Building Justice with Jobs
Full title: An Act Providing for Building Justice with Jobs (S.2226 / H.3365)
Lead sponsors: Sen. Marc Pacheco; Rep. Maria Robinson & Rep. David LeBoeuf
Committee: Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy
Status: Received an extension until 6/2/2022
The Issue
The recently passed Next Generation Roadmap bill calls for Massachusetts to reduce carbon emissions from the 1990 baseline by 50% by 2030, with a long-term goal of net zero emissions by 2050. Buildings account for 27% of the state’s carbon emissions, and small residential housing (1-4 units) accounts for 60% of those emissions.
Decarbonizing our housing stock faces many challenges. Notably, many homes—notably in underserved communities—are older and must be retrofitted in order to achieve maximum energy efficiency. By the same token, many underserved communities where unemployment remains a significant problem would benefit greatly from programs that address retrofitting.
The Solution
We can address both the climate crisis and the inequality crisis at the same time; indeed, we have to. The Building Justice with Jobs bill would do so by adopting housing regulations mandating minimum energy efficiency, energy performance, or related energy standards and putting thousands of MA residents to work retrofitting 1,000,000 homes (100,000 each year over ten years) to improve energy efficiency and health outcomes, and reduce utility bills and carbon emissions.
Highlights
The bill would create a twelve-member Building Justice with Jobs Task Force drawn from a diverse array of experts, community, and nonprofit leaders tasked with developing a Justice with Jobs Plan that does the following:
- Reduce annual statewide housing-related greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 (relative to 2019); and, ultimately, completely eliminate statewide housing-related emissions by 2040.
- Ensure that no fewer than 1,000,000 homes receive housing emissions renovations that are performed, required, or subsidized by the Massachusetts state government in the 10 years immediately following the enactment of this section.
- Expand existing housing programs, or create new programs, as needed.
- Prioritize retrofitting homes in environmental justice communities and in Census Tracts with a lower median household income than the statewide median household income.
- Ensure that any construction will make buildings accessible to those with disabilities, and direct agencies to adopt regulations maximizing energy efficiency and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions both during construction and in the completed projects.
- Compensate owners and tenants of single and multifamily structures, with full financing for the retrofitting of homes in environmental justice communities.
- Create good-paying jobs that provide healthcare benefits, paid sick time, and vacation time.
Contact Your Legislators
Find your legislators’ contact information here.
I was very pleased to see the Legislature kick off the session by passing the Next Generation Roadmap bill. But if we are to meet the targets set out in the bill (and go even further), we must take additional action to address the emissions across sectors. I urge you to support S.2226/H.3365, the Building Justice with Jobs bill, filed by Sen. Marc Pacheco and Reps. Maria Robinson and David LeBoeuf.
This bill would adopt housing regulations mandating minimum energy efficiency, energy performance or related energy standards and put thousands of MA residents to work retrofitting 100,000 homes each year to improve energy efficiency and health outcomes, and reduce utility bills and carbon emissions. It offers a vital opportunity to address both the climate crisis and the inequality crisis head on.
- We can address the climate crisis and the inequality crisis at the same time. The #BuildingJobs withJustice bill shows us how. #mapoli
- Passing the Next Generation Roadmap bill was just Step #1 for climate policy. We need bills like the #BuildingJobs withJustice bill to meet the net-zero goals set out (or go further). #mapoli
- If we want to meet our net-zero goals, we need to tackle residential GHG emissions. The #BuildingJobs withJustice bill would do by investing in retrofits that put frontline communities first. #mapoli
- The #BuildingJobs withJustice bill shows that we can reduce carbon emissions while providing good-paying jobs. #mapoli
- The #BuildingJobs withJustice bill will begin to address the inequities in environmental quality in poor communities and communities of color.
- Much of our housing stock is old and inefficient. The #BuildingJobs withJustice bill will upgrade our housing stock for a green and equitable future. #mapoli
- We need a #JustTransition to a green economy. The #BuildingJobs withJustice bill shows how we can address inequality and climate change at the same time. #mapoli
Write a Letter to the Editor
Adapt the template below! Or email us at issues@progressivemass.com for help!
I was very pleased to see the Legislature kick off the session by passing the Next Generation Roadmap bill. But if we are to meet the targets set out in the bill (and go even further), we must take additional action to address the emissions across sectors. One powerful step would be passing S.2226/H.3365, the Building Justice with Jobs bill, filed by Sen. Marc Pacheco and Reps. Maria Robinson and David LeBoeuf.
After the transportation sector, the residential sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state. However, many homes—notably in underserved communities—are older and must be retrofitted in order to achieve maximum energy efficiency. At the same time, many underserved communities where unemployment remains a significant problem would benefit greatly from programs that address retrofitting.
The Building Justice with Jobs bill would do so by adopting housing regulations mandating minimum energy efficiency, energy performance or related energy standards and putting thousands of MA residents to work retrofitting 100,000 homes each year to improve energy efficiency and health outcomes, and reduce utility bills and carbon emissions.
We can address both the climate crisis and the inequality crisis at the same time; indeed, we have to.
Read More
- The Cadmus Group, Arup, VEIC, Energy Futures Group, and Evolved Energy Research. Buildings Sector Report: A Technical Report of the Massachusetts 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap Study. Boston: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 2020. https://www.mass.gov/doc/building-sector-technical-report/download.
- Cha, J. Mijn and Laura Skinner. Reversing Inequality, Combating Climate Change: A Climate Jobs Program for New York State. Ithaca, NY: The Worker Institute at Cornell University, 2017. https://archive.ilr.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/InequalityClimateChangeReport.pdf.
- Kaplan, Marc, et al. “The Road to Net Zero is Paved With Numerous Policy Initiatives.” Holland & Knight Energy and Natural Resources Blog. January 22, 2021. https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/publications/2021/01/the-road-to-net-zero-is-paved-with-numerous-policy-initiatives.
- Levy, Jonathan. “How to Improve Public Health, the Environment and Racial Equity All at Once: Upgrade Low-Income Housing.” The Conversation. March 24, 2021. https://theconversation.com/how-to-improve-public-health-the-environment-and-racial-equity-all-at-once-upgrade-low-income-housing-156166.
- OECD. “Building Back Better: A Sustainable, Resilient Recovery after COVID-19.” June 5, 2020. https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/building-back-better-a-sustainable-resilient-recovery-after-covid-19-52b869f5/.
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