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2025 Greater Boston Housing Report Card Released: New Findings from the Boston Foundation, Boston Indicators, and BU
This week, the Boston Foundation, Boston Indicators, and Boston University released the 2025 Greater Boston Housing...
CHAPA Statement on HUD Plans to Restrict Housing Aid
Last week, ProPublica reported that the Trump...
Governor Healey Enacts Major Reform to End Mandatory Renter-Paid Broker Fees in Massachusetts
Starting today, August 1, a new statewide policy included...
Housing News
Federal Government Enacts Taxing and Spending Bill
On July 4th, the federal government enacted a taxing and spending bill (the “Bill”) that will have enormous consequences for the American public. The top-line view of the legislation is that it expands and enacts tax cuts that will add trillions of dollars to the...
Governor Healey Signs FY2026 Budget: Housing Investments Move Forward, but HCEC Funding Faces Veto
Governor Maura Healey has signed Massachusetts’ $61 billion FY2026 budget, which includes significant housing investments and policy reforms aimed at improving affordability and strengthening housing stability. Overall, the budget maintains or modestly increases...
Jacob Love to bolster policy team, pro-housing advocacy reach for CHAPA as general counsel
On June 30th, Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) added Jacob Love to their growing team as general counsel for policy. In this new role, Jacob will work with CHAPA’s policy team to shape and implement CHAPA’s policy agenda, advise on legislative...
Governor Healey Releases FY2026-2030 Capital Investment Plan
On June 30, the Healey-Driscoll Administration released its Capital Investment Plan (CIP) for the next five years, outlining capital investments in a range of state policy areas. In a departure from recent practice, this CIP proposes specific bond allocations for...
Conference Committee Approves FY26 Budget, Now Moves to Governor’s Desk
On June 30th, the Massachusetts Legislature approved a $61 billion FY2026 Conference Committee budget and sent it to the Governor for consideration. Marking the earliest completion of a budget in nearly a decade, the final agreement includes important progress on...
CHAPA Submits FY2026 Priorities to Budget Conference Committee
With the Senate completing its work on the FY2026 state budget last month, a House-Senate Conference Committee is now working to resolve differences between the two versions of the funding documents. CHAPA has submitted a letter to the six members of the committee,...
CHAPA and Lawyers for Civil Rights Celebrate Court Ruling Rejecting Unfunded Mandate Challenges to MBTA Communities Law
June 6, 2025 — Today, in yet another victory for the MBTA Communities Act (the “Act”), a Massachusetts Superior Court judge decisively ruled that the Act “does not constitute an unfunded mandate.” In doing so, the Court squarely rejected the State Auditor’s contrary...
Senate Passes FY26 Budget: Progress on Housing Priorities, Key Gaps for Conference Committee to Resolve
The Massachusetts Senate passed its $57.9 billion FY2026 budget last week, adding $43.5 million through more than 300 adopted amendments. The budget includes important progress on housing priorities, with investments in emergency rental assistance, first-generation...
New Report Highlights the Value of the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program and How It Can Be Strengthened
Earlier this month, The Boston Foundation and the MassINC Polling Group released Voices of Experience: What Works, What Frustrates, and What to Do to Strengthen the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program. The report draws on surveys, interviews, and focus groups with...
FY2026 Senate Budget – Anti-3A Amendments
Next week, the Massachusetts Senate will debate the FY2026 state budget. Among the 1058 amendments filed to the Senate Ways and Means proposal last week were several proposals that would roll back, weaken, or delay Chapter 3A - the MBTA Communities Act. ...