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Doomsday scenario? As home prices and rents soar, a key player in affordable housing development could hit a financial wall if state lawmakers don’t act soon
Gov. Maura Healey is pushing a multibillion-dollar plan to tackle the state’s housing crisis, and MassHousing is slated to play a major role.
But first, the quasi-independent state housing authority must convince the Legislature to raise the two-decade old limit on its debt load that could stop it from taking on new projects as soon as July.
By the end of last year, MassHousing was close to hitting its $4.9 billion borrowing limit, with just $400 million in lending capacity left.
In a memo prepared for state lawmakers this spring, MassHousing warned that its credit card, so to speak, was just about maxed out.
“Current projections indicate that MassHousing could reach its current debt ceiling by July, which would leave the Agency unable to continue currently committed lending activity past that date,” according to the memo obtained by Contrarian Boston.
The good news is that Healey’s multibillion-dollar bond bill raises MassHousing’s debt limit to $10.8 billion, or more than double what it is now.
The House included the provision when it recently passed the governor’s proposal, so now it’s up to the state Senate, which is expected to take up the housing bill next week.
But the clock is ticking, with the legislative session set to expire at the end of July.
“If we did not take action by the end of the session, I think they would be in trouble,” State Sen. Julian Cyr (D-Truro), who has made dearth of affordable housing one of his major issues, told Contrarian Boston.
Still, it’s worth asking why MassHousing is scrambling around at the 11th hour, attempting to jawbone lawmakers into raising a debt limit that has been in place since 2003, the last time it was previously raised.
This is not a good look for Chrystal Kornegay, MassHousing’s chief. The last thing the Baker administration holdover needs to do is to embarrass Healey, her new boss.
One step forward, three steps back: On heels of the Forward Party’s launch in Massachusetts, a top official is arrested in Florida
Umm, just call it a case of rather unfortunate timing.
A new political party founded by Andrew Yang held a press conference on the State House steps on Thursday.
Led locally by former MassGOP standard bearer Kerry Healey, backers of the Forward Party announced plans to file for official recognition in Massachusetts.
"I have long felt that there was a void between the two parties, not only in Massachusetts but throughout the country," Healey said, per State House News Service.
However, that same day, one of the Forward Party’s leading players was tied up in Florida on some pretty sordid legal matters.
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