Bill S.853

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1842 FILED ON: 1/20/2023

SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 853

By Ms. Creem, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 853) of Cynthia Stone Creem for legislation to finance the transition to fossil fuel-free buildings. Housing.

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 financing the transition to fossil fuel-free buildings.

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, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting the following sections:-

Section 31. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-

“Income-eligible household,” an individual or family whose income meets the requirements of the Mortgage Revenue Bond program established pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, § 143.

“Deferred loan,” a loan secured by a mortgage on real estate or personal property, the repayment of which may be deferred until sale, transfer, or refinancing of the property.

(b) There shall be a fossil fuel-free building loan program in the department of housing and community development. Said program shall assist residential property owners and small businesses throughout the commonwealth in financing any renovations, upgrades, or improvements, including the purchase and installation of equipment, that are necessary to ensure that their property does not, in support of its operation after renovation, upgrade, or improvement, utilize coal, oil, natural gas, other fuel hydrocarbons, including synthetic equivalents, or other fossil fuels. The department of housing and community development and the Massachusetts housing finance agency shall administer said program and may distribute funds through community action agencies, redevelopment agencies, local nonprofit community and housing agencies, and other appropriate municipal and non-profit agencies and organizations.

Agencies and organizations eligible for loans under this program shall be selected by the department of housing and community development in consultation with the Massachusetts housing finance agency. Not less than one-half of funds allocated for this program shall be distributed to agencies and organizations that predominantly serve communities where the median household income is lower than 80 percent of the commonwealth’s median household income. Each agency or organization wishing to receive funding from the program shall submit to for approval by the department of housing and community development a fossil fuel-free building plan that: (1) describes how the agency or organization will promote the program to contractors, residential property owners, and small businesses; (2) identifies strategic intervention points, including but not limited to the building permit application process, when the agency or organization will share information about the program with residential property owners and small businesses; (3) describes the agency or organization’s plan to ensure equitable access to and utilization of the program; and (4) describes how the agency or organization will ensure that participating residential property owners and small businesses take full advantage of all available state and federal efficiency and electrification incentives before entering into a fossil fuel-free building loan agreement. The department of housing and community development shall provide grants to assist agencies and organizations in developing fossil fuel-free building plans.

The department of housing and community development shall report to the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate not later than October first of each year concerning the distribution of loan funds under this program. The department of housing and community development, in consultation with the Massachusetts housing finance agency, shall promulgate regulations necessary to administer this program and which establish reasonable terms and conditions of loans provided through the program; provided, that such terms and conditions shall comply with the provisions of subsection (c).

(1) For owner-occupants that are income-eligible households, deferred loans with 0 percent interest shall be available.

(2) For owner-occupants that are not income-eligible households, 0 percent fully amortizing loans shall be available.

(3) For non-profit organizations, 0 percent fully amortizing loans shall be available.

(4) For non-owner occupant landlords and for-profit entities renovating, upgrading, or improving properties that are being rented predominantly to income-eligible households, fully amortizing loans with an interest rate not to exceed 2 percent shall be available.

(5) For non-owner occupant landlords and for-profit entities renovating, upgrading, or improving properties that are not being rented predominantly to income-eligible households, fully amortizing loans with an interest rate not to exceed 3 percent shall be available.

Section 32. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-

“Income-eligible household,” an individual or family whose income meets the requirements of the Mortgage Revenue Bond program established pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, § 143.

(b) There shall be a fossil fuel-free housing betterment program administered jointly by the department of housing and community development and participating municipalities. Not less than one-half of funds allocated for this program shall be distributed to municipalities where the median household income is lower than 80 percent of the commonwealth’s median household income. In order to participate in the fossil fuel-free housing betterment program, a municipality must submit for approval by the department of housing and community development a local fossil fuel-free housing betterment plan that: (1) describes how the municipality will promote the program to contractors and residential property owners; (2) identifies strategic intervention points, including but not limited to the building permit application process, when the municipality will share information about the program with residential property owners; (3) describes the municipality’s plan to ensure equitable access to and utilization of the program; and (4) describes how the municipality will ensure that participating residential property owners take full advantage of all available state and federal efficiency and electrification incentives before entering into a fossil fuel-free building loan agreement. The department of housing and community development shall provide grants to assist municipalities in developing local fossil fuel-free housing betterment plans. The department of housing and community development shall provide participating municipalities with zero-interest loans to finance the betterment agreements described in subsection (c). A municipality may use up to 2.5 percent of the loan funds it receives through the fossil fuel-free housing betterment program to administer its local fossil fuel-free housing betterment plan and the betterment agreements it enters into pursuant to subsection (c) and may obtain consultant services to administer said plan and agreements.

(c) The owner of a residential structure with 4 or fewer units may enter an agreement with the municipality in which the structure is located to finance its renovation, upgrade, or improvement, including through the purchase and installation of equipment, at the owners expense, so that it does not, in support of its operation after renovation, upgrade, or improvement, utilize coal, oil, natural gas, other fuel hydrocarbons, including synthetic equivalents, or other fossil fuels. An owner who enters into such an agreement shall be responsible for all expenses incurred by the municipality, directly or indirectly, or required by the municipality and incurred by the owner for such renovation, upgrade, or improvement. A notice of such agreement shall be recorded as a betterment and be subject to the provisions of chapter eighty relative to the apportionment, division, reassessment and collection of assessment, abatement and collections of assessments, and to interest; provided, however, that for purposes of this section, such lien shall take effect by operation of law on the day immediately following the due date of such assessment or apportioned part of such assessment and such assessment may bear interest at a rate determined by the city or town treasurer by agreement with the owner at the time such agreement is entered into between the municipality and the property owner. In addition to remedies available under chapter eighty, the property owner shall be personally liable for the repayment of the total costs incurred by the municipality this section; provided, however, that upon assumption of such personal obligation to a purchaser or other transferee of all of the original owners interest in the property at the time of conveyance and the recording of such assumption, the owner shall be relieved of such personal liability.

Any costs incurred under the provisions of this section may be funded by an appropriation or issuance of debt, provided that any debt incurred shall be subject to the provisions of chapter forty-four and shall not exceed twenty years.

Any appropriation or borrowing by the municipality for purposes contained within this section shall not be included for the purpose of computation of the levy or borrowing limits otherwise imposed upon such municipality by the general laws.

An agreement between an owner and a municipality pursuant to this section shall not be considered a breach of limitation or prohibition contained in a note, mortgage or contract on the transfer of an interest in property.

A municipality town acting pursuant to the provisions of this section shall have the same authority as set forth in section one hundred and twenty-seven B to institute an action for eviction. Any such action by the municipality shall not otherwise impair the rights or obligations of the occupants or owner with respect to each other.

Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 183A to the contrary, the organization of unit owners of a condominium may petition the municipality to enter into a betterment agreement pursuant to this section to finance a renovation, upgrade, or improvement, necessary to ensure that specified condominium units do not, in support of their operation after renovation, upgrade, or improvement, utilize coal, oil, natural gas, other fuel hydrocarbons, including synthetic equivalents, or other fossil fuels; provided that such renovation, upgrade, or improvement comprises part of the common areas and facilities. Such agreement shall: (i) be approved by a majority of the unit owners benefited by the renovation; (ii) include an identification of the units and unit owners subject to the agreement and the percentages, as set forth in the master deed, of the undivided interests of the respective units in the common area and facilities; and (iii) include a statement by an officer or trustee of the organization of unit owners certifying that the required number of unit owners have approved the agreement. As between the affected unit owners and the city or town, such certification shall be conclusive evidence of the authority of the organization of unit owners to enter into the agreement. A notice of such agreement shall be recorded as a betterment in the registry of deeds or registry district of the land court where the master deed is recorded and shall be otherwise subject to the provisions of chapter 80 as provided for in this section. The assessment under such agreement may be charged or assessed to the organization of units owners but shall not constitute an assessment of common expenses. Instead, the allocable share of the assessment, prorated on the basis of the percentage interests of the benefited units in the common areas and facilities, shall attach as a lien only to the units identified in the recorded notice and benefited by the renovation and the owners of such units shall also be personally liable for their allocable share of the assessment as provided for in this section. Words defined in section 1 of said chapter 183A and used in this paragraph have the same meanings as appearing in said chapter 183A.

(d) Betterment loans provided under the program established in subsections (b) and (c) shall comply with the following requirements:

(1) For owner-occupants and non-profit organizations, 0 percent fully amortizing loans shall be available.

(3) For non-owner occupant landlords and for-profit entities renovating, upgrading, or improving properties that are not being rented predominantly to income-eligible households, fully amortizing loans with an interest rate not to exceed 3 percent shall be available.

(e) The department of housing and community development shall promulgate regulations necessary to administer this program.

SECTION 2. Chapter 29 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 2QQQQQ the following section:-

Section 2RRRRR. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate revolving fund, to be known as the Massachusetts Fossil fuel-free Building Revolving Fund, to be expended, without further appropriation, by the department of housing and community development for the fossil fuel-free building loan program established in section 31 of chapter 23B and the fossil fuel-free housing betterment program established in section 32 of said chapter 23B. The revolving fund shall be credited with: (i) any appropriations, bond proceeds or other monies authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited thereto; (ii) funds from public and private sources and other gifts, grants and donations; (iii) any income derived from the investment of amounts credited to the revolving fund; and (iv) the monies from the repayment of loans from the fund. All amounts credited to the revolving fund shall be held in trust and used solely for activities and expenditures consistent with the public purpose of the revolving fund and the ordinary and necessary expenses of administration and operation associated with the revolving fund. All available monies in the revolving fund that are unexpended at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in the subsequent fiscal year.

Name:	District/Address:
Cynthia Stone Creem	Norfolk and Middlesex
Marc R. Pacheco	Third Bristol and Plymouth	4/12/2023