On Thursday, the House gave near final approval to An Act Promoting Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Funds (House #4709). During its informal session, with the House HUD Committee chairman, Kevin Honan, in the chamber, the House concurred with the version of the bill that passed the Senate in late November. The bill needs a final enactment vote in both branches before it can be sent to the governor.

This local option bill establishes a framework for municipal affordable housing trust funds. It would allow cities and town to invest funds or deposit property into an affordable housing trust fund without having to obtain approval from the General Court through individual home rule petitions. During the fall, CHAPA made this bill a high priority for passage. Communities such as Gloucester, Melrose, and Chelsea have advocated strongly for the bill.

Click here to see the bill's legislative history. The text is also available.

Bond Bill Terms Bill Heads to Governor

The Senate and House have enacted and sent to the governor House bill 5108, the so-called “terms bill.” This bill describes the terms under which certain bonds will be issued, including bond funding for the Home Modification Loan Program, the Facilities Consolidation Fund, the Housing Innovations Fund, and the new Community Based Housing program that are described in Chapter 290 of the Acts of 2004.

The legislative history of the terms bill is available as is the text of the bill.

CHAPA Establishes State Legislative Priorities for 2005

December 1 was the deadline to timely file legislation for the 2005-2006 legislative session. Bills are being reviewed and assigned to committees by the Senate and House Clerks. CHAPA will be working on a number of housing-related priorities.

Other bills include employer assisted housing, funding for Chapter 40R through continuing the expedited disposition of state surplus land, and a process to streamline abutter appeals. A complete list of CHAPA’s priorities is available on our website. The text of each of our top priority bills can be found by clicking on the bill title. The text and sponsors were accurate as of the filing deadline. Official versions should be on the state web site within the next few weeks.

DHCD Updating Section 8 Waiting List

The Department of Housing and Community Development is updating the unified waiting list for the Section 8 vouchers administered through the state's regional administering agencies.

More than 50,000 households are waiting for a Section 8 voucher from DHCD. The department hopes its administering agencies will be able to issue Section 8 vouchers in the spring of 2005. An up-to-date waiting list will make it easier and quicker for the agencies to contact people who need a voucher at that time.

To update the list, DHCD will send a mailing to everyone on the waiting list that applied for a Section 8 voucher before Dec. 31, 2002. Anyone who wishes to remain on the DHCD Section 8 wai! ting list must return a tear-off form, postmarked no later than January 14. For more information contact Jennie Rawski, DHCD, 617-573-1199, Peggy O'Brien, DHCD, 617-573-1198, or Diane Yentel, MCH, 781-595-7570 x15.

Smart Growth Overlay Regulation Committee Wraps Up

After four meetings, the Smart Growth Zoning Districts Advisory Working Group has concluded its meetings regarding the draft regulations to implement M.G.L. Ch. 40R. It is anticipated that draft regulations will be available for public comment within the next few weeks. We will post them on CHAPA’s web site once they are released.

Hearing on Qualified Allocation Plan

DHCD will be holding a hearing on the draft Qualified Allocation Plan for the federal and state low income housing tax credit programs. The hearing will be held on December 30 at 2:00 p.m. at DHCD in Conference Room A. The draft plan is posted on CHAPA's web site.