Housing News

On Tuesday, December 18, Governor Baker named Mike Kennealy as the incoming Secretary of Housing and Economic Development as current Secretary Jay Ash announced his departure from the Administration. Mike Kennealy joined the Baker-Polito Administration in 2015 as Assistant Secretary for Business Growth in the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. As Assistant Secretary, Kennealy has worked to advance the Administration’s strategy for job creation and business development across the entire Commonwealth.

Republican leadership in the U.S. Senate will introduce a bill to fund the government through February 8th, leaving the negotiation over $5 billion for border wall funding to the new year when Democrats take control of the House of Representatives.

TO: All Members and Housing Organizations FROM: Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston is pleased to announce the opening of the 2019 Equity Builder Program (EBP) funding round on January 2, 2019. 

​ Read CHAPA's December 2018 Housing Briefs for state and federal housing updates as well as recent research and reports.

CHAPA mourns the passing of Amy Anthony, a former member of CHAPA’s Board of Directors and Policy Leadership Council and one of the nation’s foremost experts in affordable housing. "Amy’s legacy lives on through the policies she crafted, the organizations she launched, and the affordable homes built and preserved under her guidance and leadership," said Rachel Heller, CEO of CHAPA. We offer our sincerest condolences to her family.

On December 10, CHAPA submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in response to their proposed change to the "Public Charge" rule. DHS uses the public charge rule to determine whether a low-income immigrant should be deemed inadmissible to stay or enter the United States because they are likely to become a "public charge." The proposed rule would apply to households applying for and receiving federal public housing and Section 8 rental assistance.

The House and Senate are expected to vote today on a two-week continuing resolution that would keep the government funded until December 21. This is the second continuing resolution that lawmakers are considering since the beginning of the fiscal year on October 1 and will include continued level funding for HUD programs.

CHAPA submitted a letter to the Comptroller of the Currency on November 19th in response to the office’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) for the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). This is a first step in a what is likely at least a year long process for CRA reform.

172 Massachusetts municipalities will receive a distribution from the Community Preservation Act (CPA) Trust Fund, the City of Boston, one of the most recent adopters of CPA, will receive $3.6 million.  

​ Read CHAPA's November 2018 Housing Briefs for state and federal housing updates as well as recent research and reports.