2024 End of Formal Session Legislative Outcomes: MAPC Priorities and Interest Areas

December 30, 2024 – As a new legislative session begins, MAPC took time to reflect on the Legislature’s accomplishments during the second half of the 193rd Legislative Session. This session, both branches chose to reconvene after July 31 to pass crucial legislation that was left on the table at the end of the formal session. During a special session in November, the Legislature approved several of MAPC's policy priorities, while the FY25 budget and the Affordable Homes Act were signed into law earlier this year during formal session. The Legislature also continued to pass additional legislation during informal sessions all the way through the end of the year.

Still, a number of MAPC priorities were left on the table as this session ended. These priorities include permanent remote and hybrid meeting flexibility, the local option transfer fee, inclusionary zoning by simply majority, and the Municipal Empowerment Act, which included critical municipal process, procurement and staffing improvements. The MAPC Government Affairs team continues to work with legislators, advocates, and partners to advance these priorities both in informal sessions and early in the next legislative session beginning in January 2025.

Below is a brief outline of some of the bills passed during formal legislative sessions and updates on priority legislation that are still under consideration. If you would like to learn more about any of these bills, please contact Leah Robins ([email protected]), Norman Abbott ([email protected]), Matt Walsh ([email protected]) or Georgia Barlow ([email protected]) on the Government Affairs team.

Budget Priorities

On July 18, the Massachusetts Legislature submitted their conferenced fiscal year 2025 (FY25) budget to Governor Healey. On July 29, Governor Healey returned the budget with several line-item vetoes and suggested edits. The House voted to override some vetoes, but the Senate declined to vote on the vetoes, with leadership citing an uncertain fiscal outlook. This $57.8 billion FY25 budget reflects an increase of $1.97 billion (3.5%) over FY25, supported by $41.5 billion for FY25, which is $208 million less than revenues assumed in the FY24 GAA.

Key MAPC Line Items

For a full summary of budget priorities and outcomes, click here.

Non-Budget Priorities

MAPC was closely involved with several important pieces of legislation that passed this session. These bills span MAPC’s varied practice areas, from climate legislation to clean energy, public health, and more.

Arts & Culture

Downtown Vitality Act (Passed): Although slightly changed from the bill that MAPC initially endorsed, an amendment from Senator Cronin was included in the final Economic Development Bond Bill that passed in November. As a result, a new Downtown Vitality Fund will be established, seeded with $9.5 million in bond funding, to strengthen cultural identity and prevent cultural displacement.

Clean Energy/Environment

Siting and Climate Bill (Passed): The Senate and the House each passed their own version of a comprehensive climate and siting bill. Ultimately, a consensus was reached in October and arrived on the Governor’s desk in November. This bill streamlines 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. It also includes a number of other MAPC-supported policies, such as paving the way for easier municipal EV procurement, and right to charge legislation that will help the Commonwealth hit its emissions goals.

Bottle Bill Expansion (Advanced): The Senate included an amendment to the Siting Bill, which would have expanded the existing bottle bill and increased the deposit on those bottles from 5 to 10 cents, which would help to incentives the recycling of such containers. Ultimately, this amendment was not included in the final bill.

Competitive Electrical Supplier Ban (Advanced): The Senate passed a ban on Competitive Electrical Suppliers twice – once as a standalone bill and once as part of the Siting Bill. Both versions would ban third party energy suppliers from contracting with residential customers but have no impact on business contracts or municipal aggregation. This amendment was not included in the final bill.

Statewide Drought Management Taskforce (Advanced): The Senate’s version of the Siting Bill included an amendment that would have created a taskforce to maintain and update a statewide drought management plan that addresses drought preparedness and response protocol to drought. This amendment was not included in the final bill.

Housing

Housing Bond Bill (Passed): Perhaps the most notable accomplishment of the session was the passage of the Affordable Homes Act. The bill is a $5.16 billion bond bill that includes funding to drive critical housing production and preservation across the state.

Key MAPC Line Items

The bill also included the following MAPC priority policy provisions:

• ADUs By-Right: The bill allows one accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to be developed by right in all lots in single-family zoning districts, with a special permit required for any additional ADU. ADUs will still be subject to site plan review, dimensional requirements, water and sewer regulations, and regulation on their use as short-term rentals. The bill also limits parking requirements for ADUs, allowing municipalities to require a maximum of one additional space for an ADU, except for ADUs within 0.5 miles of a transit station, where no additional parking may be required.

• Eviction Sealing: The bill establishes a first-of-its-kind process to seal eviction records, which displaced people previously carried for life. The bill establishes separate timelines and prerequisites for the sealing of no-fault evictions, evictions for non-payment of rent, and fault evictions.
  
• Office of Fair Housing: The bill creates a first-of-its-kind office within the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) to affirmatively further fair housing through education, testing, and policy recommendations. While regional fair housing offices provide some of this support on a regional level, and the Attorney General’s office and the Mass. Commission Against Discrimination handle enforcement of Fair Housing Law, this office will be the first state level office charged explicitly with administering pre-enforcement fair housing efforts across secretariats.

• Seasonal Community Designation: The bill establishes a Seasonal Community designation and a Seasonal Communities Advisory Council, including a seat for all regional planning agencies (RPAs) with at least one designated Seasonal Community. The bill designates certain communities as Seasonal Communities while allowing the Secretary of the EOHLC to designate further communities at their discretion. The bill grants these communities certain powers, such as the ability to acquire year-round use restrictions and develop housing for essential public employees.

• Small Properties Acquisition Fund: The bill includes $10 million in funding for the fund, which is designed to preserve small properties that residents can afford without state subsidies, known as naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH).

The Senate’s version of the bill also included a Commission on Housing Shortages to study local option transfer fees, deeds excise fee increases, vacancy taxes, and other mechanisms to raise revenue for housing, as well as a separate Commission studying improvements to the Community Preservation Act, both with recommendations due by Sept. 2025. However, neither provision made it into the final bill.

Access to Counsel (Passed): The FY25 Budget includes $2.5 million for a pilot program to provide low-income tenants and low-income owner occupants with legal representation in eviction proceedings.

Economic Development

Economic Development Bond Bill: Like the Siting Bill, both the House and Senate passed a version of this bill but were unable to compromise on a final version until November. This bond provides 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. Additionally, the bill included several other policy components, such as changes to civil service law, and a provision to admit Massachusetts into the national nurse licensure compact among many others.

Wi-Fi procurement (Passed): The Economic Development Bond Bill included crucial language that will allow municipalities to procure broadband internet service along with the design, installation, maintenance, and operation of those services in a single procurement for public buildings or public land.

Childcare Policies & Funding (Passed): Senate passed a standalone childcare bill in the Spring of 2024, but the House opted not to take it up. Ultimately, the two chambers compromised by including crucial funding mechanisms in the FY25 budget. These included:

• Employer Supported Childcare: The budget includes language requiring EOWLD to report on ways that employers can support additional early education and care benefits for their employers.

• Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3 Grants): The budget codifies these grants which developed during the pandemic to help retain and recruit staff amongst other uses.

• Childcare Income Eligibility Expansion: The budget includes $18 million in Fair Share surtax funding to expand eligibility to childcare financial assistance to families with incomes that are 85% of the state median income

Public Health

SAPHE 2.0 (Passed): The Senate’s version of the Economic Development Bond Bill included an amendment that would ensure minimum public health standards for every community, increase capacity and effectiveness by encouraging municipalities to share services, create a uniform data collection and reporting system, and ensure a sustainable state funding mechanism to support local boards of health and regional health departments.

Substance Use Disorder Support (Passed): This legislation includes protections for people who use drug testing devices as an owner, employee, intern, volunteer or contractor providing harm reduction services, making it easier for first responders and others to know what is in the drug supply. The legislation expands naloxone access across the Commonwealth by making it available over the counter without a prescription, and ensuring that it is covered by health insurance, even without a prescription.  Finally, the legislation directs DPH to make a program for licensed alcohol and drug counselors and recovery coaches to support people throughout the Commonwealth.

Safer Firefighter Gear (Passed): One of the final bills passed this session was a ban on intentionally added Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to firefighter turnout gear.

Firearm Modernization (Passed): The state passed a comprehensive firearm bill to crack down on firearm loopholes such as untraceable “ghost guns” and 3-D printed guns. The bill provided language to enhance the “Red Flag Law” and improve anti violence programs in the Commonwealth.

Transportation

EV School Bus Procurement (Passed): Prior to this law, municipalities needed to go through multiple procurement processes to purchase, maintain, and charge electric buses. This can be costly and time-consuming. With the passage of the Siting Bill, municipalities are allowed to buy and install charging stations for EV buses in a single procurement.

Funding for MBTA low-income fares (Passed): The final FY25 budget includes $20 million for a low-income fare program. This will not fully fund the low-income fare program as proposed by the MBTA, and there is no language to make it permanent.

Right to charge (Passed): The Siting Bill also included language that prohibits condo associations, homeowners' associations, historic district commissions, and other similar groups from unreasonable restrictions on the installation of EV charging infrastructure. Owners are still responsible for paying for the costs associated with installation.

Enforced Bus Lanes (Passed): One of the last pieces of legislation advanced last session will allow transportation authorities, like the MBTA, to use bus mounted cameras to record vehicles that are parked illegally in dedicated bus lanes. It will also allow municipalities to install cameras at bus stops to prevent illegal parking.