WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2024

Dear Cambridge and Somerville Constituents —

I was proud to stand alongside Housing Committee Co-Chairs Jim Arciero and Lydia Edwards in Newton last week to witness Governor Healey sign the final version of the Affordable Homes Act, which authorizes $5.16 billion in state spending on affordable and public housing efforts. This housing bond bill also includes 49 policy items, such as allowing ADU's by-right statewide, eviction records sealing, a social housing pilot authorization, and much more.

As a member of the Joint Committee on Housing as well as the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures, and State Assets, I've been involved in this bill every step of the way. Thank you to Governor Healey, LG Driscoll, Secretary Augustus, and their staffs for working with me and my staff and so many other legislators and stakeholders on this bill over the past year, and thank you especially to House Housing Chair Rep. Jim Arciero and his staff as well.

Six years ago, during my first term in office, I was there when Governor Baker signed the previous multi-year housing bond bill, which authorized $1.8 billion in spending and had no major policy provisions. Contrast that with the size and scope of this bill and there's a reflection of the work so many of us who are dedicated to housing policy have done over the years. And yet, so much more remains to be done.

When Governor Healey introduced her version of the bond bill in October 2023, I was there to celebrate the inclusion of language to authorize a social housing pilot program, along with a local option transfer fee, eviction sealing provisions, and the $4+ billion overall price tag. Along the way, most of what the Governor proposed was retained or expanded upon by the legislature, although the real estate industry mounted an aggressive lobbying effort to stop the local option transfer fee from advancing in the House and the Senate.

The Affordable Homes Act is now on the books as Chapter 150 of the Acts of 2024. Bond bills like this one provide legislative authorization for executive borrowing and spending on multi-year capital investments. Now that the bill has been signed, the Administration has discretion in terms of implementation over the next five years. Currently, the Administration is planning a 30% increase in capital spending on housing programs.

Some of what this new law accomplishes:

• $2 billion for state public housing renovations — big shout out to the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO) who highlighted the need for dramatic increases in state public housing investments and upgrades. The fact that the new authorization for public housing is larger than the size of the entire previous housing bond bill speaks volumes.
• ADU's by-right statewide. A single ADU will now be allowed by right in any lot in a single-family zoning district across the Commonwealth, essentially ending single family zoning as we know it in Massachusetts. This change is anticipated to create some 10,000 new units across the state, according to the Governor's team.
• Eviction sealing — sealing of eviction records will now be allowed in many, but not all circumstances. I plan to monitor the impact here and push to expand this provision as needed.
• $275 million for innovative, sustainable and green housing initiatives, including an authorization for a social housing pilot program.
• $10 million authorized for the small properties acquisition fund.
• Prohibition on home purchase offers conditioned on the buyer waiving or limiting their right to a home inspection, with limited exceptions for family transfers, etc.
• Foreclosure prevention pilot program. Expanding seasonal communities designation, and many others.

Items that failed to get House-Senate Leadership concurrence:

• Local option real estate transfer fee. Not included in either the House or Senate versions of the bill.
• MWRA expansion. This was Speaker Mariano's initiative; I think it's a great idea to bring water service to more communities on the South Shore and along the Ipswich River basin — allowing for denser housing development near the commuter rail in more places around Massachusetts. However the $1 billion MWRA expansion did not survive conference talks with the Senate.
• Broker fee reform. This session, I filed legislation to allow cities and towns to regulate or even abolish apartment brokers fees. The Senate version of the housing bond bill included a narrower reform, requiring that any brokers fees be paid by the landlord/owner. However, this provision did not survive conference talks.
• Simple-majority approval of inclusionary zoning. This session, I filed legislation to allow city councils, select boards or town meetings to approve inclusionary zoning ordinances by simple majority vote (rather than two-thirds vote), making it easier to require affordable housing in new developments. Rep. Vargas included this provision in legislation he filed as well; however, it did not make it out of conference talks.
• Tenant Opportunity to Purchase. House-included. Didn't make it out of conference talks with the Senate.
• $150 million to support office-to-residential conversions. House proposed; didn't make it out of conference talks with the Senate.

Clearly, the Affordable Homes Act represents a major step forward for housing policy on Beacon Hill, and at the same time, there's still a lot of work to do to fully address the ongoing housing emergency.

New Shelter Rules Implemented by Healey-Driscoll Administration

Also last week, new family shelter rules went into effect at the East Cambridge Registry of Deeds building and at other overflow sites around the state. These rules are the latest in a series of rollbacks on access to family shelter that began last fall when Governor Healey capped the state's family shelter program (known as emergency assistance or "EA shelter") at 7,500 families.

In response to this cap on EA shelter — and out of a desire to uphold our Right To Shelter law for families — the legislature required the Administration to set up overflow shelters, which ended up typically being conjugate spaces with rows of cots. For the past eight months these overflow sites, like the one in the former probate court space in East Cambridge, have been called "family safety net shelters."

The new rules now convert these "family safety net shelters" to "temporary respite centers" or TRCs. Unhoused families will be limited to a stay of just five (5) business days at a TRC, but with a number of options for administrative extensions and exemptions. However, under these new rules, families who stay at a TRC will also be automatically prevented from a regular EA shelter placement (often a hotel room) for at least six months.

So far, the only families to be "evicted" under these new rules have left voluntarily with transportation to specific destinations, and most families have been granted extensions. That said, there are reports that families are declining to stay at the TRCs because doing so would now disqualify from from an EA placement in the next six months. It is my view the Administration should rescind this new rule. The overflow/respite shelters should be open as a last resort to any unhoused family not accommodated elsewhere in the system.

In Massachusetts, we should not and cannot let families with young children sleep on the streets or in places not fit for human habitation. I have suggested the Governor start with that as the framework for our family shelter policy, and from there, we can consider the difficult choices necessary to implement the policy in a reasonable way. 

To be sure, I understand the Administration has hard choices to make. Federal immigration policy doesn't ensure people entering the country have basic supports and authorizations to work. Everyone in leadership on Beacon Hill says they want to keep our nation-leading "Right to Shelter" law for families in place — that's a good thing — but the Governor, with the backing of legislative leaders, is now sending a message that "Massachusetts is full" — while at the same time trying to assure advocates the state will do all it can to avoid putting families on the street. 

We're still not Texas or Florida — we're still making an expansive $1 billion annual commitment to responding to family homelessness — but it's also fair to say we are losing ground in the struggle with homelessness. This is an alarming situation.

These matters came before the House of Representatives in March and April of this year — when legislation proposed limiting stays in EA shelter to nine months, with multiple extension options. I voted "No" on that bill because I couldn't support putting time limits on length of stay in family shelter. After all, the biggest barriers to exiting family shelter are reasons out of the control of unhoused families themselves — such as an outrageously expensive regional housing market and a lack of federal supports. I went on the GBH show "Talking Politics" to explain my stance at that time. 

In my recent conversations with the Healey-Driscoll Administration, they've made it clear that shelter operators have been and will continue to be allowed discretion to enable exemptions to the posted shelter time limits for a variety of hardships. The Emergency Shelter Priority List includes no-fault evictions, sudden circumstances like flood or fire, veterans, significant medical needs, newborn children, risk of domestic violence. My staff and I have been in contact with advocates, city officials, and Administration officials over the past few weeks to ask questions, gather feedback, and advocate for a policy that upholds our right to shelter while also respecting our communities and being careful with spending.

I stand firmly for the right to shelter, and I also see the nuance here. Massachusetts leaders have probably committed more to the right to shelter per capita than leaders from any other state. For $1 billion annually, there really shouldn't be any families with young children sleeping on the streets or in airport lobbies or in emergency rooms in Massachusetts — but increasingly, this is the reality. I am going to continue standing up for our Right To Shelter law and advocating for policies to advance the goal of housing as a human right.

HERO Act, Wage Transparency, and more

In other news, the Governor signed the HERO Act last week. This new law will increase various benefits and opportunities for our veterans; you can read more about it here on my State House blog. The Governor also signed wage equity legislation into law. I was on hand along with Sen. Jehlen, Rep. Livingstone, and others for the bill signing ceremony at the State House last week. There's more about it here on my State House blog.

As we approach the second half of August, I am continuing to call on legislative leaders to finalize agreements on the economic development bill, the climate bill, and other outstanding bills leftover from the chaotic final hours of formal sessions. I am pleased that both the House Speaker and the Senate President have indicated a willingness to return to formal session pending agreement on the economic development bill.

Thank you, as always, for being an informed and engaged constituent. Please reach out anytime!

Yours in service,

Rep. Mike Connolly