Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H1515 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1512 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1515
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Natalie M. Higgins
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 transform the Commonwealth’s emergency response system and create housing
13	13	strategies to end the homelessness of unaccompanied adults.
14	14	_______________
15	15	PETITION OF:
16	16	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Natalie M. Higgins4th Worcester1/15/2025Mike Connolly26th Middlesex1/16/2025Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/21/2025 1 of 3
17	17	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1512 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
18	18	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1515
19	19	By Representative Higgins of Leominster, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1515) of
20	20	Natalie M. Higgins, Mike Connolly and Lindsay N. Sabadosa for legislation to develop housing
21	21	strategies to end the homelessness of unaccompanied adults. Housing.
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
25	25	(2025-2026)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act to transform the Commonwealth’s emergency response system and create housing
28	28	strategies to end the homelessness of unaccompanied adults.
29	29	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
30	30	of the same, as follows:
31	31	1 Chapter 23B of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
32	32	2 Section xx. As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context clearly
33	33	3requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-
34	34	4 “Congregate shelter”, any sheltering approach of mass dormitory-style bed space in
35	35	5which individuals are not each sheltered in an individual or shared bedroom demarcated by walls
36	36	6on all sides and a door.
37	37	7 “Continuum of care”, has the same meaning as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the
38	38	8Code of Federal Regulations.
39	39	9 “Non-congregate shelter”, a setting where a person experiencing homelessness is
40	40	10sheltered within an individual or shared bedroom with walls on all sides, a door, and preferably a
41	41	11bathroom. 2 of 3
42	42	12 “Permanent supportive housing”, a model of housing that combines ongoing subsidized
43	43	13housing matched with flexible health, behavioral health, social and other support services.
44	44	14 “Executive office of housing and livable communities” or “the executive office”, as
45	45	15defined in Section 1 of Chapter 23B of the Massachusetts General Laws, as appearing in Section
46	46	16102 of Chapter 7 of the Acts of 2023.
47	47	17 (a) The executive office working closely with municipalities and the continuums of care
48	48	18shall conduct an objective and predictive study of future shelter and housing demand to
49	49	19determine the type and amount of permanent supportive housing, non-congregate and congregate
50	50	20shelter programmatic models necessary to reduce reliance on shelter and meet housing demand
51	51	21one year following the effective date of this section. This study shall determine housing and
52	52	22shelter capacity in every municipality in the commonwealth using calculations based on the ratio
53	53	23of the number of units to the overall population in order to ensure adequate capacity statewide.
54	54	24 (b) The executive office shall develop a plan to prioritize the building of permanent
55	55	25supportive housing and new non-congregate shelter solutions, that will supplement or replace
56	56	26existing congregate shelter programs, with a five-year implementation goal to meet the unmet
57	57	27needs of affordable housing capacity for each municipality in the commonwealth based on the
58	58	28ratio of the number of units to the overall population, in accordance with the findings of the
59	59	29study, in order to ensure adequate permanent supportive housing capacity statewide. The
60	60	30executive office shall determine benchmark goals for the implementation of said study
61	61	31recommendations within the five-year implementation goal to meet the permanent supportive
62	62	32housing needs for each municipality in the Commonwealth. 3 of 3
63	63	33 (c) The executive office shall create an inventory of existing congregate shelters, the cost
64	64	34to the commonwealth of these existing congregate shelters and conduct a feasibility study as to
65	65	35the extent these current resources can be converted to non-congregate shelter and/or permanent
66	66	36supportive housing. The executive office shall submit the plan to the chairs of the joint
67	67	37committee on housing and the continuums of care within one year following the effective date of
68	68	38this section.
69	69	39 (d) The executive office shall develop and provide a specific plan for unique housing
70	70	40responses specifically targeted to unaccompanied adult persons experiencing homelessness,
71	71	41including, but not limited to, long-term vouchers, shallow subsidy pools, rapid re-housing
72	72	42resources and permanent supportive housing. The executive office shall develop housing
73	73	43resources across a spectrum of need, but shall prioritize those elderly, disabled, medically
74	74	44complex, and LGBTQ+ persons experiencing homelessness. The executive office shall review
75	75	45and consider alternative construction models including, but not limited to, modular construction,
76	76	46micro-units, repurposed hotels or other alternatives capable of bringing homeless housing
77	77	47initiatives to an affordable scale necessary to end the homelessness of chronic and medically
78	78	48complex persons experiencing homelessness. The executive office shall submit a plan for the
79	79	49development of such housing to the chairs of the joint committee on housing and the continuums
80	80	50of care no later than one year following the effective date of this section.