SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1810        FILED ON: 1/16/2015

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 710

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Joan B.  Lovely

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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 relative to the emergency assistance housing program.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1810        FILED ON: 1/16/2015

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 710

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

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An Act relative to the emergency assistance housing program.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1.  Chapter 23B of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 30 the following 5 sections:-

Section 30A.  The division of housing stabilization, within the department of housing and community development, shall provide a bi-monthly report notifying a city or town of all new emergency assistance households that have been placed in a hotel or motel in that city or town.  The notification shall include: the city manager in a city with a plan E form of government; the mayor and the city council in all other cities; the chairman of the board of selectmen, the town manager and the board of selectmen in a town; and the members of the general court who represent the district where the placement is made.

Section 30B.  In the initial application, the department of housing and community development shall require each applicant for emergency housing assistance to submit documentation showing the applicant’s residential history for the past 60 continuous months.  The documentation shall include (i) a verifiable address, including the town or city, state and country and (ii) the dates and length of time the applicant resided at each address.

Section 30C.  (a) A hotel or motel that contracts with the department or an agent acting on behalf of the department to provide emergency housing assistance shall provide the same services under the same terms and conditions to individuals receiving benefits under section 30 as it provides to individuals who are staying at the location but are not under contract with the department.

(b) The department shall retain the right to cancel or not renew any contract, subject to applicable state laws and regulations, if the department has reasonable cause to believe that subsection (a) has been violated by a hotel or motel contracted by the department.

Section 30D.  (a) The department of housing and community development shall require the head of an emergency assistance household, who receives benefits under section 30, to disclose the following information about the noncustodial parent of each child living in the emergency housing location: the noncustodial parent’s name, financial obligations and income assignments imposed under all court orders for maintenance or support. The department shall develop an appropriate memorandum of understanding with the department of revenue to use said information to determine if a noncustodial parent has an obligation to provide financial care and support for a child living in the emergency assistance household.

(b) The division of housing stabilization, within the department of housing and community development, shall work with the department of revenue to develop an appropriate memorandum of understanding regarding policies, procedures and a uniform protocol to recover the costs of providing benefits to an individual who fails to comply with subsection (a) and does not meet the financial eligibility requirements in section 30.  

SECTION 2. Section 1 of chapter 64G of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “licensee”, in line 35, the following words:-

; provided, however, that when the use or possession, or the right to the use or possession, is the result of an emergency housing assistance placement under section 30 of chapter 23B, the term “occupancy” shall mean the use or possession, or the right to the use or possession, of any room or rooms in a bed and breakfast establishment, hotel, lodging house or motel designed and normally used for sleeping and living purposes, or the right to the use or possession of the furnishings or the services and accommodations, including breakfast in a bed and breakfast establishment, accompanying the use and possession of such room or rooms, for any period of time, regardless of whether such use and possession is as a lessee, tenant, guest or licensee.