Aug. 2, 2024 - "Last week, the Legislature concluded its two-year session with a flurry of action on several major bills, only some of which made it through both chambers and to the Governor’s desk. We encourage Governor Healey to sign the Affordable Homes Act into law. At $5.16 billion, would represent the Commonwealth’s largest ever investment in affordable housing."

"While thanking the Legislature for passing this bill after careful consideration, we also thank Governor Healey for filing it in the first place, as concrete evidence of her Administration’s strong commitment to addressing the housing crisis across Massachusetts."   

"The bill’s funding measures will drive critical housing production and preservation across the state, while also modernizing and decarbonizing our state-funded public housing stock. It also includes several critical policy measures, like Accessory Dwelling Units by-right in all communities, the creation of an Office of Fair Housing at the Executive Office of Housing & Livable Communities, and a process to seal evictions records in certain circumstances – all of which can help to remove several important barriers standing between residents and the housing they need."  

"However, we are disappointed that critical zoning and revenue-raising tools were omitted from the final bill, and no one should doubt that unaddressed housing issues will demand the Legislature’s attention as soon as they return to Beacon Hill.  These issues include: 

1. Inclusionary Zoning. The state should allow municipalities to adopt inclusionary zoning via a simple majority vote of City Council or Town Meeting, rather than the current two-thirds requirement. 

1. Local Option Transfer Fee.  Over a dozen communities filed Home Rule Petitions to adopt such a modest fee on the transfer of real property to fund affordable housing, and the Governor included a statewide local option transfer fee in the Affordable Home Act she filed.  All of these proposals died in the Legislature. The Commonwealth must provide municipalities with the tools they need to address the housing crisis in their own communities. 

1. Tenant Opportunity to Purchase (TOPA). The House included this provision in its version of AHA, but it died in Conference Committee.  Tenants deserve an opportunity to make a joint offer on their homes before those buildings are sold, rents are raised, or tenants are evicted.  Tenants, municipalities, non-profit housing groups, and owners can and should be required to work together to save people’s homes whenever and wherever possible. TOPA would do just that. 

1. Sale of Foreclosed Properties. In this year’s budget, the Legislature passed a provision that will make it harder for municipalities to sell tax foreclosed properties for conversion to affordable housing. This issue, which is particularly problematic in Gateway Cities, should be revisited and adjusted in the next session. 

Moving beyond housing, we were discouraged that the Legislature failed to pass critical legislation on energy facility siting, the Economic Development Bond Bill, and the Municipal Empowerment Act.  

Siting and Permitting. Still pending before a conference committee, this bill would have streamlined the process of siting and permitting energy facilities to better facilitate grid modernization, which is absolutely critical if we are to meet our climate goals. The bill also included a few of MAPC’s legislative priorities such as expanding the existing Bottle Bill and establishing a statewide drought management taskforce.  

Economic Development Bond. This bond would have made major investments in the life sciences and clean technology industries and continued funding for longtime municipal programs like MassWorks, local economic development grants, and the Brownfields program. The bill includes tax breaks for certain in demand internships and provides a way for foreign trained physicians to work here in Massachusetts.  

Municipal Empowerment Act. This bill, filed by Governor Healey, would have made permanent the flexible approach to remote and hybrid public meetings that began during the pandemic era.  It would have modernized municipal procurement processes and given localities more flexible options to raise needed local revenue. This proposal has not yet passed either legislative branch." 

"It was also disappointing that Mayor Wu’s proposal to temporarily adjust tax classifications in Boston also failed to pass, despite its importance to low/moderate income homeowners and seniors on a fixed income." 

"Items left unaddressed by the end of July are so important and so numerous that we respectfully ask the General Court to find a way to address these issues before the current session ends on December 31st.  Adopting consensus bills during informal sittings of the branches, calling a formal session to vote on bond bills, or convening the Members after the November election are all possible strategies to be considered. The people of the Commonwealth simply cannot wait for the entire process to start again in January, likely postponing action for months if not years."