§ 1 — Executive office of housing and livable communities; powers and duties

[ There is no subsection (a).]Section 1. The executive office of housing and livable communities shall be the principal office of the commonwealth to formulate and carry out state housing policy, responsible for expending funds, marshalling resources, and advancing innovative solutions to provide safe, accessible, affordable, and environmentally sustainable housing for all residents and to promote vibrant, livable communities throughout the commonwealth, including without limitation administering programs focused on housing production, housing rehabilitation, housing preservation, housing affordability, fairness and equity in housing opportunity, emergency and transitional housing, and housing stability and security.(b) To accomplish the objectives set forth above, the executive office is hereby authorized and empowered to:(i) Administer programs of financial assistance related to housing production, rehabilitation preservation, operation and affordability, including without limitation programs supporting infrastructure development, community development, fuel assistance and weatherization;(ii) Oversee and subsidize the operation, capital maintenance, and redevelopment of state-aided public housing;(iii) Administer rental vouchers and all other programs providing rental assistance or promoting housing stability and affordability, including without limitation programs providing emergency shelter or transitional housing for individuals and families;(iv) Provide assistance to communities in solving local problems that impact housing, including but not limited to, problems in planning, zoning, housing, and community development;(v) Facilitate communications between communities and the various agencies, authorities, officials, and employees of the commonwealth with responsibilities that impact housing and communities;(vi) Encourage and assist local governments to cooperate in seeking mutual solutions to common problems and regional housing needs;(vii) Provide and act as a clearing house for information and data regarding housing and livable communities in the commonwealth;(viii) Initiate, carry out and support studies and analyses which will aid in solving local and regional problems that impact housing and communities;(ix) Discharge the duties imposed on it by or pursuant to law in the fields of housing, urban renewal, relocation, housing for the handicapped, veterans, the elderly or other discrete populations with special housing needs, local and regional planning, and the development of livable communities;(x) Further the cooperation of local, state, federal and private agencies and institutions with respect to programs affecting housing and community development;(xi) Represent and act on behalf of the commonwealth in connection with federal grant programs applicable to the objectives and programs described in this section.(xii) Seek, accept and otherwise take full advantage of all federal aid available to the department and to assist other agencies of the commonwealth and local agencies to take full advantage of all federal grants and subventions available for the purposes described in this section;(xiii) Render advice and assistance to communities in the preparation and review of zoning ordinances and other rules, regulations, ordinances, charters, and the like that affect the housing and communities;(xiv) Formulate in cooperation with related state agencies, and from time to time update, a Model Housing Code, and Model Zoning Codes for communities of various populations, and in coordination with other state agencies and upon the request of any community, advise and aid communities in the enforcement of the Housing Code;(xv) Develop goals and plans to guide the production, rehabilitation, preservation, operation and subsidization of housing in the commonwealth;(xvi) Carry out its responsibility to affirmatively further fair housing, including, without limitation, assisting to the fullest extent the Massachusetts commission against discrimination in responding to discrimination in housing and otherwise carrying out its powers and duties under chapter 151B;(xvii) Adopt a qualified allocation plan and regulations pursuant thereto for the federal low-income housing tax credit as provided for in Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code as amended and in effect for the taxable year, and the Massachusetts low-income housing tax credit as established under section 6I of chapter 62 and section 31H of chapter 63. Such plan may give preference to qualified Massachusetts projects which serve the lowest income tenants at rents affordable to those tenants and which are obligated to serve qualified tenants for the longest period. The specific powers and grant of authority set forth in this subsection shall be construed broadly to effectuate the purposes of this chapter, and nothing in this subsection shall be construed in limitation of the other powers and duties of the executive office established by other provisions of state or federal law.[ Clause (xviii) of subsection (b) added by 2024, 150, Sec. 3 effective August 6, 2024.](xviii) Develop and implement, not less than once every 5 years, a written comprehensive housing plan for the commonwealth, which shall include, but not be limited to, housing supply and demand data, affordability and affordability gaps, identification of housing affordability challenges and needs by region, an analysis of local zoning and strategies to address such housing needs.(c) In order to assist in the discharge of its duties, the executive office is hereby empowered to request from any agency of the commonwealth such available information as the secretary shall deem pertinent to local affairs and problems, and to request from any political subdivision of the commonwealth currently existing zoning maps of any community and notification of all zoning changes, and such agency or political subdivision shall comply with such request.(d) An information copy of each application for federal grant or loan for the purposes of any community development program submitted to the federal government by any community shall be filed with the executive office not later than the tenth day after such submission thereof.