Massachusetts Legislators Are Extending Pandemic-Era Policies
Some pandemic-era policies that had expired on Tuesday — such as allowing restaurants to offer take-out cocktails — were quickly extended Wednesday after Republican Gov. Charlie Baker signed a bill sent to him by state lawmakers.
The new law would also let government bodies continue to hold virtual public hearings and extend some protections for tenants facing eviction.
Those protections briefly expired after the coronavirus state of emergency, which had been in place for more than a year, was lifted in Massachusetts on Tuesday.
The new law would also extend hardship protections to those facing eviction by continuing the court practice of offering temporary continuances to tenants who have filed applications for rental assistance, thereby preventing evictions in cases where tenants are unable to pay rent due to COVID-19-related financial hardship until April of 2022.
