Senate, December 8, 2025 -- The committee on Housing to whom was referred the petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 983) of James B. Eldridge for legislation to promote housing cooperatives, report the accompanying bill (Senate, No. 2761).
By Mr. Tarr, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1474) of Bruce E. Tarr, David F. DeCoste, Colleen M. Garry, Joanne M. Comerford and other members of the General Court for legislation to allow moveable tiny houses as permanent residential dwellings and accessory dwelling units. Municipalities and Regional Government.
Maddy summarySD 988 creates a state program to fund permanently affordable homeownership units for low- and moderate-income buyers (defined as 70-120% of area median income). Administered by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, the program requires units to remain affordable for at least 99 years and limits projects to 1-25 units, including within mixed-use developments. Funds can only support new homeownership units meeting income and affordability criteria. Annual reports will detail funded projects, grant amounts, units created, and affordability levels.
Maddy summaryThis bill creates the Alternative Housing Voucher Program to provide rental assistance for low-income individuals with disabilities in Massachusetts. It directly affects disabled adults aged 18-62 with household incomes at or below 80% of the area median income (as set by HUD). The program offers mobile or project-based vouchers covering rent, with households paying 25-30% of their income (depending on utilities), while payments cannot exceed 120% of HUD's fair market rent for the unit size. Unspent funds from the designated budget line (7004-9030) carry over annually to support the program.
Maddy summaryS 983, sponsored by Senator James B. Eldridge, aims to support housing cooperatives but lacks specific details in the provided abstract. The bill's title indicates a general intent to promote cooperative housing models, though the abstract does not describe concrete mechanisms like financial incentives, regulatory changes, or eligibility criteria. Without additional context on the bill's provisions, it is unclear who would be directly affected (e.g., residents, developers, or local governments) or how the legislation would function. For a complete summary, the full text of the bill or additional legislative details would be required.
By Mr. Crighton, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 961) of Brendan P. Crighton and John F. Keenan for legislation to provide upstream homelessness prevention assistance to families, youth, and adults. Housing.
By Ms. Comerford, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 55) of Joanne M. Comerford, Hannah Kane, Jason M. Lewis, James B. Eldridge and others for legislation to strengthen local food systems. Agriculture.
By Mr. Gómez, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 62) of Adam Gómez and Homar Gómez for legislation to establish community fridges to address food insecurity. Agriculture.
Maddy summaryThis bill requires Massachusetts municipalities with over 5,000 residents to implement an automated "Smart Residential Solar Permitting Platform" by July 2027 for home solar installations. The platform must allow online applications, automatic code-compliant approvals within 10 business days (if no deficiencies are found), instant permit issuance, and eliminate manual reviews for residential systems under 200-amp capacity. It directly affects local governments and homeowners installing solar on single- or two-family homes, including systems with battery storage or panel upgrades. The law mandates that platforms process at least 75% of residential solar permits and requires annual reporting to track compliance.
Maddy summaryThis bill creates the Home Works Program to provide funding for out-of-school time and summer programs for children aged 5-14 living in households receiving Emergency Assistance (a state aid program for low-income families). The program allocates "slots" covering program costs (at least 75% of local market value) and transportation, distributed based on areas with the highest number of Emergency Assistance children and program capacity. Eligible programs must meet transportation requirements or partner with Emergency Assistance residences for on-site services, and all staff must pass background checks including National Sexual Offender Registry checks. Funding is new and separate from existing Emergency Assistance resources.
