Commission created to ensure geographic fairness in PILOT program

Gov. Maura Healey signed an executive order on Aug. 13 creating a Commission on Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) for State-Owned Land to advise her on potential reforms to the PILOT program.

The state owns over half a million acres of land, such as state parks and forests, wildlife sanctuaries, beaches, and state military campgrounds. To compensate municipalities for the loss of local property taxes related to this land, the state administers a PILOT program that provides them with funding.

Municipalities with the most state-owned land are primarily in western Massachusetts, but they receive lower payments than communities in eastern Massachusetts with similar acreage due to lower property values.

“We know that cities and towns rely on PILOT to deliver the services that their residents rely on,” the governor said in a prepared statement. “For too long, some communities, especially rural communities in western and central Massachusetts, have not received their fair share of this funding. This new commission will drill down into what’s working with the current program and where there are areas for improvement to make sure that every community is receiving the resources they deserve.”

PILOT commission membership will include a representative of the MMA, the state’s director of Rural Affairs, representatives from the executive offices for Administration and Finance and Energy and Environmental Affairs, the Office of Climate Resilience and Innovation, the Department of Revenue, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the Department of Fish and Game, two legislators from the House and two from the Senate, and at least eight individuals with relevant experience appointed by the governor.

The commission’s report may include recommended legislative, regulatory, or administrative actions, and may also outline further areas for study or stakeholder engagement. If legislative action is recommended, the commission shall propose draft legislative language.

Sen. Jo Comerford of Northampton, whose district includes 25 cities and towns, said rural communities in western and central Massachusetts make “enormous contributions” in stewarding the Commonwealth’s forests, farms and watersheds, and the PILOT commission “is a welcome and necessary step toward a fair, climate-forward formula — one that values the ecosystem services our lands provide and recognizes the fiscal realities facing all 351 of our cities and towns.”

The commission’s scope will focus on land that is owned by the state and will not impact entities, such as universities, that may provide PILOTs to municipalities.

• View Executive Order No. 645: Establishing the Commission on PILOT for State-Owned Land