Policy Briefs

The following briefings, reports and testimony were prepared by the MAPC Government Affairs team. The issue areas listed below are a testament to the varied legislative and advocacy work that MAPC engages in on behalf of its member municipalities.

Census

Census 2010: Everyone Counts (June 2009)

This guide provides an overview of the census process and outlines the steps that communities can take to prepare for the 2010 Census.

MAPC successfully worked to secure over $2 million in state funding for efforts directed at preparing for the upcoming 2010 Census, including conducting independent annual estimates and targeting outreach efforts in communities that have been identified as hard-to-count. 

Municipal Relief

Local Communities At Risk: Revisiting the Fiscal Partnership Between the Commonwealth and Cities and Towns (September 2005)

This report was produced by the Municipal Finance Task Force with support from MAPC, which hosted the meetings and helped to produce the document.

Regionalism

Understanding and Applying the New Inter-Municipal Agreements Law (Spring 2009)

This article, originally published in City and Town, outlines the different types of inter-municipal agreements, provides examples of each type, and identifies the elements that can help ensure that inter-municipal agreements run smoothly.

District Local Technical Assistance: Moving Massachusetts Forward (April 2009) 

This briefing highlights the work that Regional Planning Agencies (RPAs) have been able to undertake with funding from the state through the District Local Technical Assistance (DLTA) Fund.

Download a PDF map of projects by location.

Municipal Relief Commission Regionalism Memo (Fall 2008)

This memo to the Special Commission on Municipal Relief contained recommended actions that the Legislature could take to promote regional collaboration in Massachusetts, resulting in significant savings and revenue relief to municipalities.

Smart Growth

Positive Disposition: Crafting a Balanced Policy for the Sale of Surplus State Property (Spring 2005)

This report examines the Commonwealth's surplus land disposition policy and provides recommendations for changes in surplus land disposition policy that would balance the various needs of the state and municipalities and advance smart growth principles.

Transportation Finance Reform

MAPC Transportation Finance and Reform Recommendations (April 2009)

MAPC's transportation finance recommendations are drawn from the 28 reform and revenue proposals generated by the Transportation Finance Commission (TFC), from other reports and pieces of legislation, and from ideas generated by MAPC staff based on feedback from officers, committee members, Council members, and allies.

Zoning Reform

Effects of the Land Use Partnership Act (January 2009)

This briefing outlines the effect of the Land Use Partnership Act (LUPA) on all municipalities and opt-in municipalities and the criteria to become an opt-in municipality.

View MAPC's flowchart of the effects of LUPA on land use.