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Take action today to ease access to Massachusetts ID cards for people experiencing homelessness!
Published August 22, 2023; last updated September 6, 2024
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2023-2024 Legislative Session Bill Priorities
(January 2023–December 2024)
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Strengthening the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program: Bill fact sheet, organizational endorsement form, and RAFT talking points for testimony
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Related resource: RAFT FY25 Administrative Plan & Scope of Services from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (July 2024)
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Expanding access to Mass. IDs for youth and adults experiencing homelessness: Bill fact sheet, organizational endorsement form, and testimonial statements
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Improving the Emergency Assistance family shelter and services program: Bill fact sheet and organizational endorsement form
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Establishing a bill of rights for people experiencing homelessness: Bill fact sheet and organizational endorsement form
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Codifying and strengthening the HomeBASE rehousing program: Bill fact sheet and organizational endorsement form
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Improving the Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children (EAEDC) cash assistance program: Bill fact sheet and organizational endorsement form
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Passing a strong Housing Bond Bill (the Affordable Homes Act, House Bill) and providing bridge subsidies to promote housing stability for low-income older adults:
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Making Chapter 257 eviction protections permanent: House bill text and status updates, Senate bill text and status updates, and testimony to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary (May 2023)
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Related update: The Legislature’s final FY24 budget includes an outside section, Outside Section 64, which would restore the Chapter 257 eviction protections that expired on March 31, 2023 and make the protections permanent. Governor Healey signed the language into law on August 9, 2023, so the protections are back in effect!
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Expanding access to legal counsel in eviction proceedings: Bill fact sheet
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Building in affordability requirements in the Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP): Bill text and status updates for House Bill 1300, Senate Bill 870, and Senate Bill 863 plus MCH testimony in support of the bills (July 2023)
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Establishing a housing secretariat: Bill text and status updates for House Bill 43 and MCH testimony in support of the bill (March 2023)
Join Us in Uplifting Key Bill and Budget Priorities
Support Our Efforts to Address Homelessness and Empower Communities!
Current Budget Priorities: Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Priorities
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FY25 budget priority tracking chart
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Governor Healey’s FY25 budget recommendations, known as the House 2 budget (H.2), released on January 24, 2024
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Overview of key FY25 budget amendments:
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Fact sheet on Senate Amendment #603, “Clarifying Time Limit Implementation Date for Family Shelter,” from Senator Payano (May 2024)
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Launching a bridge subsidy program to promote housing stability for low-income older adults (Line Item 9110-XXXX, new line item under the Executive Office of Elder Affairs): Budget fact sheet
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See the related housing bond bill fact sheet linked above.
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Increasing cash assistance benefits for older adults, people with disabilities, and families with children participating in the Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children program (EAEDC, line item 4408-1000) and the Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (TAFDC, line item 4403-2000): Lift Our Kids Campaign budget fact sheet
Fiscal Year 2024 General Appropriations Act Budget Priorities
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Budget requests submitted to the FY24 budget Conference Committee (June 2023)
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Launching a bridge subsidy program to promote housing stability for low-income older adults (Line Item 9110-XXXX, new line item under the Executive Office of Elder Affairs): Budget fact sheet and organizational endorsement form
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Strengthening the HomeBASE rehousing program (Line Item 7004-9316): Budget overview and organizational endorsement form
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Improving the Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children cash assistance program (EAEDC, Line Item 4408-1000): Budget overview and organizational endorsement form
Recent Budget Priorities: Fiscal Year 2024 Supplemental Budget Priorities
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Adequately fund the Emergency Assistance family shelter program (Line Item 7004-0101) to provide traditional shelter or overflow shelter spaces to all eligible children and families (not capped at 7,500 families.)
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The Administration has told the Legislature that they need $225 million in supplemental funding for FY24 to continue to serve 7,500 families in shelters and hotels and to provide overflow shelter spaces to some of the families who have been approved for shelter but have been placed on a waiting list: $215 million directly for the EA program and $10 million for wraparound services.
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See Governor Healey’s related FY24 supplemental budget request, House Bill 4284, released on January 24, 2024. It focuses on the Emergency Assistance family shelter program and housing and homelessness issues more broadly.
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Find details about the FY24 supplemental budget (signed into law on April 30, 2024) and the FY23 closeout budget (signed into law on December 4, 2023) in this supplemental budget comparison spreadsheet
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Take action with MCH Today!
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