2015-2016 Legislative Report Card Released

This week we released the twenty-eighth edition of our Legislative Report Card, in which we score state legislators based on their environmental roll call votes.  These roll calls are an objective way to evaluate Massachusetts legislators based on how they vote on Mass Audubon’s priority bills and funding line items.

During the 2015-2016 legislative session, the House voted on 14 of our priority environmental roll calls (out of a total 559 roll calls). The Senate voted on 11 of our priority environmental roll calls (out of a total 681 roll calls). A legislator’s score does not represent an endorsement, or lack thereof, by Mass Audubon.

Mass Audubon’s 2015-2016 Legislative Report Card scores state legislators based on their environmental roll call votes. Photo credit: Tim Lenz

The votes we scored included a landmark energy bill requiring the procurement of 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind power, and our Comprehensive Adaptation Management Plan (CAMP) for climate change resilience, though the latter was ultimately stalled.

It remains one of Mass Audubon’s goals to encourage the legislature to engage in more floor debate on environmental legislation. Crucial decisions on environmental and energy policy should not be made during back-room meetings, but through open discussion on the House and Senate floors. This is particularly important in the House, where hardly any roll calls on our priority legislation besides budget amendments and overrides took place.

We will continue to advocate for bolder, more progressive environmental bills during the current legislative session. Massachusetts must remain a committed leader on issues like climate change and clean energy now more than ever

You can see the latest Legislative Report Cards, along with archives going back to 2000,  at:  www.massaudubon.org/advocacy/reportcard.