Bill
S 768
Creates a 10-member commission to study how insurance rates affect affordable housing and voucher tenants, to reduce barriers; report due by 12/31/2026.
Status
- Introduced (Massachusetts Senate) — filed 1/15/2025; read/referred in February 2025.
- Listed as SUBSTITUTED BY A2250 (i.e., the Senate resolve was replaced by/handled through a companion House measure A2250).
- Hearing scheduled: 09/15/2025 (10:30 AM–1:00 PM, room A‑1).
- Administrative note: the docket text is a Massachusetts resolve presented by Sen. John F. Keenan. Some provided metadata (sponsors that look federal) appears inconsistent with the Massachusetts bill text.
Purpose
- Establish a 10‑member special commission to develop a statutory and regulatory framework addressing how insurance companies set property insurance rates for:
- Properties subject to affordability restrictions (e.g., income‑restricted/regulated affordable housing), and
- Properties where tenants use housing vouchers (in whole or in part) to pay rent.
Key provisions
- Commission charge: study insurance rate‑setting practices that affect affordable housing and voucher‑tenant properties and develop recommendations — including proposed legislation and regulations — to address identified problems.
- Deliverable: a written report with findings and any proposed legislation to be submitted to:
- The House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means,
- The Joint Committee on Financial Services, and
- The Joint Committee on Housing.
- Deadline: report due no later than December 31, 2026.
Commission composition (10 members)
- 1 member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (no party designation required).
- 1 member of the Massachusetts Senate (no party designation required).
- Commissioner of Insurance (or designee) — will serve as chair.
- Secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (or designee).
- Attorney General (or designee).
- One representative each from:
- Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA),
- Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations,
- Builders of Color Coalition,
- NAIOP Massachusetts (commercial/industrial real estate association),
- An insurance trade association.
Who would be affected
- Owners and managers of income‑restricted/regulated affordable housing.
- Landlords and properties that accept housing vouchers.
- Tenants using vouchers.
- Insurance carriers and brokers underwriting residential and mixed‑use properties.
- State regulators (Division of Insurance), housing agencies, community development corporations, and housing advocates.
Potential impact
- The commission’s recommendations could lead to changes in state law or regulations to:
- Reduce unintended insurance‑related barriers or cost drivers for affordable housing,
- Encourage insurer practices that do not penalize properties with voucher tenants or affordability restrictions,
- Improve insurance market access or affordability for affordable housing providers.
- Actual impact depends on whether the commission’s recommendations are adopted by the Legislature/regulatory agencies.
Procedural/timeline notes
- The resolve directs a study with a fixed reporting deadline (12/31/2026).
- The document indicates substitution by a House companion (A2250), so substantive action may proceed through that vehicle.
- A public hearing was scheduled for 09/15/2025, indicating the measure was still under consideration after introduction.
Notes on inconsistencies
- The body of the bill text is a Massachusetts resolve regarding affordable housing insurance. Some metadata (a list of U.S. senators as sponsors and an initial bill title about breast cancer screening for incarcerated individuals) appears unrelated or erroneous. This summary is based on the Massachusetts resolve text establishing the special commission.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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