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6/8/2026
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Budget includes Cotter’s proposals for forestry hoses, making the green bond greener
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 STATE HOUSE – The 2027 state budget bill passed by the House of Representatives Friday includes a proposal from Rep. Megan L. Cotter to allocate $50,000 for the purchase of new forestry firefighting hoses for the Department of Environmental Management.
Representative Cotter, who has been a leader in the General Assembly on forestry issues, introduced legislation (2026-H 8206) earlier in the session seeking the appropriation for long overdue updates for DEM’s forest firefighting hoses.
“Controlling wildfires is hard at the best of times. Expecting firefighters to do it when their most basic tools are antiquated is asking for trouble,” said Representative Cotter (D-Dist. 39, Exeter, Richmond, Hopkinton), who added that some of DEM’s forestry hoses date back to the 1980s. “I’m very grateful to my colleagues in the House for recognizing and addressing this necessity. When forest fires occur, firefighters need functional equipment to get them controlled and to keep the public and themselves safe. This is an investment in safety and good land stewardship.”
Representative Cotter is also pleased that her fellow representatives supported her efforts to make the “green bond” included in the budget bill greener by adding open space preservation and resiliency efforts to the $55 million environmental bond question that will be presented to voters in November’s statewide election. She successfully led a similar effort that added open space and conservation funding to the green bond that was overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2024.
“Every dollar we spend on land conservation in New England has a return of many times its value, and Rhode Islanders have shown time and time again that they support investments in conservation. Preservation is part of what makes Rhode Island special, beautiful and livable, and we all win when we are able to save natural places,” said Representative Cotter.
The budget is slated to come before the Senate Finance Committee today, and before the full Senate tomorrow.
Representative Cotter has been a strong advocate for forests, farms and conservation throughout her legislative career. In her first year in the House, she sponsored legislation that created a legislative commission to help the state determine the best action for improving forest management. In 2023 and 2024, she chaired that commission, which issued recommendations that included funding forest fire prevention programs and more forestry staff in the Department of Environmental Management, state and local collaboration to map accessible routes for firefighting in forested lands, and helping owners of forested lands to develop fire management plans. Her leadership and advocacy helped add funding in the 2025 state budget for additional forest rangers at DEM as well as strengthening the 2024 green bond.
For more information, contact:
Meredyth R. Whitty, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-1923
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