Mass. Legislature agrees with $ 425 million in shelter financing and residence limits

A draft law that has pumped another $ 425 million in the shelter system for overloaded emergency families landed on Wednesday on the office of governor Maura Healey, more than three weeks after the administration officials said they were left without funding to pay providers for new services.

The room and the Senate obtained the last votes necessary for the draft spending law in the middle of the year, which also present a suite of additional safety and eligibility changes.

One day after top democrats has reached an agreement On the final law (H 61), the camera approved it 127-23, and the Senate passed 32-7. All the Republicans in both rooms opposed the legislation, as well as the Democratic representatives, Colleen Garry and David Robertson in Tewksbury, as well as from Democrat. John Velis from Westfield and Mark Montigny from New Bedford.

The modalities and means of the Senate, the chairman of the committee, Michael Rodrigues, said that the final legislation is “very close” to the version approved by his Chamber two weeks ago, combining another round of financing with a series of reforms meant to increase safety and reduce cases of houses.

Democrat Westport also said that he hopes he would not need another injection in the middle of the year in the next budget cycle.

“We hope that the number we include in the annual budget (fiscal year) ’26 will take the whole year, because, you know, the fountain is dry,” Rodrigues told reporters before the Senate vote.

Anti-commensity lawyers have thrown the changes that will limit the eligibility for the shelter, arguing that the state should sink into its rainy savings account of over $ 8 billion or find funds elsewhere to keep people in serious circumstances under the law “straight to the lake”.

The writers of the budget and the governor Maura Healey have underfined the emergency shelter in the annual state budget, forcing them to look for more money at the beginning of 2025-2026.

Administration officials said that the last financing batch went on January 31, leaving the state without resources to pay the invoices that came due after this date. Also underlined That there is a “gap” between the moment when a supplier submits an invoice to the state and when the supplier is usually expected to receive the payment.

Officials said on Wednesday that there are no payments to suppliers in time and that officials have not observed any impact on the shelter services, because the financing has expired.

“The administration has had enough resources available to make the payments of the providers for the services provided by the end of January,” said Matt Murphy, a spokesman for the Executive Bureau for Administration and Finance. “We are encouraged by the progress of the legislative on our additional budgetary request and we will continue to do everything we can to ensure that the services are not negatively affected for the families in our emergency system.”

Healey’s annual budget bill proposes USD 325 million for the family shelter, about the same level as the fiscal budget 2025, which left the underfunding accounts for several months a year.

The administration and parliamentarians hope that reforms, including a ceiling of 4,000 families for shelters for the 2026 calendar year and a six -month residence limit, will reduce eligibility and increase the costs closer to historical levels.

The leader of the minorities in the Senate, Bruce Tarr, said the updated law project “continues to miss major reform opportunities” in the shelter system and lamented that the Democrats from the Top Chamber and the Senate have concluded a private language agreement, without convincing a conference committee for more formal discussions.

Democrats from the Chamber and Senate have also launched the committee missions for the term that dictates which parliamentarians will examine topics – plus heavy payment for those chosen as chairmen, vice -president and in driving slots.

The programming came with 56 days at term, the most recent in a two-year session in at least the last decade.

Asked if the works on the draft law on the financing of the shelter affected the calendar, Rodrigues called it “a hard enough to start the term”.

“But we were ready for this, I knew it was coming, so it didn’t surprise us,” he said.

Former Republican representative Geoff Diehl mentioned on Tuesday on social networks that he spoke with the representative Nick Boldyga, who was at the state house for a home session, focused on the operating rules.

“I laughed that DC has already stated most of Trump’s office and has a budget. Ma? Still at the departure line, 3 months after the elections,” Diehl wrote on X.