One Day To Go - Ask Your Rep To Cosponsor These Amendments!

One more day until the full House consideration of the Housing Bond Bill and one day until CHAPA's advocacy action at the State House!  (Not to mention one day until CHAPA's Annual Celebration ...)

Yesterday, representatives filed more than 370 amendments to the Housing Bond Bill.  In keeping with CHAPA's 4 policy priority areas (People, Production, Planning, and Preservation), we have identified a list of priority proposals.  Please call your state representative today and ask them to cosponsor and support these amendments!

People

#70 – Office of Fair Housing (Rep. Tyler)
Allocates $5 million for the operation of the Office of Fair Housing at EOHLC. 

#164 – Saving Toward Affordable and Sustainable Homeownership (STASH) Program (Rep. Worrell)
Directs $5 million for the STASH Program to support first-generation homebuyers.

#174 – Foreclosure Prevention Program (Rep. Barber)
Establishes a statewide mediation program to prevent foreclosures. 

#193 – Extremely Low Income Housing Commission (Rep. Higgins)
Establishes a special commission to make recommendations on expanding housing opportunities and access for households with Extremely Low Incomes. 

#203 – Senior Housing Commission (Rep. Stanley)
Establishes a special commission to make recommendations on affordable and healthy senior housing. 

#298 – Social Housing (Rep. Connolly)
Defines the purpose and structure of the Social Housing Pilot Program.

#302 – Commission on Accessible Housing for Persons with Disabilities (Rep. Consalvo)
Establishes a special commission to study and make recommendations on accessibility in housing for persons with disabilities. 

#303 – AHVP Update (Rep. Consalvo)
Updates the Alternative Housing Voucher Program to create accessible and affordable homes.  

Production

#4 – Supportive Housing Pool Program and Fund (Rep. Meschino)
Bundles funding for capital, operating, and supportive services to help meet complex housing and health needs of people experiencing homelessness.  

#165 – Local Option Transfer Fee (Rep. LeBoeuf)
Gives municipalities the opportunity to choose to levy a fee on real estate transactions above a defined threshold and to use the proceeds to fund the local creation of affordable housing. 

#211 – CommonWealth Builder Program (Rep. Moran)
Increases bond authorization for the CommonWealth Program to $300 million. 

#272 – CommonWealth Builder Program (Rep. Gonzalez)
Defines the geographic catchment areas for the CommonWealth Builder Program to Gateway Cities and Boston to spur the construction of homeownership opportunities, particularly in communities of color. 

Planning

#42 – MBTA Communities Act Modification (Rep. Garry)
Expands the MBTA Communities Act to all 351 municipalities to facilitate the development of multifamily housing. 

#321 – Inclusionary Zoning (Rep. Vargas)
Establishes the threshold for municipalities to approve inclusionary zoning as a simple majority. 

Preservation

#5 – Historic Rehab Tax Credit (Rep. Honan)
Increases the cap for the Historic Rehab Tax Credit to $110 million through the year 2030 and increases the amount of the tax credit to be allocated to affordable housing to at least 50%. 

 #318 – Small Properties Acquisition Fund (Rep. Uyterhoeven)
Establishes a fund to acquire properties of 1-8 units for the creation of affordable housing and allocates $25 million to the fund.