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Outcomes for key amendments to S.3178, the Senate amendment to the House Bill relative to economic development in the commonwealth
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Amendment #224, Identification for Youth and Adults Experiencing Homelessness, filed by Senator Kennedy: This amendment would expand access to standard Mass IDs for youth and adults experiencing homelessness by waiving the $25 fee for IDs and easing the verification requirements for youth and adults who are experiencing homelessness and seeking IDs.
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Amendment outcome: Amendment #224 was withdrawn. We are pushing for the Senate to take up the related stand-alone bill, Senate Bill 2399, this week.
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Amendment #302, Expanding and Improving RAFT, filed by Senator Crighton: This amendment would put the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) homelessness prevention program into state statute and ensure that benefits are available to families and individuals earlier in a housing or utility crisis ("upstream", before a household has received a notice to quit or utility shut-off notice). The amendment also seeks to streamline access, improve cross-agency collaboration, and allow households to receive up to twelve months of assistance, without arbitrary dollar caps. (The current cap is $7,000/family/year, regardless of household size or rent burden). In addition, the amendment would require the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) to publicly post reports on RAFT to increase transparency on how the program is operating and provide greater understanding of the families and individuals seeking RAFT assistance: how they are being referred, how many apply, how many are approved, how many are denied, what are their demographics, what are their rent and mortgage levels, what RAFT benefits they receive, and what is the housing status of participant households 6, 12, and 24 months after receiving financial assistance or services from RAFT.
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Amendment outcome: Amendment #302 was withdrawn.
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Amendment #433, Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children, filed by Senator Pat Jehlen: This amendment would add an outside section to the bill to change state statute on the Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children program (EAEDC, Chapter 117A of the Massachusetts General Laws and line item 4408-1000). It would require the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) to provide annual cost of living adjustments to EAEDC participants. It also would increase grant levels to match the benefits provided under DTA’s Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children program.
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Amendment outcome: Amendment #433 was not included in the final Senate version of the bill. It was rejected as part of a No bundle.
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Amendment #257, Ensuring Timely Access to RAFT, filed by Senator Bruce Tarr: This amendment would ensure that Residential Assistance for Families in Transition homelessness prevention program benefits are available to families and individuals earlier in a housing or utility crisis ("upstream", before a household has received a notice to quit or utility shut-off notice).
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Amendment outcome: Amendment #257 was withdrawn.
Outcomes for additional important amendments:
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Amendment #434, Somerville Older Adult Rental Bridge Subsidy, filed by Senator Pat Jehlen to expand access to bridge subsidies to adults ages 55–59 in Somerville
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Amendment outcome: Amendment #434 was not included in the final Senate version of the bill. It was rejected as part of a No bundle.
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Amendment #458, Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program, filed by Senator Joan Lovely to codify and improve MRVP
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Amendment outcome: Amendment #458 was withdrawn.
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Amendment #12, Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), filed by Senator Pat Jehlen to create a local option to guarantee tenants in multifamily buildings the right of first refusal when their home is being sold
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Amendment outcome: This amendment was redrafted three times and then adopted! The version approved by the Senate would establish a pilot program under the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) in five communities across the Commonwealth to create opportunities for tenants in those cities/towns to collectively purchase their buildings. The program would target communities with high rates of displacement. The community-based programs would last for up to five years each and would be evaluated by EOHLC annually and at the end of the pilot period.
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Amendment #265, Fair Housing Practices, filed by Senator Adam Gómez to address housing discrimination
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Amendment outcome: Amendment #265 was not included in the final Senate version of the bill.
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Amendment #278, Foreclosure Mediation, filed by Senator Adam Gómez to prevent foreclosures
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Amendment outcome: Amendment #278 was not included in the final Senate version of the bill. It was rejected as part of a No bundle.
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Amendment #351, Preventing algorithmic rent fixing in the rental housing market, filed by Senator Michael Moore to protect renters from rent setting by algorithms
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Amendment outcome: Amendment #351 was not included in the final Senate version of the bill. It was rejected as part of a No bundle.
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Amendment #262, Modernizing Student Transportation, filed by Senator Brendan Crighton to update school transportation laws to expand options for students experiencing homelessness, students in foster care, and students with disabilities
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Amendment outcome: Amendment #262 was withdrawn.
How to Take Action
Please click through the Senate amendment links above or in the second tab of our chart (shareable link: https://tinyurl.com/ecodev26) to see whether your State Senator sponsored or cosponsored any of these key amendments. If so, please email or call to thank them!
The full contact information for each Senator is included on the Legislature’s website.
Unsure who your Senator is? Find them by entering your address or the address where you are staying here: www.wheredoivotema.com or by calling the State House switchboard at 617-722-2000. After reaching out, let us know you took action and share any feedback by emailing Kelly.
Thank you again for your collaboration!
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