By Katie Lannan | GBH | December 23, 2025
Massachusetts voters are on track to decide a potentially record-setting number of ballot questions in 2026, and Gov. Maura Healey has already started to figure out how she’ll fill in the bubbles.
Healey said on Boston Public Radio Tuesday that she plans to vote yes on a question that would apply the state’s public-record law to her office and the Legislature. She plans to vote no on a question that would institute a statewide cap on annual rent increases.
“I will tell you that investors in housing have already pulled out of Massachusetts because they’re concerned about rent control,” Healey said. “I don’t want to see housing production stopped. We need to have housing production move forward. I also understand what’s driving rent control. I want to work together to do something that’s sensible, that creates more homes, builds more homes and lowers costs for people.”
The proposed ballot question would limit year-to-year rent hikes for most homes across Massachusetts to either 5% or the rise in cost of living as measured by the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. The cap would not apply to owner-occupied buildings with four units or fewer. In a carve-out that backers say is meant to encourage housing production, new buildings would be exempt for their first 10 years.
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