Lawmakers move to inventory underused state buildings to identify housing sites

State Representative Connor Casey told the Senate Institutions Committee that H.50, a bill to create an annual inventory of underutilized state buildings and land, passed his chamber’s committee unanimously and cleared the House by voice vote.

Casey said the bill was pared back from a more ambitious initial draft but is intended to give legislators the information they need to consider whether state-owned parcels or buildings could be repurposed — most commonly for housing. “I’m very excited about this bill, H.50, which we passed out unanimously from committee and voice vote on the floor,” Casey said.

The bill directs state agencies to identify vacant or underused space and deliver that information to the Institutions Committee each year. Casey and other speakers in the committee discussion named…