Section 105 Crumbling Concrete Stakeholder Working Group

The secretary of housing and livable communities shall convene a stakeholder working group to make recommendations for any regulatory and legislative changes necessary to comprehensively address the remediation of residential property foundations that have deteriorated due to the presence of pyrite or pyrrhotite. The working group shall include: the secretary of housing and livable communities or a designee who shall serve as chair; the secretary of transportation or a designee; the undersecretary of consumer affairs and business regulation or a designee; the commissioner of insurance or a designee; the commissioner of banks or a designee; 2 members appointed by the attorney general who shall have experience in advocating for homeowners and consumers; the house and senate chairs and house and senate ranking minority members of the joint committee on financial services; 2 representatives of the Massachusetts Residents Against Crumbling Foundations; a representative of the Massachusetts Concrete & Aggregate Producers Association, Inc; a representative of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, Inc.; a representative of the Massachusetts Insurance Federation, Inc.; and a representative of the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association, Inc.
The working group shall examine: (i) which executive office, department, agency or bureau within an executive office, if any, is best equipped to administer a program to assist residential property owners impacted by the presence of pyrite or pyrrhotite or which executive office or department is best equipped to oversee a new agency or bureau; (ii) relevant models to assist impacted homeowners including, but not limited to, a captive insurance company, a supplemental loan program, an interstate agreement with a captive insurance company with expertise in assessing residential property foundation claims, property tax abatement and waiving local and state permit fees; (iii) models to assist impacted homeowners including, but not limited to: (A) insurance surcharges on certain homeowners' insurance policies which shall not exceed $12 annually and when and on which policies the surcharge would apply; and (B) other sources of state and federal funding opportunities; and (iv) methods to improve consumer protection through means including disclosures, appointment of a homeowner advocate within a department, agency or bureau to assist impacted homeowners and consumer education.
The working group shall submit its report and any recommendations to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the joint committee on environment and natural resources, the joint committee on housing and the senate and house committees on ways and means not later than March 31, 2026.