On April 3, 2020, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed into law “An Act to Address Challenges Faced by Municipalities and State Authorities Resulting from COVID-19” as Chapter 53 of the Acts of 2020 (the Act). A copy of the Act is available here. Of most interest to the real estate industry is Section 17, which addresses how developers and municipal permit-granting authorities must handle mandatory deadlines in light of the current state of emergency. The Act suspends the timeframes for local bodies such as Planning Boards, Zoning Boards of Appeals, Conservation Commissions, Boards of Health, Select Boards and City Councils, to act on permits during the state of emergency. More important, the Act provides relief for developers who have received permits by suspending any timelines to act under those permits until the state of emergency is over.