June 2023

HBRAMA releases “Public Policy for Net Zero Homes and Affordability” study

The 18-month long research project report by Wentworth Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, commissioned by the HBRAMA was released for publication on June 27, 2023. The report identifies construction cost increases as a result of the more stringent stretch energy codes being adopted in the Commonwealth and translates those costs into the impact on affordability for both single and multi-family construction and further seeks to identify public policy recommendations to mitigate the costs associated with the new energy codes.

A tremendous amount of media attention followed the June 27 release which was coordinated by the public relations team at Ball Consulting.

Funding for the study was provided by diverse group of thirteen organizations.

The HBRAMA Net Zero Committee has worked throughout the year to follow and comment on the progress of the study. The Association also retained Amy Dain of Dain Research to act as intermediary between the committee and the research teams.

The full research report is available for review and download at:

 https://hbrama.com/2023/05/net-zero-homes-and-affordability/

HBRAMA President Jeffrey Brem testifies before Housing Committee

The Legislature’s Joint Committee on Housing held an Oversight Hearing at the State House on May 30. The hearing was an opportunity for the members of the committee to learn about various state housing programs and to hear from housing advocacy organizations such as the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Massachusetts. HBRAMA President Jeff Brem, joined by association lobbyist Ben Fierro, testified about the barriers to housing production in the commonwealth and potential solutions to the state’s housing crisis.

President Brem emphasized the need to produce more single-family homes that are affordable to young families, as well as first-time and first-generation buyers. He cited his experience of building homes for Indian immigrants who were thrilled to attain the American Dream of homeownership. He thanked the committee members for their past support for the Housing Choice Law and MBTA Communities Multi-family Zoning Mandate, and urged them to support the association’s bill to increase the financial incentives to cities and towns that adopt Starter Home Zoning Districts under the new General Law Chapter 40Y.

Fire Sprinkler again debated on Beacon Hill

Municipal fire chiefs, firefighter unions and representatives of the fire sprinkler industry returned to the State House to lobby for passage of legislation to enable municipalities to mandate the installation of fire sprinkler systems in all newly constructed one- and two-family homes. The Joint Committee Public Safety and Homeland Security held a public hearing on S. 1552 and H. 2289, An Act relative to enhanced fire protection in new one- and two-family dwellings, filed by Rep. Ruth Balser (D-Newton).

Testifying on behalf of the HBRAMA in opposition to those bills at the June 7 hearing was association lobbyist Ben Fierro of the Boston law firm Lynch & Fierro LLP. Fierro informed the committee that since the 2009 amendment to the International Residential Code requiring fire sprinklers in one- and two-family homes, only two states (California and Maryland) have adopted such a mandate. Indeed, 46 states have affirmatively rejected it either though legislation or regulation, thereby ensuring that sprinklers remain an option and not a requirement for homebuyers.

In addition, Fierro testified that HBRAMA members who have experience installing NFPA 13D systems found that the average cost to a homebuyer was in excess of $13,000. Given the already high cost of housing in Massachusetts, such additional expense would price out thousands of potential homebuyers. And importantly, a report from the National Fire Prevention Association found that the survival rate in a single-family home increased from 99.62% to 99.82% with sprinklers, assuming in both cases the presence of working smoke detectors.

A copy of the HBRAMA testimony in opposition to these bills can be found here. 

HBRAMA MEMBERS ATTEND THE NAHB LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE

Washington, DC - June 7, 2023

A very busy day on Capitol Hill as members of the association paid visits to six out of the nine Massachusetts members of congress to relay the 2023 National Legislative Priorities letting our representatives know that “As Housing Goes So Goes the Economy

Visits included the offices of: Rep. Katherine Clark, Rep. Steven Lynch, Rep. Jake Auchincloss, Rep. Bill Keating, Rep. Jim McGovern, and Rep. Lori Trahan.

The three main issues discussed with the representatives included:

• Workforce Development with the request to reauthorize the Workplace Innovation and Opportunity Act to help ease the severe workforce shortage and to fully fund the Job Corps Program.
• Energy Codes and the need to consider housing as important of an issue as climate change with a request to introduce legislation to repeal H.R.1 which provides 1 billion dollars in grants for state and local governments to adopt updated energy codes that are far more costly and restrictive, worsening the current housing affordability crisis in the country.
• Transformers, citing soaring costs and shortages of electrical distribution transformers and urging Congress to utilize the Defense Production Act to boost output in existing facilities and oppose efforts by the Department of Energy to increase the energy conservation standards for transformers which would severely exacerbate the current supply chain shortage.

NAHB, Builders Score Big Win in SCOTUS Decision on WOTUS

Environmental Issues

In a major victory for NAHB, builders, developers and property owners, the Supreme Court on May 25 issued a unanimous decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency that will force the Biden administration to overhaul its “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule and ultimately provide builders and developers more certainty in the federal permitting process.

“The decision represents a victory against federal overreach and a win for common-sense regulations and housing affordability,” said NAHB Chairman Alicia Huey.

The Sackett case revolved around the government regulation of a wetland near a roadside ditch. The government believed that it had Clean Water Act (CWA) authority over the wetland because the government claimed that this wetland, in combination with other nearby wetlands, had a “significant nexus” to Priest Lake, Idaho.

The significant nexus test that establishes federal jurisdiction over minor waterbodies such as isolated wetlands or human-made ditches is a critical part of the Biden administration WOTUS rule.

The Supreme Court essentially rejected the significant nexus test and the EPA’s reasoning. Five justices joined the opinion of the court, which began its analysis by explaining that the CWA’s use of the term “waters” encompasses only relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing bodies of water that form geographic features that are ordinarily described as streams, oceans, rivers and lakes.

With respect to wetlands, the Supreme Court explained that in order for a wetland to be regulated under the Clean Water Act, it must have “a continuous surface connection to bodies that are ‘waters of the United States’ in their own right, so that there is no clear demarcation between ‘waters’ and wetlands.” As a practical matter, the court found only wetlands that are indistinguishable from waters of the United States are covered by the CWA.

NAHB had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the Sackett case, arguing that it does not make sense for isolated wetlands, isolated ponds or human-made ditches on private property to be subject to federal jurisdiction.



As the government moves to revamp its WOTUS rule, NAHB will be urging the federal agencies to implement a durable and practical definition of WOTUS that will truly protect our nation’s water resources without infringing on states’ authority and triggering additional expensive, time-consuming permitting and compliance requirements.

So many ways to save! Click the logos below to learn more.