Baker wants Airbnb bill passed this session
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Gov. Charlie Baker
Gov. Charlie Baker wants to see legislation regulating short-term rentals passed into law before the end of this session, but he said Monday he has not fully reviewed the proposal House leaders plan to bring to the floor for a vote on Wednesday.
The House plans to take up a bill taxing and regulating short-term rentals through sites like Airbnb on Wednesday. Baker said he's only seen the bill (H 4314) "briefly" and looks forward to further discussion on it. He filed his own proposal to tax short-term rentals as part of his fiscal 2019 budget after proposing something similar last session.
"I think it's an important issue," Baker said Monday. "I think it's a level playing-field issue, and it's unfortunate that it hasn't happened already."
Formal legislative sessions end for the year on July 31, giving lawmakers just over four months to tackle remaining major issues.
Multiple bills Baker has filed remain pending before lawmakers, including an addiction prevention and treatment bill dubbed the CARE Act, for "Combating Addiction, Accessing Treatment, Reducing Prescriptions, and Enhancing Prevention."
"I certainly want to see the legislation associated with our housing initiatives get done, both the housing bond bill and the housing choice proposal," Baker said when asked about his priorities for the rest of the term.
"I think it's unfortunate that we live in a state where for decades we produced enough new starts every year to keep up with demand -- we haven't done that for somewhere between 20 and 30 years. If we truly want to make it possible for young people, young families, seniors, moderate-income people, even middle-income people and middle-income families to be able to afford to live in Massachusetts, we need to create more housing, and on the opioid piece, the CARE Act, I would certainly hope to see that legislation get passed as well," he said.
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