Judge throws out ‘unfunded mandate' lawsuits over MBTA Communities Act
Nine towns — Duxbury, Hamilton, Hanson, Holden, Marshfield, Middleton, Wenham, Weston and Wrentham — filed lawsuits earlier this year after the state Division of Local Mandates determined the law was an 'unfunded mandate.'
The cases were the latest in a history of challenges to the 2021 law, which requires towns and cities served by the MBTA to update their zoning to allow more multifamily housing.
'We are pleased the courts have again affirmed the intent of the MBTA Communities Law, and we look forward to working with the remaining communities to complete their zoning changes,' Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus said in a statement. 'Massachusetts' housing shortage has led to unaffordable prices and rising rents, but the MBTA Communities Law is working to deliver new housing where it's needed most and to bring down the cost of housing for all residents.'
The MBTA Communities Act requires 177 cities and towns served by the MBTA to create at least one zoning district where multifamily housing is allowed by right.
The goal of the law was to reduce barriers to new housing development and relieve pressure on the expensive local housing market, though no housing is guaranteed or required to be built.
In a January ruling, the Supreme Judicial Court upheld the law as constitutional and mandatory, though the court said the compliance guidelines had not gone through the correct legal process and were, therefore, unenforceable.
Since then, the state has released new, emergency guidelines, giving noncompliant towns until July 14 to comply.
Under the Local Mandate Law, since 1980, any state law or regulation that would impose more than 'incidental administration expenses' on local governments must either be fully funded by the state or be conditional on local acceptance of the rule.
In October, the Wrentham Select Board requested the Division of Local Mandates determine whether the MBTA Communities Act violated this law. In February, DLM Director Jana DiNatale confirmed that she believed it did.
She wrote in a letter to the town's Select Board that grants the state has offered towns to help them develop new zoning and accommodate new housing development showed that the law did impose additional costs, but did not fully fund its local implementation.
However, the DLM determination, unlike the January Supreme Judicial Court ruling, did not immediately make the law unenforceable.
In his Friday decision, Super Court Judge Mark Gildea wrote that he disagreed that any of the towns had demonstrated any direct costs associated with following the law. The nine towns had listed anticipated impacts to infrastructure, public safety and other municipal services related to new housing development, but Gildea said these were speculative and indirectly, not directly, related.
'The Municipalities have neither pled specific costs for anticipated infrastructure costs, nor provided any specific timeline for anticipated construction projects,' he wrote. 'Instead, the only allegations and averments before the court are generalized comments about large-scale issues they foresee.'
Last week, the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities announced that 133 cities and towns, or about 75% of those affected by the MBTA Communities Act, had passed new zoning meant to comply with the regulations.
Zoning changes under MBTA Communities Act spurs 3K new houses - so far
Middleborough sues state over MBTA Communities: 'One size does not fit all'
Mass. AG Campbell says 'unfunded mandate' determination won't stop MBTA Communities
Read the original article on MassLive.
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Healey's big money month
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17-06-2025
- Politico
The millionaire's tax giveth ...
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Boston Globe
16-06-2025
- Boston Globe
Mass. lawmakers reach deal to seed MBTA with $535 million from ‘millionaires' surtax spending package
The bill also would set aside $248 million to help cover The bill largely spends surplus revenue that the state collected from the surtax on annual income exceeding roughly $1 million. The revenue is constitutionally mandated to go toward transportation and education initiatives, though the agreement released Monday tips more toward transportation ($716 million in funding) than education ($593.5 million), according to lawmakers. Advertisement Legislators could shuttle the bill to Governor Maura Healey's desk as early as Wednesday, when both chambers have formal sessions scheduled. In a joint statement, state Representative Aaron Michlewitz and state Senator Michael Rodrigues, the chambers' respective budget chiefs, said the agreement 'makes critically important investments in education and transportation in the face of continued uncertainty.' Advertisement The MBTA's own spending plans already lean heavily on state largesse. The agency's board of directors last week The T's approved budget calls for hiring more than 1,000 positions to increase the agency's headcount to 8,030 employees. The T is also seeking some cost-cutting measures, such as reducing overtime costs, The MBTA has faced long-standing The T has also struggled with drawing back riders. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, fare revenue covered about To address this, the Legislature offered vastly different visions. The surtax spending bill the Senate passed last month would have dedicated $370 million to the MBTA, including $200 million to replenish the agency's budget reserve. The House, on other hand, sought far more, setting aside nearly $800 million for the T, most of which — $700 million — was tabbed for the agency's reserve and deficiency funds. Advertisement The bill released Monday falls in the middle. It would dedicate $300 million for the T's spending reserve, plus offer $175 million for workforce and safety funding. Another $40 million would go toward infrastructure upgrades, and $20 million would help fund the MBTA's low-income fare program. The gap between the chamber's plans for the T was even wider when combined with their annual state budget proposals, with the House seeking about $1.4 billion for the T between the two bills and the Senate $820 million. How Monday's deal would affect what the agency receives in the annual state budget plan is unclear. The chamber's leaders are still negotiating the details of that roughly $61.5 billion bill, which is designed to cover the fiscal year that starts July 1. Both chambers also included an array of earmarks in their surtax spending bills, ranging from Legislators had yet to release the full text of the final version Monday afternoon. The surplus surtax bill is, by design, supplemental, offering lawmakers a huge windfall to fund priorities that they perhaps wouldn't have been able to otherwise through the regular budget process. Still, the Legislature is likely to find itself in a similar position next year, too. Entering May, the voter-approved surtax had already Advertisement That type of financial cushion is welcome. President Trump has withheld or cut Companies have also Matt Stout can be reached at
