SECTION 1. Section 20 of chapter 40B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “affected”, in line 25, the following words:- , the need for workforce housing,.

SECTION 2. Section 21 of said chapter 40B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “housing”, in line 2 , the following words:- or workforce housing.

SECTION 3. Said chapter 40B is hereby amended by inserting after section 21 the following section:-

Section 21A. (a) For the purposes of this chapter, “workforce housing” shall be defined as subsidized housing with a household income eligibility not to exceed 150% of the median household income for affordable housing eligibility, adjusted by household size, that may be counted towards a city or town’s subsidized housing inventory as provided herein; provided, that the workforce housing development shall be subject to all other requirements and restrictions for eligibility for inclusion in the subsidized housing inventory.

(b) A city or town may include workforce housing in their housing production plan. Workforce housing shall not account for more than 25 per cent of a city or town’s subsidized housing inventory as determined by the department of housing and economic development.  Homes in a workforce housing development may count toward a city or town’s subsidized housing inventory at a rate of .5 units per workforce housing home.