Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
In the closing hours of the formal legislative session for the year, the Legislature enacted a $5.16 billion housing bond bill, but couldn’t reach an accord on a multi-billion-dollar economic development package or a climate bill aimed primarily at promoting clean energy.
The housing bill is intended to kickstart housing production across Massachusetts, and the House and Senate had passed different versions in June.
The bill includes $2 billion for the rehabilitation, repair and modernization of more than 40,000 public housing units across the state, an increase of $500 million over what Gov. Maura Healey proposed in the Affordable Homes Act she filed last October.
It also would make significant investments for the HousingWorks Infrastructure Program ($175 million) and for innovative, sustainable and green housing initiatives ($275 million).
Of concern to municipalities, particularly those that have already worked out and adopted local rules to allow accessory dwelling units, the housing bill would allow ADUs as-of-right in single-family zones statewide, a provision that would preempt almost all local authority and existing regulations on ADUs.
The bill does not include a local-option transfer fee on high-value real estate transactions, which was proposed by the governor and supported by a number of communities, including Boston. The fee would have been used to fund affordable housing efforts in municipalities that adopt it.
The bill creates a “seasonal communities” designation and commission but no specific funding stream for it, as was contemplated in the Senate version of the bill.
The final bill left out many policy additions included in individual House and Senate versions, including a provision that would have allowed inclusionary zoning bylaws or ordinances to be passed by a simple majority, rather than a two-thirds vote, something advocates have pushed for to bring inclusionary zoning in line with changes made in the Housing Choice legislation of 2020.
The governor has 10 days to consider action on the bill.
Clean energy
A House-Senate conference committee was unable to work out differences between separate clean energy bills that would, among other provisions, reform the process for siting and permitting clean energy infrastructure such as solar arrays, wind turbines and battery storage.
Both bills included a requirement for cities and towns to approve small clean energy infrastructure project applications through a consolidated permitting process within 12 months or the permit would be automatically approved. Regulations and guidance for this process would be developed by a new Division of Clean Energy Siting and Permitting within the Department of Energy Resources.
The consolidation of the local permitting process was a central theme of the final recommendations of the 28-member Commission on Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting. The policy was not supported by the MMA during the commission’s work, and was a concern articulated to both the Senate and the House as they considered their legislation.
The bills also would require the Energy Facilities Siting Board to approve large projects through a consolidated permitting process within 15 months, and would expand EFSB membership to include municipal representation.
The bills were intended to advance the Commonwealth’s goal to reach a net zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050 through a range of initiatives, including shifting energy generation to sources such as wind and solar while electrifying transportation and heating and cooling systems in buildings.
Economic development
A House-Senate conference committee also was unable to reach agreement on a proposed multi-billion-dollar economic development bond bill, which the governor filed in March as the Mass Leads Act.
A $4.1 billion version passed by the House on June 27 and a $2.8 billion bill passed by the Senate on July 11 included the following investments of interest to municipalities:
• $400 million for MassWorks grants for local infrastructure
• $100 million for the Rural Development Fund
• $150 million for the Public Library Construction Program to help municipalities update and rehabilitate these essential facilities
• $100 million for grants, through the Seaport Economic Council, to help the state’s 78 coastal municipalities withstand and adapt to the impacts of climate change
• $400 million for climate technology bonding authorizations
The House version of the bill included an amendment to update and modernize civil service hiring practices. The House’s proposal reflected years of work among a comprehensive group of stakeholders. The MMA reported on several key aspects of this proposal in March, including a new “hybrid” pathway that Civil Service departments could use to more easily identify and hire candidates for municipal police and fire positions outside of the traditional exam process. Other reforms include expanded flexibility for residency requirements, and support and expansion for cadet programs.
The Senate bill included a provision, known as SAPHE 2.0, that would create a statewide action plan for bolstering public health services. The MMA had long been supportive of the intent of previous legislative efforts, but was concerned about potential financial burdens on cities and towns. The MMA worked with the legislative sponsors to add important safeguards for municipalities in a revised amendment, which was supported by the MMA and adopted in the final Senate bill.
Because bond bills require a roll call to authorize borrowing on behalf of the Commonwealth, the bonding authorizations included in the economic development bill cannot move now that formal sessions have ended. However, policy provisions and outside sections could technically move forward in an informal session.
Informal sessions
The Legislature will continue to hold informal sessions through the rest of the year, allowing for some additional policy legislation to be enacted, but the risk is that it only takes a single “no” vote to derail a bill during informals.