Understanding Question 6: Dedicated Funding for Clean Water & Nature

Learn how dedicating the existing state sales tax on sporting goods will protect clean drinking water, conserve natural areas, and expand local parks — without raising taxes.

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$100 Million/Year: Dedicated to water and land protection statewide.
$0 Tax Increase: Doesn’t raise taxes or create a new tax
Existing Revenue: Reallocates the standard sales tax we already pay on sporting goods like camping gear, golf clubs, and fishing equipment.
Strict Oversight: Managed by a public oversight board with required annual public reporting.
Broad Support: Supported by a coalition of over 90 land, water, and conservation organizations and businesses.

How Question 6 Works:
Dedicated Revenue Without New Taxes

Current Purchases

We buy everyday sporting goods like camping gear, golf clubs, and fishing equipment.

Revenue Reallocation

Instead of going into the state’s $56.9 billion General Fund, the state sales tax we already pay on those outdoor items is dedicated directly to the Nature for All Fund, raising as much as $100 million for water and nature.

Water and Land Conservation

Funds from the Nature for All Fund are used to protect land and water and build more parks and greenspaces all across Massachusetts.

Question 6 does not tax outdoor recreation extra;
it simply ensures the taxes paid on outdoor gear go toward protecting the outdoors.

How the Funding Will Be Used

Protecting Clean Drinking Water

Cleaning up polluted water sources and reducing runoff in lakes, rivers, and streams to safeguard drinking water in taps and wells.
Conserving Forests, Farms & Wetlands

Permanently protecting forests and wetlands, preserving working family farms, and preventing the loss of natural wildlife habitats.
Parks, Trails & Urban Greenspaces

Creating and upgrading local parks, urban community gardens, and public trails throughout the state
Climate Resilience & Flood Prevention

Supporting natural flood control, storm damage prevention, and coastal wetland protection.

Guaranteeing Every Dollar Is Spent Responsibly

Public Oversight Board

Question 6 establishes an independent board to review and approve all fund expenditures.

Annual Public Reports

Question 6 requires annual public reporting so voters can track exactly where and how funds are spent.

Tested in Other States, Critical for Massachusetts Today

Other states including Virginia, Georgia, and Texas have already dedicated the revenue from their state’s sporting goods sales tax to land and water conservation and restoration, providing them with hundreds of millions of dollars annually to preserve, restore, and improve their land, water, forests, parks, greenspace, and outdoor recreation opportunities.

With federal conservation funding under threat and the effects of climate change worsening, Massachusetts needs to act now to protect our rivers, lakes, forests, and farms. Every year we wait, we lose more irreplaceable natural areas—and the cost to protect them only grows. There will never be a better time to prioritize water and land protection than today.