AN ACT EXEMPTING CERTAIN AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN THE CITY OF WORCESTER FROM PUBLIC PROCUREMENT LAWS
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. Construction and development activity related to redevelopment by the Worcester housing authority of the state-funded public housing project known as Curtis Apartments at 32 Great Brook Valley avenue in the city of Worcester, or any part thereof, shall not be subject to any general or special law related to the procurement and award of contracts for the planning, design, construction management, construction, reconstruction, installation, demolition, maintenance or repair of buildings by a public agency but shall be subject to sections 26 to 27H, inclusive, of chapter 149 of the General Laws. Contracts for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, remodeling or repair of any publicly-owned public works that service this project and would otherwise be subject to section 39M of chapter 30 of the General Laws shall be subject to said section 39M of chapter 30 if the redevelopment of the project is funded in part by a state or federal low-income housing tax credit, grant or loan or pursuant to the issuance of tax-exempt bonds authorized by general law. The redevelopment of the project may be conducted in 1 or more phases through 1 or more entities. All phases taken together shall preserve or construct public housing units equal in number to the public housing units located at Curtis Apartments as of the effective date of this act. Each individual phase shall include such portion of the total public housing units as required by the Worcester housing authority and the department of housing and community development. A conveyance of the project or any phase thereof, whether by leasehold or fee estate, shall be subject to chapter 30B of the General Laws to the extent that the project or phase is conveyed to an entity that is not owned, controlled or managed by the Worcester housing authority on the date of conveyance. In accordance with said chapter 30B, the project or any phase thereof may be conveyed to and may be owned, maintained and operated by an entity that is not owned, controlled or managed by the Worcester housing authority; provided, however, that such entity enters into a binding legal contract and land use restriction with the Worcester housing authority and with the department of housing and community development that requires such entity to preserve or construct the required portion of public housing units for that phase and operate such units subject to chapter 121B of the General Laws and 760 CMR 4.00 et seq., 760 CMR 5.00 et seq. and, 760 CMR 6.00 et seq in the same manner and to the same effect as if such entity were a housing authority, subject to any regulatory waivers granted by the department of housing and community development necessary to secure funding.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved, November 10, 2022.