2025-04-14 00:00:00 - Joint Committee on Housing

SPEAKER1 - And welcome to today's joint committee on housing hearing, regarding
Island's district, and Senate190 chair of the joint committee on housing. Delighted to be joined today by my house co chair, representative Rich Haggerty, and we will call this committee meeting to order. I see a number of house members here who've joined us, as well, today. This is, the first meeting of the joint committee on housing, for this legislative session, and we'll be hearing212 testimony on House Bill 65, a proposal for a legislative amendment to the constitution for a constitutional right to220 housing. This hearing will be hybrid, and we will work in the following ways. Those signed up to testify227 as individuals will have 3 minutes to provide their remarks before the committee, and those signed up as a panel of 3 or more will be given a total of 6 minutes, as a panel to provide their remarks. We'll have a bell238 to sound to notify speakers when, their time, is wrapping up. Elected officials and certain244 members of the public may be called out of turn at the discretion of the chair of this committee. This is longstanding practice in the legislature. And I respectfully ask all those who've signed up to testify before the joint committee on housing to be prompt and respectful, of these time constraints. We'd like to hear from, as many members of the public, who are able to join the committee, whether in265 person, or virtually. The committee also encourage encourages those who, cannot attend either in person or virtually, to also submit, you know, to submit testimony in writing for the committee's review. I would like to thank, LIS, LIS, LIS, LIS, LIS, and Information Services, and, staff court officers for assisting us today. And they can be on hand to provide any questions folks may have related to the hybrid, hearing process.
I'll now turn it over to my co chair, for his remarks and introduction of the House Committee members.
SPEAKER2 - Thank you, Senator Cyr, and, it's a pleasure to be able to, lead this committee with you this session, and, looking forward to, what I know will be a series of, housing committee hearings over the course of the, coming months. I did wanna take a minute to recognize my house colleagues who are joining us today, including the vice chair, representative Ramos, representative Gonzalo, representative Diggs, representative, LaBeouf,
Bertheem. That being said,339 I'll hand it back to my colleague to341 begin the hearing.
SPEAKER1 - Thank you. Just a a brief345 moment.
First, we have Vincent Lawrence Dixon.
SPEAKER2 - Good
SPEAKER3 - afternoon, senators, representatives, and staff. My name is Vincent Lawrence Dixon, 60 Lake Street, unit n, Winchester, Mass 0 1 8 9 0, and this is regarding H 65. This bill has an apparently somewhat unique distinction given the various context, in being a single proposal at this hearing, but we can think of it as being in some important ways appropriate since it allows focus in a briefly detailed way on an important innovative approach that we can all embrace. I appear before you to strongly support a significant proposal behind a constitutional right to housing. Civilization, even in its earlier and simpler forms, does require some form of access, not just to employment and some form of health care, but also to shelter and or more completely housing. While various societies have handled this challenge in various ways, in recent years, especially in Massachusetts and particularly in dense urban areas, this challenge of providing housing has proven to be a significant problem to the members, individuals, and families of our society. As I've noted elsewhere, this is 1 of a triad of bills that 1 person has described as an important paradigm, which could distinctly reset a comprehensive and dynamic set of processes for continued and strengthened success in our society. Possibly not surprisingly, Massachusetts has an opportunity to establish and set standards which would inspire, enlighten, and encourage our residents over what are generally increasingly longer lifespans, productive and healthy work life careers, and often creative opportunities. Please seriously consider a favorable recommendation for age 65 as important as you face the many dimensions of housing policy issues, we could call them HPI, at the least keep this bill alive in the legislative mix. This proposal reflects prior efforts by many to more clearly define flexible yet clear authorizations for housing policy. I have received independent contacts interested in this substantial approach, frustrated in many ways that housing policy issues lack a certain sense of balancing detail within the overall range of issues. I believe that this proposal accomplishes this set of needs and provides a bridge for the needed wider range of actions. Recently, in February, the520 administration of governor Healy released an important document, a home for524 everyone, a comprehensive housing plan for Massachusetts. The executive office of housing and livable communities has a series of key roles in this area. This533 proposal would strengthen these significant initiatives and make them a permanent part537 of recognizing housing as a right. It is, I believe, quite simple to understand that there should be a constitutional right to health care, a constitutional right to employable skills training, and a constitutional right to housing. And then we get beyond a lot of the social confusion and dislocations that we have today. And thank you.
SPEAKER1 - Thank thank you so much. Other questions from from members of the committee? Thank you so much, sir, for being here.
SPEAKER3 - And thank you. I'll follow-up with you. And I Of course. Believe representative, Conselvo and I get our haircut in the same place in Rosalindale.
SPEAKER1 - Glad to hear it.
SPEAKER3 - It's a good talk. Yeah.
SPEAKER1 - Thank you. Next, we have, Erica.
Hello. Hi, Erica. Please join us583 and, if you could also state your, your your name and where you're from. Sure. And,
SPEAKER4 - Erica Tetzuik. I'm from589 South Boston, Massachusetts.
SPEAKER1 - K.
SPEAKER4 - Alright. Start the clock. Throughout today's hearing, you'll likely hear secondhand accounts from many of our relentless community advocates of our unhoused neighbors they serve. I want to be 1 of the first hand accounts to tell you from lived experience what homelessness is like, in the hopes that I can dispel some stereotypes and help us see that homelessness is a much more common and pressing issue. 1 that requires swift legislation to alleviate. I spent most of my early twenties between Pine Street Inn and Bridge Over Waters. The friends I had made there were people you'd find from all walks of life. A daycare employee who fiercely loved and spoke endless praise of her kids. Teens aged out of foster care who created family amongst themselves, and even a soft spoken tough student that I remember
found out was a neighbor of mine. Sometimes they do end in tragedy. The daycare employee who I spoke of and was proud to call my friend passed away at the age of 21. Now I am permanently housed and self sufficient, starting a career at Pine Street and later this month help those at the place I'd once slept. But I catch myself having survivor's guilt at these times, wondering what kind of future my friends could be having now or could have had if they were still alive. I believe and I hope I am only 1 of many, that not only we should make sure every individual and family has a safe and stable place to call home, but that a housing first model would alleviate many of the issues that hinder our communities, namely violent crime, mental health, and substance abuse issues. Because how can you possibly focus on recovery if you're worried about where you're going to sleep that night? When housing is codified as a human right in our state's constitution, it will be vital for your legislature and us as constituents to continue being proactive in ensuring a home for every member of the Commonwealth. The Johnson versus Grant's pass judgment was an inhumane travesty. Let's set an example for this country on what a cooperative and empathetic government can do.
SPEAKER2 - Thank you.
SPEAKER4 - Yeah.
SPEAKER1 - Thank you710 so much. Thank thank you for coming here and and, you know, really telling your personal story. Right? It really, helps our policy making, when folks, you know Mhmm.
SPEAKER4 - Yeah.
SPEAKER1 - Are are able to make it personal in that way. I really appreciate your time. Yeah. Mister chair, questions from members of the committee?
Okay.
SPEAKER4 - And this was 1 of the first meetings about this, amendment going forward. Yeah. I'm excited to see where this goes, and I'd like to continue working with you guys.
SPEAKER1 - Thanks so much for being here.
SPEAKER4 - Thank you very much.
SPEAKER2 - Thank you.
SPEAKER1 - Do you have anyone else? Are there any other members of the public who are here to testify or would like to testify on this bill? Any further comments from members of the committee? Alright. Well, this was, a a robust, if brief, first meeting of the Joint Committee on Housing. Really looking forward to, working with my co chair, on this most essential issue. Really excited to have, so many members, here from the house eager to sink in this work. Oh, sir?
SPEAKER3 - Will the chair accept a motion to adjourn?
SPEAKER2 - Can I just recognize 1 other colleague? Representative, Arina DeRosa arrived. I just wanna recognize him. Thank him for being here with us this morning.
SPEAKER3 - Double header today of up and downs.
SPEAKER1 - Great. And the chair thank you. And the chair will accept a motion to adjourn. Is there a second? Alright. The committee's791 adjourned.