Health & Fitness
Barrett calls for local fix to complex state A/C regs
State Sen. Mike Barrett has filed a bill to untangle messy state heating and air conditioning rules that can leave landlords in the dark and tenants in stifling heat. Barrett, who recently testified on the measure, said his proposal makes it easier for local boards of health to grant landlords the ability to flip on the A/C during early-season heat waves.
Barrett was prompted to write the bill last May, when he received urgent phone calls from seniors living at an affordable housing development for the elderly and disabled. With temperatures outside hovering at 90 degrees, tenants suddenly found themselves in sweltering conditions.
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Management at first said they didn’t have the legal authority to switch to A/C. Complex state regulations, they said, require that landlords be able to provide heat through mid-June.
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Barrett pressed the issue all day, insisting the units be cooled. That evening, management acquiesced, citing Barrett’s special request. To avoid similar situations, the bill would clarify the confused condition of current state regulations and resolve the issue for building managers throughout the state.
Barrett recently testified in front of the Committee on Public Health.
“The idea here is to take note of our changing temperatures, and give landlords some flexibility,” Barrett said at the hearing. “The bill makes it easier for local boards of health to take action based on outside conditions.”
The legislation would give municipal boards of health the ability to inform landlords when it’s permissible to switch to A/C based on forecasts, giving them advance notice. The bill also allows such boards the ability to consider a heat variance once they’ve received ten requests. Requests can come from tenants, empowering them to take action as well.
State Rep. Christine Canavan (D-Brockton), who serves on the committee, said it’s “one of those small little bills” that doesn’t get a lot of public attention, but could save lives.