ACTION ALERT: Ask Your State Legislators to Co-Sponsor CHAPA’s Priorities

It's a brand new legislative session, and CHAPA staff are already hard at work putting together CHAPA's legislative agenda for 2021-2022. In the meantime, we need your help in asking your legislators to show their support for affordable housing priorities this session.

Please email or call your State Representative and Senator TODAY to ask them to co-sponsor CHAPA’s legislative priorities below for affordable housing, community development, and homelessness prevention! 

These priorities will help us recover from the impacts of COVID-19 while moving forward on long-term solutions to the affordable housing challenges we were facing long before the pandemic. The legislation will create more affordable housing, restore our public housing, promote fair housing, raise resources for affordable housing, and protect tenants facing eviction.

As always, thank you for your advocacy. We will have more details for you on our full legislative agenda soon. Be sure to keep an eye out for an invitation to our Virtual Housing Day in the spring too!

You can use the following script in your message to your State Representative and State Senator:

As your constituent, I ask that you please co-sponsor the following bills related to affordable housing, community development, and homelessness prevention. This legislation will help us begin to recover from the virus while also moving forward on long-term solutions to the tremendous affordable housing challenges we were facing long before the pandemic. We need to pass these bills this session to help everyone have a safe, healthy, and affordable home. Thank you!

HOUSING PRODUCTION (HD.3945 & SD.2313)
Sponsors: Reps. Honan & Vargas and Sen. Crighton
Increases affordable housing production, removes restrictive zoning barriers, and proposes innovative land-use solutions to create more affordable housing.

RESTORING PUBLIC HOUSING (HD.3891 & SD.2469)
Sponsors: Rep. Honan and Sen. Crighton
Helps restore our state's public housing by allowing housing authorities to leverage new and additional resources for rehabilitation and redevelopment.

PROHIBITING EXCLUSIONARY ZONING (HD.1990 & SD.2200)
Sponsors: Rep. Barber and Sen. Chang-Diaz
Prohibits restrictive land use, zoning, and permitting decisions that perpetuate segregation.

AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHERING FAIR HOUSING (HD.3733 & SD.1990)
Sponsors: Reps. Dave Rogers & Santiago and Sen. Boncore
Creates a statewide duty to affirmatively further fair housing and create inclusive communities.

FAIR HOUSING DISPARATE IMPACT STANDARD (HD.3669 & SD.1765)
Sponsors: Rep. Dave Rogers and Sen. Boncore
Creates a statewide disparate impact standard to protect people against housing discrimination.

STRENGTHENING MRVP (HD.3277 & SD.1899)
Sponsors: Rep. Madaro and Sen. Lovely
Strengthens the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) by codifying the program and making improvements.

REVENUE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING & CLIMATE (HD.1252 & SD.611)
Sponsors: Rep. Elugardo and Sen. Eldridge
Increases the deeds excise tax on the sale of real property and dedicates the revenue towards affordable housing and climate sustainability.

RIGHT TO COUNSEL FOR EVICTIONS (HD.2441 & SD.1906)
Sponsors: Reps. Day & Dave Rogers and Sen. DiDomenico
Provides legal representation for low-income tenants and owner-occupants in eviction proceedings.

EVICTION RECORD SEALING (HD.1899 & SD.798)
Sponsors: Rep. Mike Moran and Sen. Boncore
Seals certain eviction records to protect tenants if there is no judgment against them or if they were not evicted.

REDUCING CPA RECORDING FEES FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING (HD.1851)
Sponsors: Rep. Ferrante
Reduces CPA recording fees for affordable housing.