Barnstable, Dukes, Nantucket State Rep. Dylan Fernandes
HYANNIS – As Cape Cod experiences increasing cases of COVID-19, legislators are working on legislation to help provide relief and alleviate other issues.
Barnstable/Dukes/Nantucket State Representative Dylan Fernandes said that he has filed 35 bills as part of the 2021 session, all aimed at addressing problems Cape and Island residents are facing amid the pandemic.
Some of the legislation is aimed at helping to mitigate the housing crisis on Cape Cod, made all the more severe during the pandemic.
“The Cape and Islands have become a profoundly unaffordable place to live and place to find a home, and that’s been exacerbated by the pandemic. Home sales here are at the highest point that they’ve ever been. Homes have never been more expensive and it’s causing a real crisis for the sustainability of our community,” said Fernandes.
He has introduced legislation that would provide municipalities with the option to impose a fee of up to 2 percent on home sales that are over $1 million.
Up to 1.8 percent of the fee would go towards affordable housing with the particular town, while 0.2 percent would be required to go towards the Department of Housing and Community Development.
Other legislation that Fernandes has introduced includes protecting the shellfishing industry with the creation of an Ocean Acidification Council, which will review the causes of ocean acidification and the effects that it has on the region’s marine industries.
The bill would codify recommendations made by the Ocean Acidification Commission which include increased monitoring and research into the way that shellfish numbers are diminished by nutrient pollution and climate change.
For the full Sunday Journal interview with State Representative Dylan Fernandes, click here.
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