| 1 | 1 | | 1 of 1 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2694 FILED ON: 1/19/2023 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 187 |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | Mary S. Keefe and Patricia A. Duffy |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | An Act to protect safety net access for Massachusetts residents. |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Mary S. Keefe15th Worcester1/19/2023Patricia A. Duffy5th Hampden1/19/2023Mindy Domb3rd Hampshire1/25/2023Steven Owens29th Middlesex1/31/2023Vanna Howard17th Middlesex2/2/2023David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf17th Worcester2/6/2023Daniel M. Donahue16th Worcester2/15/2023Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire2/18/2023 1 of 2 |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2694 FILED ON: 1/19/2023 |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 187 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | By Representatives Keefe of Worcester and Duffy of Holyoke, a petition (accompanied by bill, |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | House, No. 187) of Mary S. Keefe, Patricia A. Duffy and others relative to community service |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | areas of the Department of Transitional Assistance. Children, Families and Persons with |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | Disabilities. |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | (2023-2024) |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | An Act to protect safety net access for Massachusetts residents. |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | of the same, as follows: |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | 1 Section 5 of chapter 18 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | 2hereby amended by inserting after the fourth paragraph the following paragraph: - |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | 3 Upon being notified by the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 4(DCAMM) that a lease is set to expire, and by which the Department decides not to renew a |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | 5lease or close the community service office, at least 120 days before taking steps to not renew a |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | 6lease for or close a community service office and at least 120 days before soliciting any |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | 7proposals for a lease for a community service office, the commissioner shall notify the local |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 8legislators of that region and the regional legal services of the proposed action, the community |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | 9service office that would be affected, and the reasons for the proposed action. At the request of |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 10the legislature or legal services, the department shall provide testimony and data regarding its |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | 11plans, including but not limited to a comparison of the current and proposed community service |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | 12office locations for low-income households in the service area with respect to (a) transportation 2 of 2 |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 13options, including the cost and frequency of public transit and travel time to and from the current |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | 14and proposed location; (b) office hours; (c) access for seniors, persons with disabilities, persons |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | 15who are needed to care for children or other family members; persons who are employed; (d) the |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | 16availability of staff who speak the languages spoken by persons with limited English proficiency |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | 17in the service area; (e) in areas where there are advisory boards the minutes showing that the |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 18board has been appraised of the intention to close or relocate; (f) surveys from its current |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | 19recipients of how the proposed closure or relocation would affect them. The surveys shall be |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | 20done in the recipients’ primary or preferred language in order to maximize participation and |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | 21ensure equity; (g) a report of the community services, and community economic and social |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | 22relations near the current and proposed community service office; (h) demographic and poverty |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | 23rate data of the residents of both the current and proposed community service office location; and |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | 24(i) other matters as requested by the said requester. |
|---|