NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Housing advocates and experts are weighing in on a recent report on Connecticut’s housing crisis, after the state received a failing score for a second year in a row. 

Titled “Grading the States: Affordability & Homebuilding Report Cards,” the Nutmeg State ranks at number 46 compared to all 50 states. Each grade is weighed on a 100-point scale across two factors: affordability and homebuilding. 

The median household income sits at $95,392 per year in Connecticut, yet the median listing price for a home lands a little over $500,000. 

While some believe there is some truth to the score, people like Connecticut Realtor Michael Barbaro say it’s a bit of an oversimplification. 

“The fact is, we’re a small state. We have high density, we have older housing stock,” Barbaro said. “So all these factors coming together, giving us that score is probably not fair. It’s probably penalizing us for characteristics that we just can’t change here.”

While Connecticut has seen a rise in building permits, factors like a high cost of living, rising construction costs and restrictive regulations aren’t helping in the eyes of some.

To address the state’s housing needs, at least 120,000 units need to be built, according to a 2025 commissioned study by the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management.

“We’re digging out of like a really deep hole on under production,” Chelsea Ross, executive director of the Partnership for Strong Communities, said. “So it’s going to take us a while to have that part of our grade increase.”

State lawmakers passed legislation last year, formally known as House Bill 5002, with the goal to incentivize new builds and alter zoning regulations. 

While advocates of the bill praised the step, some say it’s just a start. 

“What we have is kind of a framework for that work, but no real enforcement on how suburbs are going to handle that and ensure that they’re building more affordable housing,” Representative Antonio Felipe, chair of the legislative housing committee said.

“The House version of the Mass Ready Act ignores the urgency of our climate threats,” said Dave McGlinchey, executive director of the Massachusetts Rivers Alliance. “It’s hard to call a bill ‘Mass Ready’ when it strips out [these] measures.”

State representatives have filed amendments to restore some of these provisions, and advocates expect the total amount the bill will authorize the state to borrow to increase.

“The jury is still out on that,” said David Melly, senior policy director for the Environmental League of Massachusetts. “We’ll wait and see what the final total is.”

The House is scheduled to vote on the bill on Wednesday. If the bill passes, it will head to a conference committee where legislators will try to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions.

House Speaker Ron Mariano and Representative Aaron Michlewitz, the chamber’s budget chief, praised the proposal in a joint statement as a step forward for the state’s climate and environment priorities. (Michlewitz did not return a request for an interview.)

“This legislation is the latest example of Massachusetts’ ironclad commitment to protecting our environment and to leading the fight against climate change,” the legislators said.

Senator Becca Rausch, Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, applauded the House for bringing the bill to the floor in a statement, noting several points of agreement between the chambers.

“Each chamber’s contributions add to the strength of the climate action and environmental protection policies and funding so critical to our communities and our Commonwealth,” she said.

Senator Jamie Eldridge said the overlap between the two bills was a positive sign that the legislature would get a version of the Mass Ready Act to the governor’s desk.

Eldridge, who authored the drought management legislation included in the Senate bill, said he’d continue to advocate for the policy, which would allow the state to establish outdoor watering restrictions during droughts — a “common sense change,” he said.

The plastic bag ban has been closely watched by environmentalists, who hope its inclusion in the Senate bond bill as opposed to passing it as a standalone piece of legislation will increase its chances of becoming law.

The provision passed by the Senate in April would allow retailers to offer reusable bags without a charge and recycled paper bags with a minimum 10-cent fee. It would also make plastic straws and utensils available only by request to customers.

Single-use plastic bags are already barred in about a dozen states across the country, including nearly all of New England. More than 160 Massachusetts cities and towns regulate them.

“Like many people, all I can do is think of sports metaphors these days,” said Janet Domenitz, the executive director of Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, a non-profit consumer advocacy organization. “This is definitely dropping the ball.”

Nancy Downes, field campaigns manager for Oceana in Massachusetts, said polling shows that the vast majority of voters in the state support policies that reduce single-use plastic. Oceana, an ocean conservation advocacy organization, is part of a coalition of more than 40 organizations pushing to reduce and eliminate plastic whenever possible in Massachusetts.

“The Massachusetts legislature has an opportunity to tackle the plastic pollution crisis in the Commonwealth, and voters are ready for this,” she said.

The ban has repeatedly failed in the legislature. The Senate has backed a ban at least four times, but the measure has never passed in the House. It is opposed by the plastic bag industry and some retailers.

“Affordability is clearly the top priority for our residents, and we thank the House of Representatives for being laser-focused on that fact,” said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. He said the Senate language would raise the costs of buying from local retailers and push customers out of state.

Material from a previous Globe story was used in this report.

Kate Selig can be reached at kate.selig@globe.com. Follow her on X @kate_selig.