PVPC Legislative Priorities
Congratulations to Hampden and Hampshire Counties' State Representatives and Senators for being entrusted by their constituents to represent our Valley's interests in this new legislative session.
Now that the deadline for timely filed bills has come and gone, we are excited to share PVPC's legislative priorities.
Below, please find the policy and budgetary issues we hope to work with our planning district's delegation on in the Massachusetts General Court over the next two years.
Legislative Priorities
An Act relative to RPAs: This bill would enshrine current practice regarding retirement payments in statute.
Municipal and Public Safety Building Authority: Massachusetts currently supports municipalities in the construction of new school facilities with funding through the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). However, no such Authority or dedicated funding stream exists to assist municipalities as they build or upgrade other necessary municipal facilities. This bill would establish a Massachusetts Municipal and Public Safety Building Authority to similarly assist municipalities in financing upgrades to existing municipal buildings or the construction of new municipal or public safety facilities.
Office of Rural Policy: This legislation would establish an Office of Rural Policy as recommended in the 2019 Rural Policy Plan put forward by the the Rural Policy Advisory Commission (RPAC). As Massachusetts’ rural communities plan for their future, the Office of Rural Policy would not only foster greater collaboration between small communities with similar challenges, thus increasing efficiency, but also provide a critical mechanism for continuous evaluation of established policies and programs’ ability to serve rural communities, and the opportunity to continuously adjust these policies and programs based on the Office’s findings.
Remote Meetings: This bill would allow public bodies to continue conducting public meetings virtually without in-person attendance requirements, as they have throughout the pandemic, and preserve these bodies’ discretion over the format of their meetings (e.g. virtual, in-person, hyrbid). MARPA is supportive of extending the local option for representative and open town meetings as well.
Public Meeting Notices: The closure of local print media outlets across Massachusetts has forced many communities to post public meeting notices in regional or metropolitan publications to meet public meeting posting requirements, drastically increasing the cost of these postings, while doing little to ensure residents see them. This bill would allow public bodies to post notices of their meetings in local online media publications, rather than requiring these notices be available in print.
Regional Ballot Initiatives: This bill enables a municipality (or multiple municipalities which form a regional district) to place a question on the ballot relative to raising revenue for local or regional transportation projects, as is common practice to fund these projects in California, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, and several other states. These initiatives enjoy high rates of passage (70-80%) and operate as key transportation funding mechanisms in states where they are used.
Regional Transit Authority (RTA) Reform: This bill sets a floor for RTA contract assistance, dedicates half of revenue raised from transportation network company (TNC) fees to RTAs, requires MassDOT to fund RTA capital projects at the same rate as MBTA capital projects, directs MassDOT to support RTAs in planning for bus electrification, and ends the use of the farebox recovery ratio in RTA performance metrics. The bill also requires that the RTA Council report annually to the Legislature on funding, technical assistance and service needs, and adds two seats to the Council for frequent RTA riders.
SAPHE 2.0: Following on the success of the SAPHE Act, SAPHE 2.0 seeks to build on the success of Public Health Excellence grants and implement the recommendations of the Special Commission on Local and Regional Public Health. This includes establishing: minimum public health standards for all communities, a uniform data collection and reporting system, incentives for cross-municipal collaboration in public health, and the Commonwealth’s first sustainable state-level funding mechanism to support local and regional boards of health.
Local Option Transfer Fee: This bill would grant municipalities statewide the power to levy a fee of up to 2% on certain real estate transactions to support local affordable housing needs. It enumerates several mandatory exemptions including transfers between family, transfers of properties subject to affordable housing restrictions, and transfer for less than 100% of the state median sales price, or if a municipality's median sale price is below that of the state, the county median sales price. The bill also allows municipalities the flexibility to set further exemptions.
HERO (Housing and Environmental Revenue Options): This legislation would increase the deeds excise fee statewide from $4.56 per $1,000 of taxable value to $9.12 per $1,000 of taxable value, splitting the estimated $300 million in additional tax revenue evenly between affordable housing and climate, inclusive of both mitigation and adaptation.
Budget Priorities
District Local Technical Assistance (1599-0026): DLTA funding is distributed to the Commonwealth’s 13 Regional Planning Agencies (RPAs) serving the 351 cities and towns of Massachusetts to allow RPAs to provide technical assistance that bridges the gap between communities planning needs and their planning capacity. The technical assistance provided to these communities on local and regional projects ranging from land use permitting, zoning, housing production and preservation, and economic development, to infrastructure, energy, climate, and public health planning.
Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (2000-1014): The Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program provides both planning and action grants for municipalities looking to plan and take action to mitigate the biggest climate change related challenges facing their communities. MARPA will advocate for an increase in funding for the program to allow it to provide deeper benefits to a greater number of communities.
Regional Transit Authorities (1595-6370): The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority and regional transit authorities (RTAs) like it across our Commonwealth share a single line item that continues to lag behind the ever increasing cost of running what for some of our most vulnerable residents is a life line to destinations of employment, health care, education, and social inclusion.
Continuing, Comprehensive, and Cooperative Planning Process
Average Annual Daily Traffic
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)
Average Daily Traffic
American Farmland Trust
Alternative Fuel Vehicles
American Heritage Rivers Initiative
American International College
Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations
Approval Not Required
American Planning Association
Aquifer Protection District
Air Quality Index
Air Quality Index
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (of 2009)
Automatic Traffic Recorder
Average Vehicle Ridership
Barnes Aquifer Protection Advisory Committee
Business Improvement District
Bicycle Level of Service
Best Management Practice
Bridge Management System
Board of Appeals (or Adjustment)
Board of Health
Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990
Commercial Area Revitalization District
Community Action Statement
Central Business District
Cape Cod Commission
Cooperating Colleges of Greater Springfield
Community Development
Community Development Action Grant
Community Development Block Grant
Centers for Disease Control
Community Development Corporation
Community Development Fund
Community Development Plan
Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation
Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation
Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy
Community Enterprise Economic Development
Citizen Housing and Planning Association
Community Housing Development Organizations
Capital Improvement Inventory System
Capital Improvements Plan (or Program)
Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program
Congestion Management Process
Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission
Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area
Compressed Natural Gas
Carbon Monoxide
Council of Governments
Commonwealth Procurement Access and Solicitation System
Community Preservation Act
Citizen Planner Training Collaborative
Capitol Region Council of Governments
Community Service Block Grant
Combined Sewer Overflow
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Department of Environmental Protection
Division of Employment and Training
Department of Housing and Community Development
Direct Local Technical Assistance
Department of Energy Resources
Department of Revenue
Department of Transportation
Department of Public Works
Developments of Regional Impact
Executive Order
Production of affordable housing across a broad range of incomes
Economic Assistance Coordinating Council
Economic Development Administration
Economic Development Council
Economic Development District
Economic Development Data and Information System
Economic Development and Industrial Corporation
Environmental Impact Report
Environmental Impact Statement
Environmental Justice
Environmental Notification Form
Economic Opportunity Area
Executive Office of Administration and Finance
Executive Office of Economic Affairs
Executive Office of Elder Affairs
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development
Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental Site Assessment
Economic Target Area
Federal Aid
Functional Classification (of roadways)
Federal Housing Administration
Federal Highway Administration - An agency of the United States Department of Transportation that provides financial and technical support to each state for constructing, improving, and preserving America’s highway system.
Federal Highway Administration
Franklin Regional Council of Governments
Federal Transit Administration
Greenhouse Gas
Geographic Information System - A system for capturing, storing, analyzing and managing data and associated attributes which are spatially referenced to the earth.
Geographic Information System
Global Positioning System
Housing Appeal Committee
HAPHousing
Holyoke Community College
Housing Development Support Program
Housing Innovation Fund
Home Modification for Individuals with Disabilities Loan
Highway Overlay District
Historic Overlay District
Homeownership Opportunities Program
High Occupancy Vehicle
Housing Preservation Grant
Housing Production Plan
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Invitation for Bid
Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991
Intelligent Transportation Systems
Job Access and Reverse Commute
Jacob's Ladder Scenic Byway
Jacob's Ladder Trail
Joint Transportation Committee
Local Board(s) of Health
Limited English Proficiency
Local Housing Authority
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
Low Income Housing Tax Credit
Level of Service
Local Option Transportation Tax
Local Pavement Management System
Light Rail Vehicle
Local Technical Assistance
Massachusetts General Laws
Hazardous waste cleanup regulations
Uniform procurement law for local governments
Zoning
Planning/comprehensive permits
Smart growth zoning and housing production
Smart growth school cost reimbursement
Subdivision control
Expedited permitting
Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century
Metropolitan Area Planning Council
Massachusetts Association of Regional Planning Agencies
Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Massachusetts Geographic Information System
Minority Business Enterprises
Massachusetts Development Finance Agency
Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act
Massachusetts Geographic Information Council
Massachusetts Historical Commission
Massachusetts Housing Partnership
Massachusetts Industrial Finance Agency
Municipal Incentive Grant
Massachusetts Municipal Association
Memorandum of Agreement
Massachusetts Office of Business Development
Massachusetts Office on Disability
Memorandum of Understanding
Metropolitan Planning Organization
Metropolitan Planning Organization
Montachusett Regional Planning Commission
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices
Martha's Vineyard Commission
Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
National Association of Regional Councils
New England Association of Regional Councils
Non-Federal Aid
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended)
National Highway System
Neighborhood Housing Services program
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Northern Middlesex Council of Governments
Nitrogen Oxide
Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Commission
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
National Trust for Historic Preservation
National Transportation Safety Board
Old Colony Planning Council
Overall Condition Index (Pavement)
Open Space and Recreation Plan
Pavement Condition Index
Priority Development Fund
Purchase of Development Rights
Peak Hour Traffic (or Trips)
Payment in Lieu of Taxes
[Metropolitan] Planning Funds
Pavement Management System
Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area
Pavement Management Users Group
Planner on a Disc
Public Participation Process
Planned Unit Residential Development
Pioneer Valley Regional Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund
Pioneer Valley Transit Authority
Quaboag Valley Community Development Corp.
Rental Development Action Loan
Regional Employment Board
Regional Education and Business Alliance
Regional Economic Models, Inc.
Request For Proposal
Request for Qualifications
Request for Response
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
Roadway Inventory Files
Revolving Loan Fund
Regional Planning Agency
Regional Pavement Management System
Regional Transit Authority
Regional Technology Corporation
Regional Transportation Plan
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users
Small Business Administration
Supplier Diversity Office
State Implementation Plan (for air quality)
Sustainable Knowledge Corridor
Single Occupancy Vehicle
Special Permit
Special Permit Planning
Site Plan Review
Statewide Planning and Research Funds
Single Room Occupancy
Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District
Springfield Technical Community College
Statewide Transportation Improvement Program
Surface Transportation Program
Targeted Brownfields Assessment
Transportation and Community System Preservation [Pilot Program]
Transportation Demand Management
Transfer of Development Rights
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
Tax Increment Financing
Transportation Improvement Program
The Literacy Project
Turning Movement Count
Traditional Neighborhood District
Transit Oriented Design (or Development)
Transportation Research Board
Trip Reduction Ordinance
Transportation Systems Management
Urban Growth Boundary
Urban Land Institute
University of Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute
Unified Planning Work Program
Urban Revitalization Development Grant
U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Forest Service
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Public Land Survey
Underground Storage Tanks
Vehicle Miles Traveled
Volatile Organic Compound
Vehicle Occupancy Rate
Ware Adult Learning Center
Weatherization Assistance Program
Women-owned Business Enterprises
Wellhead Protection Area
Western New England University
Water Quality Management Plan
Westfield River Watershed Association
Westfield River Wild & Scenic Advisory Committee
Water Supply Protection [District]
Westfield State University
Zoning Board of Adjustment (or Appeals)