The Affordable Homes Act (“the Act”) includes a number of additional general law, special law, and other language elements that are not yet elsewhere documented on this site. This post inventories those elements.
- Green housing — many of the funding authorizations (for example 7004-0073) include language requiring that new or rehabilitated housing achieve high energy efficiency standards.
- Mandate for HLC to develop a comprehensive housing plan
- A new “healthy homes” program and related healthy homes fund. This program is not capitalized in the bill and does not obviously fit under other funding umbrellas.
- A streamlined process for the disposition of state properties for affordable housing purposes, including override of local use (but not dimensional) restrictions and a fund to support costs related to surplus property dispositions. The Act also includes a borrowing authorization which may be used to capitalize the fund.
- A mandate that private contractors working on projects funded by the Act provide health insurance to employees and properly classify individuals and comply with all applicable laws.
- Public policy commissions
- Authorization for court-appointed receivers to transfer neglected properties to affordable housing developers for rehabilitation.
- Various other technical adjustments and corrections — sections 4, 9, 16, 36-43, 53-118, 124. Many of these adjustments speak to preservation of affordability commitments.
- Local earmarks (mostly gathered in account 1599-1953) — local earmarks have limited significance in a bond bill due to the discretion lodged with the Governor in capital spending.