Photo courtesy of Alexius Horatius
HYANNIS – The State Senate has unveiled a new housing bill that builds on proposals by Gov. Maura Healey and the House.
With the state battling record housing costs, lawmakers said they hope to get the bill to Healey before July 31, the end of the legislature’s formal session.
Though the plan includes $5.2 billion for affordable housing, tax credits, zoning changes and more, it does not include local optional real-estate transfer fees. It was also missing from the House’s $6.2 billion version of the bill.
Proposed in Healey’s version of the bill, the fee would tax sales over $1 million dollars up to 2 percent to fund affordable housing.
Lawmakers said that that initiatives in the bill would add 40,000 units to the state. Massachusetts is expected to be short about 200,000 units by 2030.
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