Carol Doherty, previously a five-term Taunton School Committee member and now the 3rd Bristol District State Representative serving parts of Taunton and Easton. Doherty is the daughter of an immigrant family. Her mother came to America at the age of four from the island of Madeira and her father’s family came from Cape Verde. She has lived in Taunton since 1965.
This bill creates a grant program under DHCD with the assistance of the Massachusetts Rehab Commission to provide funding for the elderly and people with disabilities who need modifications to make their homes livable, such as ramps and lifts. It would allow eligible homeowners and renters to retrofit their residence to nationally recognized accessibility standards and receive 50 percent of the total sum spent, up to $5,000, to retrofit their existing residence. The bill is modeled after similar Rhode Island legislation that has created a successful program.