JALSA Submits Testimony in Support of Key Housing Priorities

January 18, 2024

Dear Chairs Edwards and Arciero,

The Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA) is a membership-based non-profit organization based in Boston, with thousands of members and supporters statewide. Guided by Jewish teachings and values, we are devoted to the defense of civil rights, the preservation of constitutional liberties, and the passionate pursuit of social, economic, environmental, and racial justice for all people.

The upcoming housing bond bill, H.4138, The Affordable Homes Act, provides a critically important opportunity to address a number of key priorities in the areas of housing affordability, housing justice, and climate justice.

Our faith-based values have impressed upon us the importance of housing as a human right. Each year on Yom Kippur, our most sacred holiday, we read in Isaiah, “take the poor into your homes.” The Torah also commands that a poor person be granted “sufficient for what lacks, according to what is lacking to him” – which includes a bed and table – and, therefore, a home. We must take all steps that we can to make housing accessible, affordable, safe, and healthy for everyone. Upholding human dignity, the fundamental Jewish value of Kavod HaBriyot, demands that we ensure housing for all.

As such, JALSA strongly urges the Joint Committee on Housing, and all members of the Legislature, to support inclusion in The Affordable Homes Act of a number of vitally necessary provisions.

● Access to Counsel: JALSA supports including funding for Access to Counsel in this bill. It is a profound injustice that, while 90% of landlords are represented by counsel in non-payment cases in Housing Court, only 2.5% of tenants are represented by counsel, disproportionately harming tenants who are low-income, women, and people of color. It is particularly egregious that more than 1 in 4 children living in poverty experience eviction by age 15. We must level the playing field. Doing this benefits all of us: it saves landlords from the costs of evictions; it saves the Commonwealth from having to figure out how to house people who have lost their homes; and, it lives up to our highest ideals of making sure that people are safely and securely housed.

● Eviction Sealing: Eviction sealing protects tenants from being unfairly branded with an eviction record if they do not have a judgment against them, were not actually evicted, or if they didn’t do anything wrong. Eviction sealing prevents undeserved stigma from being an obstacle to access to housing. We hope that this language can be strengthened to provide even more protections to tenants particularly allowing for automatic sealing.

● Local Option for Housing Affordability (LOHA): JALSA is proud to be a member of the LOHA Coalition. With the Commonwealth facing an extreme housing affordability crisis, communities would benefit from being able to enact a local option transfer fee to fund the development of affordable housing. We urge the Legislature to allow for much more flexibility in the approach to the transfer fee so it can meet local needs. We especially support allowing thresholds lower than $1 million to ensure that it can benefit more communities. We know that this approach is desirable given that eleven communities have already filed home rule petitions to be able to enact a transfer fee, with many more communities discussing the same approach.

● Production Funds: Additional funding for production must be targeted toward improving housing options for renters and low-income households. We also support increased funding for public housing.

● Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s) by Right: JALSA urges the Joint Committee on Housing and the Legislature at large to include the provision that ensures that ADUs can be built as of right rather than needing to go through a special permit process.

● Decarbonization: The Affordable Homes Act provides the Legislature with an ideal opportunity to prioritize decarbonization efforts, both by retaining decarbonization measures included in the bill and also by including funding for a Zero Carbon Renovation Fund (ZCRF). This Fund will accelerate the market for zero carbon renovations in our buildings and maximize energy efficiency, as well as encourage the usage of on-site renewable energy where possible. A ZCRF could accomplish these efforts in an equitable manner that benefits all corners of the Commonwealth, prioritizing schools, affordable housing, public housing, and other buildings least able to afford such renovations. The proposal has earned the support of more than 170 organizations across a wide range of geographic and issue areas.

JALSA strongly urges the members of the Joint Committee on Housing, and all members of the Legislature, to support the inclusion of these vital measures in the upcoming housing bond bill, H.4138, The Affordable Homes Act.

Sincerely,

Cindy Rowe
President and CEO
Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action