Transcript Highlights:

• It will not receive a form, it won't get a postcard and the scan code, and so it may not get counted.
• And what this gives us is the residential... ...residential use code or the residential status.
• So we can have a whole conversation separately about life safety codes and building codes.
• property taxes.
• And in the green dash box, you see the abbreviated code RES, which stands for residential.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on the Census held a hearing on September 22, 2025 focused on preparations for the 2030 census, with an emphasis on Massachusetts’ role in building a complete address list and improving local participation in census-related address review programs. Chair Brownsberger and witnesses from the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office, the UMass Donahue Institute, Watertown, and MassGIS described the importance of accurate address data for congressional apportionment, federal funding, and state and local planning. They also discussed the first major upcoming step, the Block Boundary Suggestion Project, and the later Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) process, both of which rely on municipalities reviewing and correcting census geography and address files. John Rosenberry of the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office said outreach to cities and towns is beginning now, with a likely December start for the block boundary process based on the 2020 cycle. He stressed that local officials, clerks, building inspectors, housing authorities, and GIS staff should be engaged early, especially to capture new development and conversions created under the state’s housing policies. Susan Strait of UMass Donahue explained that LUCA allows local governments to compare their address lists with the Census Bureau’s master address file, and that Massachusetts had very high participation in 2020; she cited examples where local review added hidden or newly built housing units and noted that Boston later corrected a group-quarters undercount of about 6,000 students through a post-census review program. In response to questions, she clarified that those corrections affected annual estimates and funding formulas, but not the 2020 apportionment count. Watertown City Manager George Proakis described how local address review is complicated by accessory dwelling units, single-family to two-family conversions, and large multifamily projects, and urged continued state support for local governments doing this work. Dan Marrier of MassGIS then outlined the Massachusetts Master Address Database, explaining that it combines multiple sources, including E911, assessor, voter, and municipal data, to create a standardized residential address repository used for census preparation and other state functions. He said the database has helped improve census accuracy, including by updating more than one million Census Bureau address-point locations before 2020, and noted that local municipalities remain the final authority on addresses even as MassGIS standardizes and reconciles variants across the Commonwealth.

Transcript Highlights:

• HB 1701 by Flores relating to the administration enforcement of fire code referred to the Committee on
• Of a real property prepared by an appraiser submitted to the district by the property owner in determining
• the value of the property referred the subcommittee on Property tax appraisals HB 1767 by La Graf relating
• The property in the appraisal district less than frequently than annually.
• HB 2280 by Schofield relating to the authority of a property owners association to regulate a property

Transcript Highlights:

• on private public property.
• it's my property and property rights matter, and there's a school by my property, and the people at the
• The daycare center is defined in Section 42.002, the Human Resources Code, and it discusses public property
• Members, House Bill 294 amends the Property Code to prevent cities and HOAs from creating ordinances
• Members, House Bill 294 amends the Property Code to prevent cities and HOAs from creating ordinances

Summary: The House convened with a quorum, heard the invocation and pledges, and then took up a series of memorial resolutions and recognitions. Members adopted memorial resolutions honoring former President Jimmy Carter and Dr. Alice Gail Hudgens, with remarks highlighting their public service and community impact, and adopted resolutions recognizing Victoria College’s 100th anniversary and May 2025 as Mental Health Awareness Month. The chamber also recognized Texas A&M system interns and later granted permission for several committees to meet while the House was in session. The House then moved through a long third-reading calendar, passing a number of bills on wide margins. Measures approved included SB 304 on municipal court jurisdiction over nuisance abatement ordinances, SB 608 on reporting evidence collection kits, SB 2312 creating a Texas Advisory Committee on Geopolitical Conflict, SB 494 creating a petroleum theft task force, SB 530 on postsecondary accreditation, HB 45 giving the Attorney General a role in prosecuting human trafficking cases, HB 35 on peer support for first responders, HB 47 and HB 3073 on sexual assault policy and prosecution, HB 318 and HB 3000 creating rural sheriff and ambulance grant programs, HB 554 on Juneteenth fireworks sales with county opt-in authority restored, HB 705 and HB 932 joining licensure compacts for cosmetology and occupational therapy, HB 849 allowing county park boards to meet by video conference, HB 1119 on mental health bed reporting, HB 3041 on students with nontraditional secondary education, HB 713 on maternal mortality review reporting, HB 3104 on Webb County bailiff appointments, HB 3970 on electricity planning for large loads, HB 4042 on Railroad Commission safety provisions for gas distribution pipelines, HB 4490 protecting next-of-kin information, HB 1731 on the physician assistant compact, HB 2607 on Walker County Hospital District governance, HB 3689 on Texas Windstorm Insurance Association funding, HB 1788 on continuing education for barbers and cosmetologists about abuse and trafficking, HB 1612 on hospital direct payments for uninsured patients, and HB 138 on health impact cost and coverage analysis. Several bills drew extended debate or amendments. HB 353, creating a trespass offense near schools and daycares, prompted questions about constitutional concerns and property rights before passing. HB 3211 on optometrists in managed care plans received a perfecting amendment and a Medicaid-related amendment setting a minimum payment level. HB 1056 on gold and silver specie and a state-based currency prompted detailed questioning about its mechanics and fees, followed by a point of order challenging the caption. The House also adopted or postponed a number of items, including postponing HB 2520 and HB 1359 until later in the calendar before later passing both, and laying several bills on the table subject to call. Many measures passed overwhelmingly, while a few, including HB 3326 on loan forgiveness for adjunct professors and HB 3237 on energy consumption goals, passed with narrower margins.

Transcript Highlights:

• to create a TOPA pilot program the zip codes that we picked are zip codes that pilot program the zip
• codes that we picked are zip codes that have extremely high renter populations so more than at least
• There is some evidence that some H-DIP properties, some H-DIP properties,... ...these kinds of tools,
• Price fixing manifests in code.
• Price fixing manifests in code.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Housing held a hybrid hearing on a broad slate of landlord-tenant and home rule bills, with most testimony focused on rent stabilization, tenant opportunity to purchase (TOPA), tenant fees, access to counsel, algorithmic rent fixing, and tenant protections in subsidized housing. Chairs Cyr and Haggerty outlined the hearing procedures and noted that written testimony could also be submitted. Several members and invited speakers emphasized that the committee was hearing from both local officials and residents affected by housing instability, especially in Somerville and other communities facing high rents and displacement. Supporters of rent stabilization and local-option rent control argued that Massachusetts needs tools to prevent displacement while new housing is built. Senator Eldridge, Senator Jalen, Somerville officials, tenant organizers, and residents described steep rent increases, no-fault evictions, and the loss of naturally occurring affordable housing. Somerville’s home rule petition was described as allowing annual increases tied to CPI plus 2%, capped at 5%, with exemptions for owner-occupied two- and three-family homes and a 15-year exemption for new construction. TOPA supporters said it would let tenants or their designees buy buildings before speculative buyers, preserving affordable housing stock; opponents, including small landlords and property managers, argued rent control would reduce supply, discourage investment, and that TOPA could delay sales and harm properties. The committee also heard testimony on bills to curb junk fees and regulate tenant charges, including limits on late fees, lease renewal fees, payment portal fees, attorney’s fees, and other add-on charges. Advocates said these fees can add hundreds of dollars a month and disproportionately harm low-income renters and renters of color. Another major topic was algorithmic rent fixing: Senator Moore and Representative Sabadoza said landlords should not use software such as RealPage to coordinate pricing, citing federal antitrust actions and arguing that competition is essential to lowering rents. Additional testimony supported a statewide right to counsel in eviction cases, with legal services providers saying representation dramatically improves outcomes and can save the state money, and a bill to create an office of tenant protections to better enforce sanitary code violations. No votes or final actions were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• But there's not a United States Code section... Not a United States Code section under five.
• The decedent's personal property is provided that the value of this property is not in excess of $25,000
• under Alabama Code 43-8-110.
• The exempt property under Alabama Code 43-8-110.
• Alabama Code 43-8-11 and the family allowance under Alabama Code 43-8-112 and 43-8-113.

Bills: SB210, SB292, HB360, HB233, HB66, HB356, HB164, HB238, HB209, SB223, HB307, SB210, SB292, HB360, HB233, HB66, HB356, HB164, HB238, HB209, SB223, HB307

Keywords: hospital liens, medical billing, government healthcare, insurance claims, patient rights, education oversight, subpoena authority, investigation, State Superintendent, school misconduct, drug courts, accountability, veterans, mental health, substance abuse, rehabilitation, criminal justice, court intervention, elder abuse, financial exploitation

Transcript Highlights:

• Are we doing anything with property taxes this year?
• not speak specifically to property taxes.
• But I want to see, like, are we doing property taxes?
• If it's acting as a code enforcement mechanism, it's basically supplanting code enforcement for proper
• And then the third major set is our larger multifamily properties, so multifamily properties of 10 or

Summary: The Committee on Community Affairs met with a quorum present and took up SB 122, which would repeal Chapter 205 on local business taxes while allowing municipalities to continue imposing a gross-receipts-based business tax on merchants. Senator Trumbull presented the bill for the sponsor, and committee members questioned what services local governments fund with local business tax revenue and whether the bill should be considered alongside broader property tax changes. County and city representatives opposed the bill, arguing that local business taxes are capped home-rule revenues used for general fund services such as public safety, zoning and licensure checks, economic development, and business support, and warning that repeal would shift costs to residential taxpayers and reduce local flexibility. Senator Shreve said he would vote no because of ongoing property tax discussions, while Senator Pizzo said he would support the bill but wanted clearer accounting of how the revenue is spent. The committee voted 5-1 to report SB 122 favorably. The committee then held a housing panel discussion focused on Florida’s housing shortage, affordability, and supply constraints. Dr. Samuel Staley said Florida is in a housing crisis driven largely by insufficient supply, arguing that the state needs roughly 100,000 additional units per year just to keep up with in-migration and that local planning systems often do not prioritize housing enough. He urged more emphasis on measurable impacts, streamlined permitting, accessory dwelling units, smaller lot sizes, and other market-responsive tools. Ann Ray of the Shimberg Center said Florida is seeing more single-family and multifamily construction but that production is concentrated in a handful of counties, while condo construction remains limited; she also noted that rents and home prices spiked sharply in the early 2020s and remain above pre-2020 levels, with nearly 905,000 low-income renters cost-burdened. Leslie Deutsch of John Burns Research said the national housing market is slow, Florida has a severe affordability problem, and builders are lowering prices and offering incentives but still face high land, labor, materials, and insurance costs. In committee discussion, senators focused on whether Florida should encourage more density, including townhomes, build-to-rent products, modular housing, and redevelopment of existing sites rather than relying on large new subdivisions. Members also discussed the role of local zoning, impact fees, density bonuses, and state incentives tied to housing targets. Several senators said Florida’s growth and affordability challenges require updating land development codes and planning for where future residents will live without overbuilding rural or environmentally sensitive areas. The chair closed by emphasizing that density can support affordability and that Florida should use existing footprints more efficiently.

Transcript Highlights:

• while the building code review board was working on the 2024 code.
• 2021 energy code while the building code 2021 energy code while the building code review<00:11:31.160
• 21 code so it is a more effective code 21 code so it is a more effective code in<00:11:57.920>
• <00:30:10.480> is codes the language in the model codes is codes the language in the model
• code and I believe the state code code and I believe the state code is<00:35:26.680> uh<00

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 1/CAC 1, which concerned gubernatorial succession and incapacity. Members supporting an ITL motion said the bill was not workable as written and that New Hampshire already has a constitutional structure that has functioned for more than 200 years. Others noted the state’s two-year gubernatorial term and said the existing protections were sufficient. The committee voted 16-0 to inexpedient to legislate, and the item was placed on consent. The committee then considered House Bill 96, the energy code bill. Supporters argued that updating the code would reduce long-term energy costs, improve climate resilience, help the construction industry, and keep New Hampshire eligible for federal funding. Opponents of ITL said the bill was premature because the 2024 energy code was already under review, housing costs were a major concern, and the testimony on costs was conflicting and not well supported. The committee voted 12-4 for ITL, and a minority report was requested. House Bill 161, dealing with the Native American Affairs Commission, was also sent to ITL by a 16-0 vote and placed on consent. Members cited serious concerns about vacancies, expired terms, missing annual reports, and whether the commission was functioning effectively. Several members said the committee lacked the expertise to resolve the underlying cultural and intergovernmental disputes and that the issues were beyond the committee’s scope. Finally, the committee took up House Bill 428 and adopted Amendment 0328 by a 16-0 vote. The amendment would preserve municipalities’ ability to make administrative building-code amendments, such as permit, inspection, occupancy, and fee procedures, while still barring local governments from setting higher construction standards than the state code. Testimony emphasized that the amendment was meant to clean up and consolidate related language and make the bill administratively workable. After the amendment passed, members discussed the bill in amended form, with supporters and opponents focusing on housing costs, local control, flood protection, and the risk of inconsistent local codes.

Transcript Highlights:

• It code.
• probate Code and Trust code by providing that a Dem
• property and and community property trust or Homestead property.
• They've thrown off the property.