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Committee debates expanding READY rural program to help farms in larger municipalities
Summary
Committee members and READY program staff discussed draft language in H942 to let the READY (rural economic development) initiative support community development projects statewide (including farms in larger municipalities) while retaining program priority for small rural towns; staff agreed to return with clarified language within days.
Committee discussion on April 29, 2026, examined draft language added to House Bill 942 that would expand the scope of the READY (rural economic development initiative) program administered by the Housing Conservation Board to allow community development initiatives statewide to qualify for READY assistance when state resources or staffing are not available.
Paulie Major, policy director for the Housing Conservation Board, and Liz Gleason, director of the Farm & Forest Viability Program, told the committee the intent is to preserve READY's focus on rural places while giving the program flexibility to assist specific projects that lack local grant-writing capacity, including farms located inside larger municipalities or communities that have been pushed over population thresholds by mergers.
"The intent of the program is to target rural areas that have less technical capacity. We will not change that. Our rules governing the program will continue to prioritize rural areas," Paulie Major said.
Members asked whether removing a 5,000-population threshold in statute would inadvertently broaden both the geographic and programmatic scope of READY, risking diversion of resources away from smaller towns. Staff replied that program rules could preserve prioritization and that the committee might also use statutory guardrails to limit broadening. One committee member proposed a percentage cap on funds to preserve primary focus on small towns; others counseled caution about prescribing fixed statutory percentages.
Committee members and staff discussed examples of READY work (water and wastewater infrastructure, grant-writing support, community centers and historic-preservation projects) and agreed to refine the draft. Staff said they could circulate language quickly and possibly return to the committee on Friday for further consideration.
What happens next: READY staff will provide clarified statutory language or programmatic rules within days; the committee deferred final action until revised language is available.
