UPDATE: Healey Approves State Legislature's FY24 Supplemental Budget

BOSTON - UPDATE, 4/30/24 at 4:57 p.m.: Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has approved the state legislature's FY24 supplemental budget, according to Lisa Kashinsky of Politico.

The original story posted to The Frame can be found below.

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Both branches of the Massachusetts state legislature have passed their supplemental budget for the 2024 fiscal year, with a major portion dedicated to the state’s emergency shelter system.

In an announcement made Thursday, April 25, the legislative branch stated they’ve approved $251 million for shelter costs through the end of the current fiscal year on June 30. Those FY24 funds include $10 million for workforce training and $10 million in tax credits to companies that offer job training for those receiving emergency assistance. The legislation also features upwards of $175 million from the transitional escrow fund for the program’s transition into FY25 in order to focus on long-term needs, as a commission would be launched to study the shelter program’s future.

As both the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives have approved the supplemental budget, the legislation will now go before Governor Maura Healey for her signature.

Legislators hope this can get sheltered families through the system—and into the state’s workforce—in a timely fashion.

“I’m proud that this legislation puts us on a responsible path forward without sacrificing our values of treating families with dignity and respect,” State Senate President and Senator for the 2nd Middlesex and Norfolk District Karen Spilka said in a statement released Thursday.

“This legislative action was warranted because of inaction at the federal level on a challenge of their own creation. Massachusetts has once again shown that we can work together to address complicated issues, as we have done today.”

If signed, the legislation would place limits on the amount of time that families can stay in the emergency shelter program: up to nine months, starting in June, with a pair of 90-day extensions available based on circumstances. It would also create a recertification requirement for those in the system every 60 days.

Resources to assist those exiting the system would be provided in the legislation as well, with rehousing and case management assistance featured in the plans.

The governor would be required to get waivers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for expedited, temporary, and provisional work authorizations for migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers newly entering Massachusetts.

Outside of alterations to the state’s emergency shelter system, the supplemental budget includes mandates to permanently allow outdoor dining and cocktails to-go from restaurants, permit graduates and nursing students in their final semester to practice nursing, and offer reverse mortgage counseling remotely. Some of these permissions were initially granted amid the initial months of the COVID-19 outbreak in Massachusetts.