easement) held by those organizations, and/or expendfunds for transaction costs related to these purchases.