Dozens of municipal leaders sign support for transfer fees in governor’s housing bond bill

It’s been six months since Gov. Maura Healey filed her $4 billion housing bond bill, and nearly a year and a half of lawmakers saying the Bay State’s expensive and paltry housing stock is one of the biggest issues in Massachusetts — and representatives seem to finally be readying to try to tackle the problem. 

The House sent Healey’s bond bill to its Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday, and Speaker Ron Mariano said last week that his chamber’s rewrite of the massive bill would come up for consideration “shortly after the budget.”

So far in the initial debate over Healey’s blueprint, one item in particular seems to be drawing the most attention: transfer taxes.

The governor’s proposal would authorize local-option transfer fees (also called transfer taxes, usually dependent on whether the speaker is a supporter or opponent) of between 0.5 percent and 2 percent on the portions of a property sale above a certain amount.

(One lawmaker quipped months ago that housing advocates had “shot for the moon” of progressive housing policy — pushing to legalize rent control — and are content with “landing amongst the stars” via authorizing transfer fees.) 

The idea has gotten backlash from the real estate community, but on Tuesday lawmakers received a letter from 42 leaders representing 29 cities and towns urging them to give municipalities the power to tax high-value real estate transactions.

Signatories range from greater Boston — Cambridge, Somerville, Watertown, Medford, Malden, Winthrop and Boston itself — to each end of the Bay State, with municipal leaders from Great Barrington and Provincetown signing on their support.

To date, 17 communities have sought permission to impose the fee, many of them municipalities where tourists have pushed out locals, like on Cape Cod. 

“Our housing crisis is simply too great to leave funding and financing tools on the table,” the letter says. “We must be able to use this tool that will allow us to generate additional resources for local affordable housing.”

Mariano indicated last month that he’d be open to considering a local-option transfer tax, but warned he may not have the votes in the House. — Sam Drysdale

TUESDAY in the House and Senate

The House moved Gov. Healey‘s housing bond and policy bill (H 4138) to its Ways and Means Committee, where it will likely be redrafted, reports Colin A. Young for the News Service. Reps also moved some smaller bills, including those related to retirement accounts, public employee benefits and rights and regional planning.

The Senate gave deadline extensions to a number of committees wrapping up late work, including the Public Safety Committee, the Public Health Committee, and the Municipalities Committee. Scouts visited the chamber to present their annual report to the General Court. — SHNS House Coverage | SHNS Senate Coverage

Wu tax shift plan draws sharp questions from Boston City Council

As Boston city councilors continue to review Mayor Michelle Wu‘s home rule petition that proposes a temporary, increased shift of the city’s tax levy onto commercial property owners, questions are being raised. At a more than four-hour hearing on Tuesday, some spoke to concerns about the “blanket” nature of the measure, while backers said the temporary measure would enable Boston to manage the decreasing commercial property values over time.

Wu’s plan follows a report published by the Boston Policy Institute that estimates such a decline in commercial real estate values that the city will face a more than $1B commercial property tax shortfall. How to balance this potential shortfall before it hits, and how to ensure the city isn’t making decisions with too much haste were among councilors’ worries. — State House News Service

Barnstable to join tri-town regional dispatch center

Barnstable Town Council voted unanimously to enter an “intermunicipal agreement” with Sandwich and Yarmouth to create a new regional emergency communication center — a regionalization move that has been in the works for two years and will save each town millions of dollars. The Yarmouth Select Board will be the final board to vote next week, and once on board, the towns’ agreement outlines the operating structure of the center and each town’s financial responsibilities. The agreement has to be in place before the towns can begin using incentive grants from the State 911 Dept. — Cape Cod Times

Greater Boston home prices hit March record high

The median price of a single-family home in Greater Boston hit $900K in March, according to figures from the Greater Boston Association of Realtors — a new March record and a more than 9 percent increase from last year at this time. The figure is not a good sign for housing affordability, and the region’s housing supply shortage teamed with high interest rates are to blame, reports the Globe’s Andrew Brinker. With a lackluster number of listings and potential buyers being left in a frozen, inhospitable housing market, will something have to give soon? — Boston Globe

Rollins wins back her Massachusetts law license

Former U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins has had her license to practice law in the Bay State restored by an appeals court, Joe Dwinell of the Herald reports. Rollins, who was forced to resign from her federal post last year, had her license to practice law in the state suspended in March by the Board of Bar Overseers for failure to pay annual licensing fees. Word of the suspension came just days after Rollins reportedly was hired to a $96K-a-year position at Roxbury Community College. — Boston Herald

Governor’s grants to bolster women’s health research

Gov. Healey announced almost $3M in grant funding for 15 projects meant to support women’s health research Tuesday morning at a stop on Healey’s eco dev “roadshow” at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She noted the money is a reflection of the state’s push to maintain leadership in the life sciences and health care sectors, and to honor Black Maternal Health Week, while continuing to support women’s health especially when it comes to disparities along racial lines. — State House News Service

Report shows antisemitic incidents spiked across region in 2023

Antisemitic incidents spiked across the state and region last year, according to a new report from the Anti-Defamation League. The annual Audit of Antisemetic Incidents totaled 440 antisemitic incidents in Mass. last year — triple the 2022 numbers — and 623 incidents in the New England region, which was the highest number ever recorded in the region. A “dramatic spike” of acts was reported across the region following the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks. — Boston Herald

Finally: Cannabis equity grants awarded after years of delay

After years of delay, the state’s Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund has delivered $2.3M worth of grants to 50 businesses across the state. The fund, first established in 2022, sat empty until last year, when a legislative fix cleared the way for the money to begin flowing to pot businesses that qualify as having been negatively impacted by cannabis prohibition. Businesses received between $20K and $50K each and the Healey administration says the first round of cash distributions is going to startups that have demonstrated urgent need. — Boston Business Journal | MassLive

How to ‘revitalize’ Lawrence?

A four-acre parcel of land on the banks of the Merrimack River in Lawrence is one of 11 “blighted or underused” Lawrence properties that could bring money to the city, based on a 2017 urban renewal plan. Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña is in a stand-still with the city council about who has the power to approve the future use of the sites — while the mayor argues the plan gives his administration decision-making power without further council approval, the city council president says councilors should vote on how each property is used. Between conflicting legal advice, an October property transfer refusal and different desires for the future of the properties, the concerns hinge on what exactly is the best way to evaluate and go about revitalizing the city. — WBUR

Poll shows Bay Staters think immigration is top issue facing Mass.

In a new CommonWealth Beacon/GBH News poll, 21 percent of Mass. residents surveyed said that “immigration/migrants” is the top issue facing the Bay State — a higher share than housing, inflation/cost of living, and taxes, government spending, and welfare, reports the Beacon’s Bruce Mohl. Well over half of those polled said they considered the “migrant situation” either a crisis or a major problem. While almost four out of five residents supported the emergency shelter law, almost half of Bay Staters said they were opposed to housing migrants in the shelter system. — CommonWealth Beacon

Campbell puts AI industry on notice over state laws 

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell is letting those leading the burgeoning world of artificial intelligence know that her office will apply state laws to users of AI. In guidance issued Tuesday, Campbell made clear her office believes state law on consumer protection, discrimination prevention and data security all apply in the AI world. — Gloucester Times

Clark defends record on anti-semitism after Holocaust center director comments 

Clark University in Worcester is the latest institution thrust into the heated debate over how higher education handles claims of campus anti-semitism after the former director of the school’s Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies blasted the school in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. Mary Jane Rein, who left Clark to take a similar position at Assumption College across town, wrote that she did not feel welcome or protected after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. — Worcester Business Journal

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