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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4831 FILED ON: 1/24/2024
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4284
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
STATE HOUSE · BOSTON, MA 02133
(617) 725-4000
MAURA T. HEALEY
GOVERNOR
KIMBERLEY DRISCOLL
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
January 24, 2024
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives,
Over the past year, the Emergency Assistance program in Massachusetts expanded at an
extraordinary rate to meet rising demand, reaching the program’s capacity limit of 7,500 families
in November 2023.
The Fiscal Year 2024 appropriation for the Emergency Assistance program in the
General Appropriations Act included $325 million of funding to support only 4,100 families. In
September 2023, our Administration requested additional appropriations for the Emergency
Assistance program and related support, reflecting the then-current caseload of approximately
6,400 families. The Legislature recently approved this supplemental funding, providing a critical
infusion of resources to keep the system operating for the next several months. With the
program operating at its capacity of 7,500 families, however, the Emergency Assistance program
remains in a deficiency of $224 million in the current fiscal year.
The state of emergency in our shelter system requires resources to ensure that families are
safe and supported in communities, schools, and spaces that are resourced appropriately to assist
them.
It also requires a multi-faceted set of policies that include education, workforce training,
and affordable housing programs to enable families to leave shelter and move on to stable
housing. In partnership with the Department of Homeland Security and multiple state agencies,
our Administration successfully ran two weeks of work authorization clinics for migrants in
Emergency Assistance and we remain focused on providing job training and pathways for
parents. But finding and affording housing remains extremely challenging for far too many in
Massachusetts. That is why this legislation also puts a down payment on additional housing 2 of 3
production for the types of affordable options that are all too scarce in some of our communities,
with up to $150 million dedicated to housing production and preservation.
At the same time, we need to support our partners - the local communities - that have
stepped up to welcome newly arriving families and neighbors who need a hand. In particular, we
must assist the schools and school districts that play a key role in helping children whose
families are experiencing homelessness.
While we hope that these investments and policies will lead to a decrease in the number
of families seeking shelter, the current average length of stay for families in the system exceeds
one year. That means that even with the system’s capacity level established, and significant
efforts underway to advance solutions, deficiency needs for EA are a two fiscal year problem,
requiring a solution that spans FY24 and FY25. Thankfully, the state has the resources available
in Transitional Escrow, comprised of savings from prior years’ budget surpluses, to put a plan in
place that will address the funding needs in FY24 and most of FY25 without requiring offsetting
budget cuts to other programs.
Therefore, I am proposing that the Legislature appropriate $873 million into an
Emergency Housing and Community Trust Fund for immediate and anticipated needs of the
various agencies that each have a unique role in responding to heightened demand in our
Emergency Assistance system and moving us toward a safe, supportive, and positive pathway to
better futures for our unhoused families.
Funding from this proposal will:
• Invest in housing production to spur development of the types of affordable units
that will provide stable, permanent housing opportunities for families outside the shelter system;
• Cover the costs of shelter for the Emergency Assistance program capacity
caseload of 7,500 families through the end of Fiscal Year 2024 and most of Fiscal Year 2025;
• Provide for the necessary services and supports for those 7,500 families in order
to safely address their basic needs;
• Cover the costs of temporary emergency shelters, Family Welcome Centers, and
clinical assessment and intake services, and other supportive programs;
• Assist local school districts with emergency aid for students whose families are
experiencing homelessness;
• Assist cities and towns with the actual costs and impacts of welcoming unhoused
families and family shelter sites into their communities; 3 of 3
• Launch new programs targeting the barriers to stable housing and the factors
causing family shelter stays to be historically long, including efforts toward workforce skills,
work authorizations, and English language instruction for employment; and
• Provide health care and specialized immigration and refugee-focused case
management to families who need them.
Critically, the bill also includes provisions to allow for the efficient use of available
resources by authorizing the transfer of funds between related programs, which will allow
appropriated shelter funding to be utilized where it is most needed across the system to address
the current extraordinary demand. This creates flexibility in how we address costs in FY25 so
that if circumstances change, for example an infusion of federal support or broader work
authorizations, resources can be redirected from reacting to the current situation to investing in
housing production and preservation to make affordable, stable housing options available to
more families.
I urge you to enact this legislation in the weeks ahead to ensure continued safe shelter
and services for families in our shelter system, to support our cities and towns who are
welcoming unhoused families into their communities, and to expand pathways to work and
opportunities to exit the EA system for permanent, stable housing.
Respectfully submitted,
Maura T. Healey,
Governor 1 of 6
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4284
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2024 to provide for supplementing certain
existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects.
Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purposes, which are
to make supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2024 and to make certain changes in law,
each of which is immediately necessary to carry out those appropriations or to accomplish other
important public purposes, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for
the immediate preservation of the public convenience.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. To provide for supplementing certain items in the general appropriation act
2and other appropriation acts for fiscal year 2024, the sums set forth in sections 2 and 2A,
3inclusive, are hereby appropriated from the General Fund unless specifically designated
4otherwise in this act or in those appropriation acts, for the several purposes and subject to the
5conditions specified in this act or in those appropriation acts, and subject to the laws regulating
6the disbursement of public funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024. These sums shall be in
7addition to any amounts previously appropriated and made available for the purposes of those
8items. These sums shall be made available through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025.
9 SECTION 2.
10 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HOUSING AND LIVABLE COMMUNITIES 2 of 6
11 Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities
12 7004-0101. Emergency Assistance Family Shelters and Services...............$215,000,000
13 Emergency Housing and Community Fund..........................100%
14 SECTION 2A. To provide for certain unanticipated obligations of the commonwealth, to
15provide for an alteration of purpose for current appropriations, and to meet certain requirements
16of law, the sums set forth in this section are hereby appropriated from the General Fund unless
17specifically designated otherwise in this section, for the several purposes and subject to the
18conditions specified in this section, and subject to the laws regulating the disbursement of public
19funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024. Except as otherwise stated, these sums shall be
20made available through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025.
21 EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
22 Reserves
23 1599-0709. For state financial assistance in the form of grants or loans to be administered
24by the executive office of housing and livable communities for the following purposes: (1)
25accelerating the development and production of affordable housing for families; provided, that
26the grant or loan program shall be administered by the executive office of housing and livable
27communities; provided further that not less than 25 per cent of the funds used for such purpose
28shall be used to fund projects that preserve and produce housing for families and individuals with
29incomes of not more than 30 per cent of the area median income, as defined by the United States
30Department of Housing and Urban Development; provided further, that funds expended for such
31purpose shall, to the maximum extent feasible, be prioritized for projects that address the crisis 3 of 6
32of unhoused families in the commonwealth; (2) for state financial assistance in the form of grants
33for projects undertaken pursuant to clause (j) of section 26 of chapter 121B of the General Laws,
34with priority for projects addressing critical capital needs including expired fire alarm systems,
35housing, ventilation and air conditioning systems and projects increasing accessibility of housing
36units for persons with disabilities; (3) for state financial assistance in the form of grants to
37address cost overruns in projects receiving funding under a demonstration program to
38demonstrate cost effective revitalization methods for state-aided family and elderly-disabled
39public housing that seek to reduce the need for future state modernization funding; provided
40further, that the executive office may exempt a local housing authority recipient of demonstration
41grants from the requirements of chapters 7C and 121B of the General Laws upon a showing by
42the recipient that such exemptions are necessary to accomplish the effective revitalization of
43public housing and shall not adversely affect public housing residents or applicants of any
44income who are otherwise eligible; and (3) for the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency
45established by section 3 of chapter 708 of the acts of 1966, to capitalize a permanent, revolving
46Residential Production Momentum Fund for the purpose of accelerating the development of
47mixed-income and workforce multifamily housing production projects by providing financial
48assistance in the form of innovative, low-cost, and flexible capital funding, which may be in the
49form of debt, equity, or other instruments, depending on individual underwriting needs of the
50project; provided that not less than 20 per cent of the units in a project that receives financial
51assistance from such Residential Production Momentum Fund shall be restricted to households
52with incomes generally between 60 per cent and 120 per cent of area median income; provided
53further that, notwithstanding paragraph (f) of section 5 of said chapter 708, the Massachusetts
54Housing Finance Agency may in its discretion set the term and prepayment options for any 4 of 6
55mortgage or other loan or instrument issued to any project receiving such financial assistance
56based on the individual underwriting needs of the project; provided further, that financial
57assistance for any of the purposes in this item shall be awarded in a manner that promotes
58geographic equity; and provided further, that funds expended from this item for new construction
59or substantial rehabilitation shall, to the maximum extent feasible, be prioritized for projects that
60comply with decarbonization and sustainability standards; provided, that prioritization will be
61determined through objective scoring criteria in the Qualified Allocation Plan developed by the
62executive office of housing and livable communities; provided further, that for new construction
63projects, the applicable standards for prioritization are set forth in the commonwealth’s Opt-in
64Specialized Energy Code set forth at 225 CMR §§ 22.00 and 23.00 and Enterprise Green
65Communities standards; provided further, that any new construction or substantial rehabilitation
66project proposing less than full compliance with said standards shall provide detailed analysis
67demonstrating why full compliance would render the project infeasible notwithstanding
68utilization of all available federal and state incentives, including rebates and tax credits; provided
69further, that for retrofits of existing units, prioritization shall be given to projects that include
70energy efficiency and electrification decarbonization measures, including, but not limited to
71electric or ground source heat pumps, net-zero developments, Passive House or equivalent
72energy efficiency certification, and all-electric buildings and projects that incorporate green,
73sustainable and climate-resilient elements; provided further, that projects that include lower
74embodied carbon construction materials and methods shall be further prioritized; and provided
75further that, in the event of a deficiency identified by the secretary of housing and livable
76communities in item 7004-0101 of the state budget, funding in this item may be transferred to
77said item 7004-0101 …………………………………$150,000,000 5 of 6
78 Emergency Housing and Community Fund..........................100%
79 1599-1213 For purposes related to supportive services and safe shelter for unhoused
80families in Massachusetts, including but not limited to immigrant and refugee health services and
81community supports, public and community health services and personnel, medical interpreter
82services, childcare and safety equipment, and other related services, supports, and programs for
83unhoused families; provided further, that the secretary for administration and finance shall
84submit monthly reports to the house and senate committees on ways and means detailing the
85expenditure of funds from this item; provided, further that any reporting required under item
861599-0514 under section 2A of chapter 77 of the acts of 2023 shall meet any reporting
87requirements under this item................................................................$10,000,000
88 SECTION 3. Chapter 29 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition,
89is hereby further amended by inserting after section 2DDDDDD the following new section:-
90 Section 2EEEEEE. There shall be established and set up on the books of the
91commonwealth a separate fund known as the Emergency Housing and Community Fund. The
92fund shall be credited with any appropriations or other money designated to be credited to the
93fund and interest earned on any amounts deposited in the fund. administered s, and shall be
94Amounts credited to the fund shall be expended, subject to appropriation, to support, as deemed
95necessary by the secretary of administration and finance, in consultation with the secretary of
96housing and livable communities, housing production, shelter and related services, and supports
97for unhoused families. The fund shall not be subject to Section 5C of Chapter 29 of the
98Massachusetts General Laws. 6 of 6
99 SECTION 4. Section 2EEEEEE of chapter 29 of the General Laws, as inserted by
100section 3, is hereby repealed.
101 SECTION 5. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, for fiscal year
1022024 and fiscal year 2025, the secretary for administration and finance may authorize transfers of
103surplus among and within 1599-0514, 1599-0709, 1599-0924, 1599-0925, and 1599-1213.
104 SECTION 6. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, not later than
10510 days after the effective date of this act, the comptroller of the commonwealth shall transfer
106the amount of $873,000,000 from the Transitional Escrow Fund established in section 16 of
107chapter 76 of the acts of 2021, as amended by section 4 of chapter 98 of the acts of 2022, to the
108Emergency Housing and Community Fund established in section 2EEEEEE of chapter 29 of the
109General Laws, as inserted by section 3; provided, further that not later than July 10, 2024, the
110Comptroller shall transfer the unobligated balance as of June 30, 2024 from the Transitional
111Escrow Fund established in said section 16 of said chapter 76 to the Emergency Housing and
112Community Fund established in said section 2EEEEEE of said chapter 29, as inserted by section
1133.
114 SECTION 7. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, not later than
115July 1, 2025, the Comptroller shall transfer any unexpended funds in the Emergency Housing
116and Community Fund established in section 2EEEEEE of chapter 29 of the General Laws, as
117inserted by section 3, to the Transitional Escrow Fund established in section 16 of chapter 76 of
118the acts of 2021, as amended by section 4 of chapter 98 of the acts of 2022.
119 SECTION 8. Section 4 shall take effect July 1, 2025.