HOLLAND, Mass. (WWLP) – A bill to help homeowners impacted with a crumbling concrete has been voted out of committee favorably at the State House.

It’s step one for homeowners who are right now forced to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket if they want to fix their crumbling foundation.

If passed, the bill would create a fund to help homeowners pay to get their foundations fixed and would require that quarries here in Massachusetts are tested for pyrrhotite. It’s the mineral that causes the cracks once it’s exposed to oxygen and water.

State Representative Brian Ashe told 22News, “Originally it was more in the Pioneer Valley and a little going east like towards Monson. Now it’s pushing like towards Worcester, they’re finding cases of it. So I think the more legislators that have constituents involved, then they’ll get interested and they’ll see it and they’ll realize, ‘Oh, this is an issue.'”

A similar bill was passed in Connecticut. Over three years, the state has been able to help 500 families replace their foundations, the majority of them for free.

A forum for anyone interested in learning more about crumbling concrete is being held this coming Wednesday in Rutland. State Senator Anne Gobi will be speaking, along with homeowners dealing with the issues. It begins at 6 at the Rutland Free Library.