HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2259        FILED ON: 1/19/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1349

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Kate Lipper-Garabedian

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act improving municipal access to general existing housing data.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2259        FILED ON: 1/19/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1349

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act improving municipal access to general existing housing data.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1 - Chapter 23B of the general laws is hereby amended by adding after section 30, the following section:

Section 31 – Housing Data Reporting 

(a)Notwithstanding any general or special laws to the contrary, the department shall collect and make available to municipalities, state agencies, and other state and regional public entities in a centralized, machine-readable, screen reader compatible database the following data for each new development with one or more units of subsidized housing in each municipality in the commonwealth: 

(i) the total number of units;

(ii) the total number of units with long-term use restrictions limiting occupancy based on income and the total number of market rate units;

(iii) the total number of units with long-term use restrictions limiting occupancy to households with incomes at or below eighty percent, fifty percent, and thirty percent of area median income, respectively;

(iv) the term and end date of all long-term use restrictions based on income;

(v) the number of bedrooms and bathrooms per unit;

(vi) the gross and livable square footage per unit;

(vii) the location of the development, expressed as an address that can be matched to a geocoded record in a statewide address database maintained by the Commonwealth; provided, that, for scattered site developments, an address and unit count shall be reported for each separate parcel. 

(b)Further, the department shall collect and make available to municipalities, state agencies, and other state and regional public entities in said centralized, machine-readable, screen reader compatible database the following data for each existing development which contains at least one unit of subsidized housing in each municipality in the commonwealth:

(i) the total number of units 

(ii) the total number of units with long-term use restrictions based on income

(iii) the term and end date of long-term use restrictions based on income 

(iv) the location of the development, expressed as an address that can be matched to a geocoded record in a statewide address database maintained by the Commonwealth; provided, that for scattered site developments, an address and unit count shall be reported for each separate parcel. 

(c)The database established by this section shall be regularly maintained and updated, with each datum updated no less than annually for each municipality.

(d)Subsection (b) of section 31 of Chapter 23B of the General Laws is hereby repealed.

(e)Subection (a) of section 31 of Chapter 23B of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking the word “new” where it appears after the word “each”

(f)Subsection (d) and (e) shall take effect December 31, 2025