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State Rep. James Arciero of Westford was chosen on Feb. 12 as the new House Chair of the Joint Committee on Housing by House Speaker Ronald Mariano of Quincy, who made his leadership and committee assignments for the 192th legislative session.
“I am honored by the trust and confidence that Speaker Mariano has shown me in this selection. Housing is an important issue both in my district and across our state. I look forward to working with my legislative colleagues as we address these important issues over the next two years,” said Arciero, who is serving his seventh term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
In previous sessions, Arciero served as the House Vice Chair of both the Export Development and Higher Education Committees, under former House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, who recently resigned to take a position at Northeastern University.
“Over the last four years, I served in a leadership role on two important committees, and have worked on issues affecting veterans and students in our state. I specifically focused on maximizing the services and benefits we owe our veteran heroes and families, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and matters facing our college students, especially sexual assault on school campuses and the ever increasing challenges of rising student debt.
I want to thank Speaker Mariano for this unique opportunity to address the housing needs of our state’s residents, knowing that many in our state face the challenges of affordable housing, rising housing prices, and the threat of evictions, especially during the pandemic,” said Arciero, who will share leadership of the committee with State Sen. John F. Keenan of Quincy. State Rep. John H. Rogers of Walpole was appointed the House Vice Chair.
The Joint Committee on Housing has legislative jurisdiction of all matter concerning housing in the Commonwealth, including Chapter 40B housing development, subdivision control, condominium laws and other matters referred to it that impact housing in Massachusetts.
During his years in office, Arciero has also served on the House Ways and Means; Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure; Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture; and Labor & Workforce Development committees. In addition, he is currently serving on a Special Legislative Committee on the Holyoke Soldiers Home seeking to address the high number of COVID-19 fatalities which occurred this spring at the Western Massachusetts facility.
Also appointed to the Joint Committee on Housing were Christopher Hendricks of New Bedford, Patrick Joseph Kearney of Scituate, Michael Connolly of Cambridge, David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf of Worcester, Nika C. Elugardo of Boston and Kip Diggs of Osterville.
