Representatives of Home Run Financing and Amalgamated Bank testified in favor of legislation enabling residential betterment financing (often described as residential PACE or RPAACE) for home improvements. Bob Giles, chief executive of Home Run Financing, described the mechanism as private capital deployed through state‑authorized assessment bonds and said it can finance energy efficiency, decarbonization and resilience projects that exceed existing program caps. "Betterment financing is private investment using private sector capital to solve local problems through state authorized assessment bond financing," Giles said.

Giles told the committee betterment financing can cover large repair items—he cited concrete foundation repairs, septic-to-sewer conversions and seawall work as examples—and that it does not require FICO scores the way some government-administered loan programs do. He said municipalities voluntarily opt into the program and that it can complement existing programs such as Mass Save. "Betterment financing can offer larger dollar amounts... and is available to a much larger group of homeowners," he testified.

Nicole Steele, director of climate policy at Amalgamated Bank, said the bank supports residential PACE as a way for homeowners to access improvements with no upfront costs and to pay back over time through a voluntary property tax assessment. She described the bank’s experience in commercial PACE and said lenders have financed projects that yield energy and resilience benefits. "PACE specifically is an innovative financing mechanism... with no upfront costs, and then the payback comes over time through a voluntary assessment on the property tax bill," Steele said.

Both witnesses said the mechanism is voluntary for municipalities and homeowners, can support decarbonization goals, and could increase access for homeowners who do not qualify for other programs. There was no committee vote at the hearing.