The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has today rejected yet another challenge to the legality of the MBTA Communities Act. This decision marks the second high-profile case, following Attorney General v. Milton in early 2025, in which the state’s highest court has explicitly held that the Act is a valid exercise of the State Legislature’s power.
In dismissing the Town of Marshfield’s case, the Court made two key rulings. Most notably, it declared that the Act unequivocally does not violate the Home Rule Amendment of the Massachusetts Constitution. The Court explained that Act “addresses the Commonwealth’s housing crisis” which is a subject that “falls squarely within the Legislature’s retained authority under the Home Rule Amendment.”
Second, the Court held that Marshfield failed to present any facts at all supporting its claim that the Act constitutes an unfunded mandate. In making that point, the Court emphasized that the State Auditor’s 2025 opinion, which found that the Act is an unfunded mandate, was immaterial because it “did not identify any municipality-specific mandatory costs” imposed by the Act “much less any costs imposed on Marshfield.”
Ultimately, today’s ruling once again affirms that the MBTA Communities Act is the law of the land in Massachusetts. The Act thus remains a binding mandate for covered cities and towns to help address our affordable housing shortage by zoning for multi-family housing.