Dear Friend,

Thanks in part to our protest last year, this boondoggle for bond-lawyers (Chapter 40T) was tabled. Now it's back again as S146/H159, and community voices are needed again to stop this measure that strikes at the heart of local democracy and our pocketbooks!

The bill would enable real estate developers to create their own special purpose "governments" within cities and towns, without critical public interest protections like transparency, accountability, and public participation in decision-making. These new government-like structures -- run by unelected private property owners -- will enable developers to issue tax-exempt bonds and levy property "assessments" (functionally equivalent to taxes) to subsidize private and potentially unwanted development, and even scoop up invaluable public land inside their districts.

These private sub-municipalities could be formed with the consent of only 80% of landowners/acres. Not only would tenants have no voice in their creation or their decision-making, but they could also be stuck paying the bill for these shaky finance schemes, along with unwitting homeowners.

The bill is scheduled for a public hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 1 p.m. before the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures, and State Assets.

PLEASE EMAIL OR CALL the committee members and your legislators, and ask them to:

• Stop this dangerous step (S146/H159) into uncharted private governance.
• Seek ways to accommodate infrastructure/financing needs through existing mechanisms, which provide public safeguards.
• Speak with House Speaker DiMasi and Senate President Murray, and ask them to defeat this privatization effort, once and for all.

Click here for a sample email. Please email committee co-chairs Rep. David Flynn and Sen. Mark Montigny as well as your own legislators.

Or better yet,
COME TO THE HEARING ON 40T/S146/H159!
Wednesday, February 13, 1:00 PM – Room A-1, Statehouse

Thanks for standing up for healthy communities and real democracy!

Upward,
Jill Stein
Co-Founder, Mass. Coalition for Healthy Communities, www.masschc.org

P.S. Please cc us on your letters and send us any responses you get from legislators. For more information, please visit www.masschc.org/chapter40T.html , email shirley.kressel@verizon.net or eli@masschc.org, or call Shirley at 617-421-0835 or Eli at 617-821-1453.