Early Thursday morning, after an all-night marathon session, the Legislature accepted the report of the Conference Committee and enacted the long-awaited housing bond bill – the Affordable Homes Act H4977- with a total of $5.16 billion in capital authorizations.

Included in the final bill:

• $2 billion in authorizations for public housing modernization, renovation, remodeling, reconstruction, redevelopment, and hazardous material abatement
• $200 million for the Public Housing Mixed Income Demonstration Program to encourage housing authorities to pursue innovative, market-driven strategies and leverage private resources
• Policy initiatives and statutory changes included in outside sections–
• Authority to borrow against capital fundingawards
• Expansion of RCATs
• Biennial AUPs
• Tenant protections during redevelopment
• Update to Mass. Architectural Access Board threshold triggering full accessibility

Since the Governor filed her version of the housing bond bill in October, MassNAHRO members have been diligently advocating to maintain the funding authorizations and policy initiatives included in the bill. Be sure to THANK your elected officials for getting this historic legislation over the finish line. This is a tremendous win for public housing!