Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll speaks with local officials during the April 11 meeting of the Local Government Advisory Commission at the State House.
Noting that the idea of a new housing-focused secretariat “has been warmly received so far,” Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said the administration is planning to fill the post quickly.
“We’re hopeful by the end of April we’ll have this particular Cabinet secretary post available,” Driscoll said during the April 11 meeting of the Local Government Advisory Commission at the State House. “We look to fill it in a quick manner so we can get moving on this work.”
Gov. Maura Healey filed legislation on March 1 to split the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development into two separate offices, creating a new Office of Housing and Livable Communities and renaming the current office to the Office on Economic Development.
Article 87 of the Massachusetts Constitution, which lays out the process by which a governor can reorganize his or her Cabinet, gives the Legislature 60 days to vote on the plan before it is considered enacted. The Senate voted to approve the reorganization plan on April 13, but the House has not yet taken it up. If the House fails to vote by the April 30 deadline, the reorganization plan would be considered enacted on April 30 and take effect 30 days later, on May 30. The House could move the enactment timeline up by voting on it before April 30, which would jump start the 30-day clock.
The Department of Housing and Community Development has not functioned as a separate entity since 1991, having been folded into other executive offices — transportation, environment and, most recently, economic development.
Healey has identified housing as one of her top priorities, saying she is concerned that high housing prices and low inventory will affect the long-term economic competitiveness of the state.