An Act to incentivize the adoption of local climate resilience policies

This bill creates a new grant program called MVP plus to financially support Massachusetts towns that adopt specific local climate resilience policies. To qualify for funding, municipalities must complete a vulnerability assessment, adopt a specialized resilience code, and implement at least four of six required measures, such as stormwater utility programs, community resilience hubs, green infrastructure training, and floodplain protection rules. Once certified, eligible towns will receive annual funds from a dedicated trust to build climate projects or hire staff to manage sustainability efforts, with a streamlined approval process designed to reduce administrative burdens. The distribution of these funds will be based on a formula considering factors like population size, road mileage, employment levels, environmental justice criteria, and flood vulnerability.