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April 19, 2024
Dear Kelly,
Take action! Please sign our new one-minute online action to your State Representative, House Speaker Ron Mariano, and House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz to encourage them to cosponsor and actively support key housing stability, shelter access, and cash assistance amendments to the House's fiscal year 2025 budget.
Overview of House Ways and Means Budget Recommendations:
The House Committee on Ways and Means (HWM) released its version of the FY25 state budget, House Bill 4600, on April 10th. In the $57.9 billion proposal for the fiscal year that will launch on July 1st, HWM recommended important increased investments in programs and language related to housing, homelessness prevention, and benefits programs. The HWM budget would:
- Increase funding for the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition homelessness prevention program (RAFT, Line Item 7004-9316) to $197.4 million
- Increase funding for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP, Line Item 7004-9024) to $219 million
- Provide $325.2 million in direct funding for the Emergency Assistance family shelter program for families with children (EA, Line Item 7004-0101), matching the initial FY24 appropriation. (The Legislature is looking to provide additional EA funds in a pending supplemental budget that currently is being negotiated by a conference committee. The Administration has estimated that the EA program will need ~ $915 million in FY25.)
- Increase funding for the HomeBASE program (HomeBASE, Line Item 7004-0108) to $57.3 million
See the full list of line items and outside sections we are tracking here.
Now we are working to build upon these important proposed investments through the amendment process to ensure that program funding, eligibility, and outcomes better match the scale of the need across the Commonwealth.
Representatives had until last Friday afternoon to file amendments. The full House is scheduled to begin debating the supplemental budget next Wednesday, April 24th, so we are working to secure as many House cosponsors and as much support as possible for key amendments related to housing stability, shelter access, and cash assistance.
Overview of Key Amendments to the House Budget:
Please sign our online action and ask your State Representative to cosponsor and actively support key amendments to the FY25 House budget, including:
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Amendment #790, "Improvements to the RAFT Homelessness Prevention Program," from Representative Decker. This amendment would earmark $10 million within the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition account (RAFT, line item 7704-9316) to provide grants above the general $7,000/household/year cap to families and individuals when the administering agency determines that a higher grant is essential to resolve a housing crisis; prohibit the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) from imposing a notice to quit requirement on households seeking assistance with back rent and move RAFT benefits upstream; require direct-to-tenant payments in cases where the landlord is not cooperative with the RAFT application and documentation process; and direct EOHLC to provide forward rent payments for eligible households as long as the award would not exceed the 12-month benefit cap.
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Amendment #789, "Improvements to Emergency Assistance for Children and Families," from Representative Decker. This amendment would expand tracking and reporting language in line item 7004-0101 to include data on families placed on the Emergency Assistance (EA) waiting list; create an ombudsperson unit within EOHLC, with language similar to that which was enacted with the FY22 budget; and officially remove the EA asset limit.
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Amendment #1075, "Prevent Older Adults from Experiencing Homelessness," from Representative Uyterhoeven. This amendment would add $10 million to the budget in a new line item under the Executive Office of Elder Affairs (line item 9110-XXXX) for a short-term housing bridge subsidy program for low-income older adults, ages sixty and older, at risk of housing instability or homelessness.
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Amendment #1302, "Housing and Services for Unaccompanied Youth Experiencing Homelessness," from Representative O'Day. This amendment would increase funding for the youth homelessness program, line item 4000-0007, by almost $1.5 million, to provide $12 million in FY25.
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Amendment #737, "Improvements to HomeBASE," from Representative Barber. This amendment would make changes to line item 7004-0108 to allow families to renew HomeBASE benefits beyond 3 years if needed; allow families to increase their income and stay in HomeBASE longer than 12 months; provide upstream access to benefits to prevent loss of existing housing and promote housing stability; allow households to maximize resources from RAFT, HomeBASE, and other rental assistance programs; and add language to carry over unspent FY24 funds into FY25.
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Amendment #788, "Lift Kids Out of Deep Poverty," from Representative Decker. This amendment would make changes to the Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC, line item 4403-2000) and Emergency Aid to Elderly, Disabled, and Children (EAEDC, line item 4408-1000) cash assistance programs. This amendment would provide 10% grant increases for TAFDC and EAEDC participants starting in October 2024 and provide additional funding in the accounts to pay for the grant increases. For EAEDC, the amendment would increase the funding by $13 million to $191,982,092. For TAFDC, the amendment would increase the funding by $21 million to $517,214,609.
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Amendment #299, "Identification for youth and adults experiencing homelessness," from Representative O'Day. This amendment would add $75,000 in line item 1595-6368 to provide free Mass IDs to people experiencing homelessness. It also would add an outside section to establish fee waiver and documentation standards for youth and adults experiencing homelessness to access standard Mass IDs.
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Amendment #667, "The Alternative Housing Voucher Program," from Representative Consalvo. This amendment would increase proposed funding for the Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP) by $500,000 to $16,855,696 in line item 7004-9030.
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Amendment #1479, "Access to Counsel," from Representative D. Rogers. This amendment would make changes to line item 0321-1800 to make the proposed access to counsel pilot program statewide; ensure that participants receive full legal representation and not just partial assistance; and clarify that the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation should collaborate with an advisory committee to determine how to implement the program.
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Amendment #247, "State-funded SNAP Assistance," from Representative Cabral. This amendment would provide $30 million in line item 4400-1032 for state-funded food benefits for certain immigrants who have Lawful Permanent Resident status, are permanently residing in the U.S. under color of law (PRUCOL status), or are humanitarian parolees. It also would require the Department of Transitional Assistance to provide training to their staff so they can thoroughly screen families and individuals for federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits before approving households for benefits from the limited state-funded program.
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Amendment #660, "Boston Area Youth - Cash Assistance for Stable Housing," from Representative Owens. This amendment would earmark $100,000 in the youth homelessness account (line item 4000-0007) for the launch of BAY-CASH, to provide direct cash assistance to unaccompanied youth and young adults who are experiencing homelessness. Learn more about BAY-CASH here: https://www.baycash.org/.
See the Coalition's FY25 budget chart for more details and links: https://tinyurl.com/mchfy2025.
After signing the online letter, we also invite you to amplify our call to action. Here's a short link to the action for you to share with family members, friends, and community members: https://mahomeless.org/fy25-house-amendments/
Thanks for your collaboration and your work to prevent and end homelessness!
In solidarity,
Kelly and Julia
Kelly Turley
Associate Director
kelly@mahomeless.org
Julia Garvey
Community Organizer/Legislative Advocate
julia.garvey@mahomeless.org
P.S. Stay up to date with the Coalition’s advocacy initiatives by following us on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. (Links also included at the top of this message.)
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