Question 6Conservation fund from sporting goods sales tax
Read the full text of the measure: Information for Voters page for this question
In plain words
Creates a "Nature for All Fund" paid for with existing sales tax on sporting goods, recreational vehicles, and golf courses. It does not add a new tax. (sec.state.ma.us )
Before and after
| Today | If YES wins | |
|---|---|---|
| What the rule is | Sales tax from these items goes into the state's general budget. | The fund would get 50% of that sales tax the first year and 100% after July 1, 2028 (not counting parts already sent to the MBTA and school building funds). The state environmental office would spend it on drinking water, rivers, coasts, farms, forests, parks, and trails. A 15-member board would set spending rules. The Legislature would still need to approve the spending. Starts July 1, 2027. |
Numbers from the official ballot title (ballot title ); also see
Example
Illustration only: sales tax paid on a new bicycle would, after 2028, go into the conservation fund instead of the general budget. (sec.state.ma.us )
Biggest change
- New Nature for All Fund, subject to legislative appropriation source: sec.state.ma.us
- 50% of covered sales tax in year one, 100% after July 1, 2028 source: sec.state.ma.us
- 15-member Nature for All Board source: sec.state.ma.us
- Annual report on spending in environmental justice communities source: sec.state.ma.us
- Effective July 1, 2027 source: sec.state.ma.us
Who it affects most: People who use parks and open space; cities, towns, and land trusts; other state programs paid from the general budget.
Cost to the state: The Executive Office of Administration and Finance says tens of millions of dollars a year would shift from the state operating budget to the fund, with large start-up costs; a full analysis was not possible.
Our plain-words summary. Every line points to its source.
What your vote means
Creates a conservation fund that receives some sales tax on sporting goods, recreational vehicles, and golf.
No fund is created; no change in how these taxes are spent.
Our one-line summary. The state's Information for Voters booklet has the official statements of what a YES and a NO vote would do.
Why people want it, and why others object
Why this is on the ballot
Voters put this on the ballot by signing a petition. It changes a state law, which lawmakers can later change. It passes with more YES than NO votes, and YES votes from at least 30% of all voters who cast a ballot.
- On May 4, 2026, a majority of the Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions recommended no action. source: sec.state.ma.us
Why supporters want it
- Official argument by Mass Audubon: dedicates up to $100 million a year to drinking water, flood prevention, pollution, parks, and trails; conserves forests, farms, and habitat; no new tax; "strict oversight and annual reporting"; backed by more than 90 local groups and businesses (proponent claim). source: sec.state.ma.us
Why opponents object
- No organized group urged a NO vote. The Secretary of the Commonwealth wrote this argument, partly from the Legislature's majority committee report; it does not reflect the Secretary's opinion. Points: permanently sets aside up to 100% of this sales tax, which would mean shifting or cutting money for other programs; could displace existing infrastructure and environmental funding; funds are not guaranteed because the Legislature still controls spending. source: sec.state.ma.us
Who backs each side
- Mass Audubon source: sec.state.ma.us
In each side's own words where we could find them, quoted or summarized with a link to the source. We don't endorse either side.
What you will see on your ballot
Official ballot wording, word for word (tap to open)
The official ballot title, word for word from the Secretary of the Commonwealth's Information for Voters .
Question 6: Law Proposed by Initiative Petition. Natural Resource Conservation Fund
Do you approve of a law summarized below, on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of Representatives before May 6, 2026?
YES
NO
Official summary by the Attorney General (tap to open)
This proposed law would establish a Nature for All Fund that, subject to appropriation by the Legislature, would receive 50% of state taxes collected from the sale and use of sporting goods, recreational vehicles, and golf courses for the first year of its operation. After July 1, 2028, the Nature for All Fund would begin receiving, subject to appropriation by the Legislature, 100% of state taxes collected on the sale and use of sporting goods, recreational vehicles, and golf courses. The sales tax revenue received by the Nature for All Fund would exclude sales tax revenue transferred to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority State and Local Contribution Fund and the School Modernization and Reconstruction Trust Fund. The proposed law would allow the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to spend the money in the Nature for All Fund for natural resource conservation.(sec.state.ma.us )
The proposed law would allow public and private donations to the Nature for All Fund. The proposed law would prevent the state comptroller from transferring surplus funds in the Nature for All Fund at the end of the fiscal year. It would also allow state agencies, municipalities, public charities involved in natural resource conservation, tribal governments, and other regional public entities to receive money from the Nature for All Fund.
Natural resource conservation would include the conservation or restoration of land to protect drinking water, streams, rivers, lakes, coasts, farms, forests, connectivity between open spaces, and lands and natural resources of indigenous cultural significance. Natural resource conservation would also include the creation, improvement, and management of parks, trails, greenspaces or outdoor recreation access.
The proposed law would establish a 15-member Nature for All Board that consists of five state officials and ten members of the public appointed by the Governor. The proposed law would require the ten members of the public to include representatives of underserved communities and indigenous peoples and at least one person with expertise or experience in natural resource conservation. The proposed law would allow the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to spend money from the Nature for All Fund to hire staff to manage the fund. The proposed law would also require the Nature for All Board to establish rules about how the money in the Nature for All Fund should be spent, including rules regarding alignment with environmental justice principles, access to and restoration of lands and natural resources of indigenous cultural significance, promotion of affordable housing development, and other matters regarding spending and bond issuance.
The proposed law would require the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to submit an annual report to various state committees regarding the funds spent to buy or improve land in cities and towns containing environmental justice populations.
The proposed law would take effect on July 1, 2027.
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