Mass. Senate president pushes housing and workforce issues
Photo | Courtesy of State House News Service
Senate President Karen Spilka
A suite of tax credits aimed at incentivizing new housing development will not be "the end of what the Senate will be doing on housing," Senate President Karen Spilka said Monday.
Asked during an availability with reporters if she expects an omnibus housing bill to emerge during the 2023-2024 session, Spilka would not commit, only only acknowledging the housing challenges and proposed solutions pending before the Legislature.
"We will be looking at other reforms and other ways. We all know we'll be working with the administration, the new housing secretary," Spilka said. "When I go out, I hear about workforce and housing. Those are the two areas that we all are focusing on and putting a lot of intensity to. So we will continue to be looking at that. The Senate's tax relief proposal, I hope, is a big step forward, but it will not be the last step."
The tax relief bill due for deliberations in the Senate on Thursday includes housing provisions, such as a boost to the cap for the Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP) and a local-option real estate property tax exemption for lower-income renters.
Policymakers have been unable to blunt the impacts of an affordability crisis suffocating renters and prospective homebuyers, and sky-high housing costs are causing residents to move out of state or considering such moves.
Gov. Maura Healey has talked about addressing the issue as a top priority but so far has not outlined many specific proposals beyond her move to create a standalone housing secretariat in the executive branch, headed up by Housing Secretary Edward Augustus.
The Housing Committee is early in its review of more than 150 bills referred to it. The panel did not hold its first hearing on legislation -- excluding proposed constitutional amendments -- until May 30, more than four months after the two-year term began.
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