MA House Releases ARPA Spending Plan Proposal with $600 Million for Affordable Housing

Post date
October 26, 2021

On October 25, 2021, the House Ways and Means Committee and other House leaders released a $3.65 billion plan for spending a majority of the state’s federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) fiscal recovery funding. The plan calls for $1.15 billion to come from last year’s budget surplus and the rest to be taken from the state’s ~$5 billion ARPA fiscal recovery funds allocation. This allows for ~$2.4 billion of the State’s ARPA fiscal recovery dollars to remain unspent and be obligated at a later date.

CHAPA thanks Chairman Michlewitz and the members of the House Ways and Means and Federal Stimulus and Racial Equity Oversight Committees for prioritizing $600 million towards affordable housing. Their housing investments are outlined below:

Affordable Housing Investments

The spending plan (H.4219) provides $600 million for supportive housing, public housing, homeownership, and affordable housing production. These investments will provide homeownership aid, housing production, and maintenance, with a focus on developing both affordable housing and supportive housing stock as a much-needed response to ongoing housing instability and homelessness.

A summary of the funding allocation breakdown is provided below:

  • $150 million for Supportive Housing Production
  • $150 million for Public Housing Maintenance
  • $100 million for Homeownership Assistance to help first-time homebuyers
  • $100 million for CommonWealth Builder Program to build new affordable homeownership opportunities
  • $100 million for Affordable Housing Production

Please see the bill’s language for these affordable housing investments for more details on the programs.

Please see the H.4219 Summary and Text for more information on the bill.

CHAPA’s ARPA Priorities

CHAPA is encouraged to see initial investments in many of CHAPA’s ARPA priorities in the Commonwealth’s initial spending plan. As a reminder, CHAPA and its partners have requested $1.683 billion of the Commonwealth’s ARPA fiscal recovery funds be allocated towards affordable housing.

Please see CHAPA's ARPA Fiscal Recovery Funds Fact Sheet and testimony for more information.

There are still many priorities that need to be considered for the Commonwealth to have the tools it needs to address our housing crisis. We urge the legislature to further consider some of CHAPA’s priorities in its allocation of funding, including the following:

  • $100M for Housing Rehabilitation
  • $78M for a Statewide Right to Counsel Program
  • $50M for Acquisition of Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing
  • $5M for Tenant Outreach and Assistance

What Comes Next?

The Legislature will now begin debating H.4219 this week. Representatives in the House have until 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 26, to file amendments. CHAPA is working with its partners on potential amendments for the spending package and will follow-up with more details soon, including steps you can take to help strengthen the spending plan for affordable housing.

The House plans to take up the bill and debate it on Thursday afternoon. The Senate is expected to take up the bill shortly thereafter.

CHAPA encourages our partners to continue to contact their State Representatives and Senators and ask them to prioritize CHAPA’s $1.683 billion ARPA priorities for affordable housing. Please see the CHAPA ARPA Advocacy Toolkit for more details.

For any questions about these priorities, please contact Ryan Dominguez at rdominguez@chapa.org or 617-684-4713.