Abundant Housing MA hosted an in-depth discussion of our 2025-2026 Statewide Policy Agenda on April 3rd, 2025.
At the end of the 2023-2024 legislative session, we celebrated the passage of the Affordable Homes Act. That historic bill authorized the largest investment in housing in the history of Massachusetts and created new affordable home options by legalizing Accessory Dwelling Units.
But there is still much more to be done. A recent report released by the Healey Administration outlines how we need to build 222,000 new homes over the next ten years to reign in prices and make Massachusetts a place where young families can afford to stay.
To meet this moment, we have developed our most ambitious and comprehensive policy agenda yet.
During the webinar, we reviewed our priority bills, discussed our strategy for getting them passed, and engaged in a Q&A. We were joined by some of our legislative partners on Beacon Hill, who will told us about why they decided to champion these important pieces of legislation. Speaker bios can be found below.
Featured Speakers
We were joined by our legislative partners on Beacon Hill, who told us why they decided to champion these important pieces of legislation. See below for the full list of speakers
Representative Andy Vargas
Representative Vargas represents the 3rd Essex District, which comprises the City of Haverhill. Rep. Vargas was elected to the Haverhill City Council at the age of 22 and was first elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 2017. He is currently the House Chair of Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses and Chair of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Caucus.
Representative Meghan Kilcoyne
Representative Kilcoyne represents the 12th Worcester District, including the towns of Berlin, Boylston, Clinton, Lancaster, Sterling, and Precinct 4 of Northborough. She received her Bachelor’s in History at Stonehill College, and her Juris Doctor from Suffolk Law. In her third term, Representative Kilcoyne is the Vice Chair of Health Care Financing, as well as a committee member of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, Joint Committee on the Judiciary, and House Committee on Human Resources and Employee Engagement.
Representative Manny Cruz
Representative Cruz represents the 7th Essex District, which consists of the City of Salem. Rep. Cruz was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 2022, after serving on the Salem School Committee since 2017. He currently serves on the following committees: Ways and Means, Cannabis Policy, Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, and Educations. In addition to his work in the State House, Rep. Cruz is a senior policy fellow at Latinos for Education.