Maura Healey 出席麻州市鎮會議 宣佈發行政命令設房屋工作小組

麻州州長奚莉 (Maura Healey) 在麻州市鎮會議中宣佈簽發行政命令，設房屋工作小組
由副州長Kim Driscoll率領。 (圖片來源: 州長辦公室)

。                (Boston Orange 周菊子波士頓綜合報導) 上任15天，麻州新州長奚莉 (Maura Healey) 19日剛宣佈遞出要求立即發行9億8700萬元債券的法案，20日再當著” 麻州市鎮會議 (MMA)”第44屆 年會近千名出席的面，宣佈簽發行政命令，成立房屋工作小組 (Housing Working Group) 。

             奚莉在宣誓就任麻州州長那天，已揚言將在就任後的100天內，要求麻州議會立法，設立新的房屋內閣職位。這天她宣佈曾擔任塞冷市(Salem) 市長17年的副州長Kim Driscoll將領導這房屋工作小組，會邀房屋發展商，房屋議題活躍人士，市鎮領導等人士加入，督導奚莉州長將新設房屋廳的架構，以及設立這房屋廳廳長職位的遞交第87章法案流程。

波士頓市長吳弭 (Michelle Wu) 從政在華府舉行的美國市長年會中趕回來，歡迎
麻州各地市鎮員工來到波士頓開會。  (圖片來源: 州長辦公室)

             郝依平 (Yvonne Hao)日前剛宣誓就任為麻州房屋及經濟發展廳廳長，目前統領這兩個領域事務，一旦奚莉政府另設房屋廳，郝伊平 (Yvonne Hao) 將專注於經濟發展。

             奚莉在牛頓市市長Ruthanne Fuller當主席的這麻州市鎮會議中侃侃而談了20分鐘，直指房屋是麻州面對的最大問題之一，無論是哪種價位的房屋，數量都不夠，而改善房荒，讓人們負擔得起在麻州居住，留住人才，保持麻州的競爭力，必須所有市鎮一起努力。她強調州政府不可能獨力做到，”我們是命運共同體 (We are in this together)” ，每個市鎮都有其角色，州政府必須和每一個市鎮合作，才能實現經濟成長，房屋市場繁榮這目標。

麻州市鎮會議會期2天，有逾千人陸續到會。 (周菊子攝)

             奚莉也就麻州目前面對的幾項關鍵挑戰，列出了她這新政府將優先處理那些事務，並強調和市鎮合作的重要。她說，”當我們向前看，我希望妳們知道，我和Kim Driscoll永遠都是你們的夥伴，我們會聆聽、學習，接觸外界，和大家一起對抗麻州所面對的最大挑戰，因為我們知道，只有所有的市鎮強壯，學生及家庭都得到支援，主要街道蓬勃，麻州才能向前”。

             奚莉指出新冠病毒大流行對學生，以及彌平教育機會差距的影響巨大。她將充分資助學生機會法 (Student Opportunity Act) ，在2024會計年度預算中因應特許學校報銷經費的需求；在載運學生的交通開銷上援助學區，充分資助McKinney-Vento項目，以確保無家可歸學生也能註冊上學，有機會完成學業；支持特殊教育斷組項目 (special education circuit breaker program) ，以協助所有學區因應這些重要服務的開銷；申請支援經費以確保移民兒童得到教育，能夠學習、茁壯，而且讓社區也有資源來做這些事。

             在談及州政府和市鎮之間需要有可以預測，透明，公開的溝通時，奚莉承諾將在遞交2024會計年度預算之前，提早通知地方市鎮相關補助幅度，包括第70章款項，以及無限制用途的政府補助。她也強調她在19日遞出的”9億8700萬元立即需要債券” ，以及4億元的第90章授權法案，將對房屋，創造就業機會，經濟發展，以及市鎮的修橋補路上有正面影響。

 At MMA Annual Meeting, Governor Healey Announces Executive Order Creating Housing Working Group 

Chaired by Lt. Governor Driscoll, working group will advise on structure of new housing secretariat 

 

BOSTON – At Friday’s Massachusetts Municipal Association’s Annual meeting, Governor Maura T. Healey announced that she has filed an Executive Order creating a Housing Working Group. The group will be chaired by Lieutenant Governor Kimberley Driscoll and comprised of key stakeholders, including housing developers, advocates, municipal leaders and others to be named at a later date. The group is charged with guiding the structure of Governor Healey’s new housing secretariat and informing the process of filing an Article 87 to create the position. The Governor has pledged to file legislation creating this new secretariat within her first 100 days. 

 “One of the single biggest problems facing our state – and the most important point of collaboration between the Governor and municipal leaders – is housing affordability,” Governor Healey said in her remarks before 1,000 municipal leaders from across Massachusetts. “Every community will have a role to play in meeting our housing goals, which will have real economic benefits. We cannot do this alone. We want to make this a win-win for municipalities who partner with us in this effort, so that your communities can realize the benefits of a flourishing housing market.” 

“As a former Mayor and member of a housing authority board, I understand how housing presents one of the greatest challenges to our local leaders. That’s why we want them at the table, alongside other stakeholders like developers and community advocates,” said Lieutenant Governor Driscoll. “This new housing secretariat will empower our state to prioritize housing with the scale and urgency that this crisis demands. It’s critical that we take a collaborative approach to this process.” 

 

In her address, Governor Healey also outlined her administration’s priorities on a number of key challenges facing municipal leaders and state government and emphasized the need for collaboration.  

 

“As we look ahead, I want you to know you will always have a partner in Kim and me – we will listen, we will learn, we will reach out, and we will be there to confront our biggest challenges together,” said Governor Healey. “Because we know Massachusetts can only move forward if all our cities and towns are strong, our students and families are supported, and our main streets are vibrant.” 

 

Chief among those challenges is addressing the impacts COVID-19 has had on students and closing opportunity gaps in education. To do this, the Governor committed to: 

·       Fully funding the Student Opportunity Act and meeting the needs of charter school reimbursement funds in her FY24 budget.   

·       Assisting school districts with the cost of transporting students and fully funding the McKinney-Vento program to ensure that homeless students can enroll in, attend and have the opportunity to succeed at school.  

·       Supporting the special education circuit breaker program to help maintain funding to assist all school districts with the cost of these critical services. 

·       Filing supplemental funding to ensure migrant children have access to the education and support they need to learn and thrive, and that communities have the resources to make it happen.   

 

Pointing to the need for predictability, transparency and open communication between the state and municipalities, Governor Healey committed to early notification of local aid funding levels, including Chapter 70 and unrestricted government aid, in advance of her FY24 budget. She also highlighted her administration’s. 

recently filed $987 million immediate needs bond bill and $400 million Chapter 90 authorization bill, and the positive impacts they will have on housing, job creation, economic development, roads and bridges in cities and towns.