President and CEO’s Update – Brian Doherty, CAE

One Week: Three Big Wins

June 2026, Q2

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Dear Members,

As our excitement builds for the Annual Conference being at a fresh new location, Polar Park in Worcester, Home of the WooSox, this year, you’ll be seeing a lot of baseball metaphors in our messaging. I’m delighted to share that last week we had such major advocacy successes that amounted to not just a home run, but a grand slam!

While these three important victories came in one week, they were months in the making, and one of them was achieved by our national partner, Argentum. Your continued membership and engagement are what makes these wins possible. Here’s a recap of the issues we scored victories on and what they mean for your residences:

1. On Monday June 22, the Attorney General’s consumer protection regulations for assisted living were published. As McKnight’s reported, every advocacy priority we raised with the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) regarding their draft regulations was addressed in the final version. The final version of the regulations represents a vast improvement from the draft, as the culmination of a highly collaborative and thoughtful process of dialogue and understanding. Key changes included no longer including services in the definition of rent and no longer requiring ALRs to accept an unlimited number of residents to transition to Masshealth care programs. These changes protected the model of assisted living from being hamstrung by current and future policies in a way that was not intended when the model was created. We will send a more detailed update on these new regulations in the coming weeks. And save the date for a webinar on the new regulations August 17, 1-3PM, presented by attorneys Heather Berchem and Kevin Buono.

2. On Tuesday June 23, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) found that a rent control ballot initiative could not go forward to the ballot in November due to unconstitutional language regarding a religious exemption. This was the outcome of successful advocacy by attorneys representing the Housing for Massachusetts Coalition that Mass-ALA is a part of. The rent control ballot question would have severely capped annual rent increases at the Consumer Price Index or 5% (whichever is lower). While the public debate largely focused on traditional housing, if the ballot question passed, it would have also applied to Assisted Living Residences (ALRs). Due to its impact on ALRs’ ability to provide housing and services, we opposed the initiative. While we are relieved that the SJC prevented the question from going to the ballot in November, we must continue to monitor proposals that would be so broad as to include assisted living when they may be intended for other settings.

3. We collaborate on federal advocacy with our national partner association, Argentum, and they had advocacy successes for senior living last week in a landmark housing bill that impacts senior living. Here is an excerpt from Argentum President and CEO James Balda’s update on that:

“The 21^st Century Road to Housing Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday and is headed to President Trump for consideration.  (Though at the time of this writing, it is unclear if the President will sign the bill until action is taken on a separate piece of legislation.) The U.S. Senate passed the measure earlier this week.

–The 21st Century Road to Housing Act is comprehensive housing legislation aimed at increasing housing supply, improving affordability, and curbing institutional investor influence in the single-family housing market while expanding federal support and oversight for housing programs. 

Argentum, the American Seniors Housing Association, and the National Center for Assisted Living engaged with House and Senate leaders regarding the Multi-Unit & 55+ Corporate Exemptions section of the bill. Specifically, we advocated for clarifying language to ensure these exemptions apply to existing senior housing communities, as the current text appeared to focus primarily on new construction, renovations, and rental conversions.

We are pleased to announce that as a result of our joint advocacy and particularly the support of House Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-AR) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA), language was inserted in the Congressional Record that provides legislative intent to exclude senior living communities from this provision. 

Argentum is especially grateful to Scott Kingsborough, Owner/Operator of The Manor Assisted Living in Arkansas, for his direct advocacy with Chairman Hill and staff members of the House Financial Services Committee.

Specifically, the intent language states “purchases of homes used to provide residential care for individuals with disabilities or developmental disabilities, or in senior living communities, should be exempt, as these are unrelated to the problem being addressed by the Act.

Other provisions in the bill that will are positive for older adults living in senior housing settings include:

• Establishing a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study to evaluate opportunities to strengthen federal housing programs serving elderly and disabled residents.
• Directing the GAO to assess the impact of increased federal capital support, enhanced accessibility standards, and expanded service coordination across senior housing communities.

Enhancing the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Improvements Program to help preserve and rehabilitate aging, subsidized affordable housing for seniors.”

We were reminded that there is always much more work to be done in our advocacy, and that the impacts on people we work with and communities we serve can be very concerning and consequential. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may move forward with ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for individuals from Haiti and Syria. While the decision allows DHS to proceed, it does not establish new employment authorization expiration dates. DHS is expected to issue additional information, including any applicable effective dates.

At this time, employers should not make employment decisions based solely on yesterday’s ruling. Continue to follow current Form I-9 employment authorization expiration dates until DHS announces next steps. Once those dates are released, employers should reverify employment authorization for affected employees in accordance with federal requirements.

• Argentum (Mass-ALA’s national association) has prepared a summary of what this decision means for senior living providers, including employer responsibilities and employment verification requirements.

• The Offices of Governor Maura T. Healey and Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell have issued an updated Guidance for Employers Regarding Immigration and Work Authorization (Revised June 2026).

Mass-ALA will continue to monitor developments and share updates as additional information becomes available. Our hearts are with the Haitian community that is such an important part of our state and the caregiving workforce. We have voiced our concerns and the importance of Haitian TPS to our national partner, Argentum, as they lead on our federal advocacy.

We will continue to advocate both to build on these major wins and to make positive changes in response to setbacks.