1 of 1
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1708 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1004
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Robyn K. Kennedy
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act to create affordable homes for persons with disabilities.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Robyn K. KennedyFirst WorcesterJames B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester3/3/2025 1 of 4
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1708 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1004
By Ms. Kennedy, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1004) of Robyn K. Kennedy and
James B. Eldridge for legislation to create affordable homes for persons with disabilities.
Housing.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 884 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
_______________
An Act to create affordable homes for persons with disabilities.
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. Section 16 of Chapter 179 of the Acts of 1995, and any associated
2regulations in 760 C.M.R. 53, are hereby stricken.
3 SECTION 2. Chapter 121B of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the
4following section:
5 Section 61. (a) The following words whenever used in this section shall, unless a
6different meaning clearly appears from the context, have the following meanings: —
7 “Disability”, with respect to an individual, a person who has: (i) a physical or mental
8impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual; (ii) a
9record of such an impairment; or (iii) being regarded as having such an impairment. 2 of 4
10 (b) The department shall, subject to appropriation, establish and administer through
11administering agencies, including, but not limited to, local housing authorities and regional
12housing agencies, the Alternative Housing Voucher Program to provide rental assistance for low-
13income persons with disabilities through mobile and project-based vouchers. The program
14established under this section shall include any voucher supported by budget line-item 7004-
159030 as of the effective date of this section. The department shall establish the amounts of the
16mobile and project-based vouchers so that the appropriation in this item shall not be exceeded by
17payments for rental assistance and administration. The vouchers shall be in varying dollar
18amounts set by the department based on considerations including, but not limited to, household
19size, composition, household income, and geographic location.
20 (c) To be eligible to receive assistance under this section, a household shall have an
21income that does not exceed 80 percent of the area median income, as determined annually by
22the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Further, the head of household must
23be a person with a disability no younger than 18 years and no older than 62. The department may
24award mobile vouchers to eligible households occupying project-based units created under this
25section that shall expire due to nonrenewal of project-based rental assistance contracts.
26Households shall meet eligibility requirements as required in this section and regulations by the
27department.
28 (d) A household that receives assistance under this section shall be required to pay not
29less than 25 percent of its net income, as defined by regulations issued by the department, for
30units if utilities are not provided by the unit owner, or not less than 30 percent of its income for
31units if utilities are provided by the unit owner. 3 of 4
32 (e) Except as provided under paragraph (f), the payment standard for each size of a
33dwelling unit in a market area shall not exceed 120 percent of the fair market rent, or Small Area
34Fair Market Rent as established annually by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
35Development, for the same size of dwelling unit in the same market area and shall be not less
36than 110 percent of that fair market rent, except that no administering agency shall be required as
37a result of a reduction in the fair market rent to reduce the payment standard applied to a
38household continuing to reside in a unit for which the household was receiving assistance under
39this section at the time the fair market rent was reduced. The department shall allow
40administering agencies to request exception payment standards within fair market rental areas
41subject to criteria and procedures established by the department.
42 (f) An administering agency may use a payment standard that is greater than 120 percent
43of the fair market rent as a reasonable accommodation for a person with a disability, but only
44with the approval of the department. In connection with the use of any increased payment
45standard established or approved pursuant to either of the preceding sentence as a reasonable
46accommodation for a person with a disability, the department may not establish additional
47requirements regarding the amount of adjusted income paid by such person for rent.
48 (g) Payments for rental assistance under this section may be provided in advance, and
49shall be authorized to pay for, but not be limited to, the following: (i) the first month of rent; (ii)
50the last month of rent; (iii) security deposit; and (iv) moving expenses.
51 (h) The amount of rental assistance voucher payment for an eligible household shall not
52exceed the rent less the household’s minimum rent obligation.
53 (i) The department shall promulgate regulations to implement this section. 4 of 4
54 (j) Any unspent funding appropriated for this section through budget line-item 7004-9030
55in any fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund but shall be made available for the
56purposes of the item in the next fiscal year.