Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO) to share constituent stories and ask Senator Patricia Jehlen (2nd Middlesex) and Representatives Christine Barber (34th Middlesex), Marjorie Decker (25th Middlesex), and Erika Uyterhoeven (27th Middlesex) to pledge their support for $1.6 billion in bond bill funding for public housing, Real Estate Transfer Fee enabling legislation, and legislation requiring State IDs for citizens returning from incarceration

Tonight at 7pm more than 100 citizens and faith leaders will gather in Cambridge’s Reservoir Church to share moving stories of the struggle to obtain safe, affordable housing, and to ask their Beacon Hill representatives to publicly commit to supporting legislation and funding measures targeting the Commonwealth’s severe, and worsening, affordable housing shortage.

PUBLIC HOUSING MAINTENANCE

GBIO research has found that for decades the State Legislature and Governor have failed to allocate anything close to the funds needed to properly operate and maintain the 43,000 units of state-funded public housing in the Commonwealth. The housing bond bill filed by Governor Maura Healey on October 18, 2023 includes $1.6 billion in bond financing to begin addressing
the operations, sustainable upkeep, and deferred maintenance of public housing. This measure, referred to as the ‘Affordable Homes Act’ is now before the state legislature, and GBIO will ask each legislator whether they will support at least $1.6 billion in the final bill.

In addition, GBIO will ask the legislators to publicly support including $189 million inoperating funds for Local Housing Authorities statewide in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 annual budget, an increase over the $107 million included in the FY 2024 budget.

These asks will be accompanied by constituent stories about experiences living in public housing.

MUNICIPAL REAL ESTATE TRANSFER FEES TO FUND AFFORDABLE HOUSING

GBIO has also campaigned for statewide legislation to enable municipalities to collect Real Estate Transfer Fees (RETF) to fund affordable housing programs. The legislators will be asked for their support of RETF-enabling legislation, such as the version currently included in the Affordable Homes Act bill.

These fees would provide necessary resources to expand and preserve affordable housing and homeownership across Massachusetts by allowing municipalities to adopt a one-time, small fee on real estate sales over a certain transaction amount (e.g., $2 million), whose proceeds will go into that community’s affordable housing trust fund. Funds can be used, e.g., for capital needs of affordable housing projects, preservation of existing affordable housing properties, mortgage down payment support for first-time homebuyers, or rental subsidies for low-income households.

This ask will be accompanied by constituent stories about the impact of such housing funds and the wide support for transfer fee policies across the Commonwealth.

RETURNING CITIZENS ACCESS TO QUALITY HOUSING

Many citizens returning to society from incarceration are not given State IDs before their release, despite a recent Memorandum of Understanding between the Registry of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Corrections meant to streamline this process. Citizens typically cannot obtain housing, bank accounts, or other important resources without the possession of a state ID or
driver’s license. GBIO will ask representatives to support legislation S.1506/H.2326 requiring prisons and jails to provide IDs to people before they leave incarceration.

Additionally, GBIO will ask representatives to support a $9 million line-item in the 2025 FY budget for rental assistance for returning citizens. This program would be administered by reentry nonprofits to support payments such as first and last month rent and security deposits. This ask will be accompanied by stories from citizens recently returning from incarceration on
the impact of not having a State ID or stable housing upon release.