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S 970

Relates to authorizing child witnesses to testify by use of closed-circuit television in assault and endangering the welfare of a child proceedings

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Rob Rolison

Creates a centralized, annual-updated, machine-readable MA housing data database for subsidized developments, enabling municipalities and state agencies to plan affordability.

REFERRED TO CODES
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Bill Summary · S 970

Summary — S. 970 (2025) — "An Act improving municipal access to general existing housing data"

Note: The bill text provided concerns creation of a centralized housing data database administered under Chapter 23B of the Massachusetts General Laws. Some accompanying metadata (title about child-witness testimony, sponsor lists that include U.S. Senators, related federal bills) appears inconsistent with the Massachusetts bill text. This summary follows the actual bill text inserted into Chapter 23B.

Main purpose

Require the Commonwealth’s executive office (under Chapter 23B) to collect and publish, in a centralized, machine‑readable and screen‑reader compatible database, standardized information about subsidized housing developments (both new and existing) across every municipality. The aim is to improve municipal, state, and regional access to housing data for planning, monitoring affordability, and program administration.

Key provisions

  • Adds Section 31 — “Housing Data Reporting” to Chapter 23B.
  • Database requirements:
    • Must be centralized, machine‑readable, and screen‑reader compatible.
    • Data must be made available to municipalities, state agencies, and other state/regional public entities.
    • Each datum must be updated at least annually for each municipality.
  • Data required for each new development (per municipality) with one or more subsidized units:
    1. Total number of units.
    2. Number of units with long‑term use restrictions (income‑restricted) and number of market‑rate units.
    3. Counts of units restricted to households at or below 80%, 50%, and 30% of area median income (AMI).
    4. Terms and end dates of all long‑term income‑based use restrictions.
    5. Number of bedrooms and bathrooms per unit.
    6. Gross and livable square footage per unit.
    7. Location as an address matchable to a statewide geocoded address database; for scattered‑site developments, report each parcel address and unit count.
  • Data required for each existing development containing at least one subsidized unit:
    1. Total number of units.
    2. Number with long‑term income‑based use restrictions.
    3. Term and end dates of those income‑based restrictions.
    4. Location as an address matchable to the statewide geocoded database; scattered‑site developments require per‑parcel reporting.
  • Text includes two internal amendments:
    • Repeals subsection (b) of section 31 (the bill itself creates section 31, so this appears to rework internal subsections).
    • Strikes the word “new” in subsection (a) (expanding scope from new developments to possibly include all developments).
    • Those two changes (described as subsections (d) and (e) in the bill) take effect December 31, 2027.

Who is affected

  • Municipalities and municipal planners: improved access to standardized affordability and unit inventories for planning, permitting, and local policy.
  • State and regional housing agencies: centralized reporting supports program oversight, preservation planning, and compliance tracking.
  • Developers and property owners of subsidized housing: required reporting of unit counts, AMI targeting, restriction terms, and unit characteristics (bedrooms, baths, square footage) for developments within the Commonwealth.
  • Scattered‑site housing owners/operators: required parcel‑level reporting.

Implementation/timeline

  • The database must be maintained and updated at least annually.
  • Specific amendments expanding scope (removing “new” and repealing subsection (b) of section 31) become effective December 31, 2027.
  • Operational details (data submission procedures, enforcement, privacy controls, and funding/technical support) are not specified in the text and would require executive‑branch rulemaking or follow‑on guidance.

Potential impacts and considerations

  • Benefits: better municipal and state visibility into the supply and distribution of subsidized units and expiring affordability restrictions; supports housing preservation strategies and planning.
  • Administrative burden: compiling unit‑level attributes (bedrooms, square footage, AMI tiers, restriction end dates) statewide may require staff/time and technical resources.
  • Privacy and confidentiality: although data is at development/parcel level, implementation should consider safeguards to avoid exposing resident‑level personal data.
  • Interoperability: requiring geocodable addresses and machine‑readable formats aids integration with municipal and state GIS and housing registries.

Procedural status (from provided metadata)

  • Introduced March 11, 2025; read twice and referred to committee (Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs) per provided actions.
  • Hearing dates and later committee referrals appear in the record (reported favorably and referred to Senate Ways & Means on 10/23/2025). (Note: some dates and actions in the supplied metadata are inconsistent; consult the official Massachusetts legislative tracking site for authoritative status updates.)

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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