The controversial MBTA Communities Act has generated legal action and plenty of hand-wringing around Beacon Hill, but a new poll found voters are more likely to support the zoning reform measure than oppose it.
An even 50% of likely voters think the law enacted in 2021 is "good policy," compared to 31% who called it "bad policy," a 19-point difference, according to a MassINC Polling Group poll published Monday. Another 19% said they did not know or refused to answer the question.
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Lawmakers tucked language now known as the MBTA Communities Act, which requires cities and towns with or close to T service to zone for multifamily housing by right, into an economic development bond bill Gov. Charlie Baker signed in 2021.
Many cities and towns have complied, but some have bristled at the state-issued requirements, arguing that it could clear the way for excessive development. The town of Milton refused to comply, and a state lawsuit against the community will go before the Supreme Judicial Court next month.
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Pollsters described the law as "requir[ing] cities and towns in the MBTA region to create zoning for a certain amount of multi-family housing to be built."
The survey conducted for WBUR and CommonWealth Beacon ran between Sept. 12 and Sept. 18 and involved 800 likely voters. It has a margin of error of 4.1% points.
A plurality of voters also signaled displeasure with Beacon Hill's transparency, long a target of criticism from good government activists and interest groups across the political spectrum.
Asked if they would rate the Bay State's government as mostly operating "in a way that is open and transparent," 45% said it does not compared to 36% who believe it does.
Most of the new poll focused on national issues with about six weeks left until voters pick a new U.S. president.
Nearly six in 10 voters said they would pick Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, if the election were today. The Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, earned 31% support, and 3% of voters said they would select Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who in August suspended his independent campaign and endorsed Trump.
When pollsters limited the options to just Harris or Trump, Harris earned 63% support to Trump's 35%.
Another Democrat, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, also saw a sizable margin of support in the new poll. About 56% of voters said they would award Warren another term if the election were held today, compared to 35% who would vote for Republican John Deaton.
Top issues voters cited in the presidential election are jobs, wages and the economy (picked by 55% of respondents), abortion and reproductive rights (51%), the future of democracy in America (50%), and immigration policy (45%).
Two-thirds of likely Massachusetts voters said they think the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling overturning the federal right to an abortion enshrined in Roe v. Wade was the wrong decision, and 62% also disagreed with a court decision that presidents have immunity from prosecution for official acts in office.
Three in four respondents said they would strongly or somewhat support a proposal to remove lifetime appointments for Supreme Court justices and instead grant each judge on the high court a single 18-year term.
