Consolidated Amendment "C" to H4100
Housing and Social Services
Housing and Social Services Consolidated
Fiscal Note: $3,810,107
Amendment 267 has been re-categorized to Business and Economic Development.
Amendments 376 and 740 have been re-categorized to Health and Human Services.
Amendments 148, 321, 502, 538, 572, 573, 582, 598, 619, 635, 755, 774, 804, 824, and 842 have been re-categorized to Legislation, Non-Budget.
Amendment 646 has been re-categorized from Legislation, Non-Budget.
Amendments from Housing: 58, 104, 132, 174, 247, 267, 275, 279, 293, 333, 397, 414, 454, 494, 540, 603, 616, 617, 618, 619, 625, 658, 660, 672, 689, 690, 715, 717, 718, 723, 738, 792, 793, 795, 797, 805, 816, 822, and 867.
Amendments from Social Services: 7, 148, 173, 184, 186, 243, 272, 278, 321, 328, 341, 345, 352, 373, 376, 402, 478, 480, 496, 502, 524, 527, 538, 543, 559, 564, 572, 573, 582, 595, 598, 609, 611, 635, 643, 645, 653, 661, 664, 671, 673, 677, 679, 681, 693, 694, 696, 701, 709, 740, 741, 755, 774, 777, 778, 796, 800, 804, 808, 824, 842, 869, and 870.
Mr. Dempsey of Haverhill and others move to amend H 4100, in section 2, in item 1107-2400, by striking out the figures “$562,272” and inserting in place thereof the figures “$586,112”.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 4110-0001, by striking out the following: “For the office of the commissioner”, and inserting in place thereof the following: “For the operation of the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, including the cost of sheltered workforce employee retirement benefits”.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 4110-1000, in line 5, by inserting after “network” the following words: “; provided further, that not less than $450,000 shall be expended for the deaf-blind community access network”.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 4120-4000, by adding the following: “; provided further that $50,000 be expended for assistive technologies”; and in said item by striking out the figures “$12,229,279” and inserting in place thereof the figures “$12,279,279”.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 4125-0100, by striking out the figures “$5,354,020” and inserting in place thereof the figures “$5,390,287”.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 4400-1000, by striking out the figures “$54,084,750” and inserting in place thereof the figures “$54,584,750”.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 4400-1100, by striking out the figures “$60,528,893” and inserting in place thereof the figures “$61,528,893”.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 4403-2000, in line 28, by inserting after “1995 or any successor statute; provided further, that a” the following: “$40 per month rent allowance shall be paid to all households incurring a rent or mortgage expense and not residing in public or subsidized housing;” and, in line 29, by striking out the figures “$75”, and inserting in place thereof the figures “$150”; and, in line 68 by inserting after “representatives” the following: “and the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities”.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 4405-2000, by inserting after the words “foster care benefit” the following: “provided further, that not less than $1,000,000 shall be made available for rate increases for level IV rest homes as defined in 105 CMR 150.001; provided further, that the secretary of health and human services may transfer an amount not to exceed $1,000,000 from funds appropriated to line item 4403-2000 for said rate increase;”.
And further moves that the bill be amended in section 2, in item 4408-1000, by adding the following: “provided further, that not less than $400,000 shall be made available for rate increases for level IV rest homes as defined in 105 CMR 150.001; provided further, that the secretary of health and human services may transfer an amount not to exceed $400,000 from funds appropriated to line item 4403-2000 for said rate increase”.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 4408-1000, in line 62, by inserting after “with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives” the following: “and the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities”.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 4800-0015, in line 29, by inserting after “recoup amounts from the state auditor;” the following: “provided further, that no later than October 31, 2012, the department shall promulgate and implement regulations which shall ensure that the department maintains an independent, timely and fair administrative hearing system; provided further, the department shall maintain and make available to the public during regular business hours all of its fair hearing decisions with identifying information removed, and a record of its fair hearings with identifying information removed, reflecting, for each hearing request, the date of the request, the date of the hearing, the length of any extensions granted to the party, the date of the hearing decision, the decision rendered by the hearing officer and the final decision rendered upon the Commissioner’s review; provided further, beginning on August 15, 2012, the department shall submit quarterly reports to the chairs of the joint committee on children, families, and persons with disabilities setting forth (a) the number of pending administrative appeals in which a decision has not been issued within 150 days of the hearing request and the number of them in which a hearing decision has been written by the hearing officer but not yet issued to the appellant, and (b) for each hearing that was requested after October 3, 2011, the date the hearing was requested, whether the hearing was held within 90 days of the request, whether the hearing officer rendered a decision within 150 days of the hearing request, and whether the decision was issued to the appellant within 150 days of the request”.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 4800-0038, by adding the following: "; provided further, that funding shall be expended on children's advocacy centers, services for child victims of sexual abuse and assault; provided further, that funds may be expended on programs that received funding in fiscal year 2012; provided further, that funding may be expended on supervised visitation programs; provided further, that funds shall be expended for the Children's Advocacy Center of Bristol County; and provided further, that funds shall be expended for the Children’s Cove Cape and Islands Child Advocacy Center".
And further amend the bill, in section 2, in line 7004-0099, by striking out the word “reaffirm” and inserting in place thereof the following: “promulgate and uniformly enforce;” and by striking the word “and” and inserting after the words “security requirements” the following: “provided further, that not less than $100,000 shall be expended to the town of Holbrook for a one-time community action grant which will fund an upgrade to town facilities; provided further, that not less than $175,000 shall be expended annually for provision of emergency services that provide domestic violence intervention, workforce development, housing assistance, operation of food vouchers, winter coats for kids and holiday dinners operated by Community Action Programs Inter-City, Inc. for the communities specified in item 7004-0099 of section 2 of chapter 68 of the acts of 2011; and provided further, that not less than $50,000 shall be expended for the South Worcester Neighborhood Improvement Corporation so that it can continue to provide vital services to the poorest neighborhoods in the city of Worcester”.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 7004-0101, in line 4, striking the figure “8” and inserting in place thereof the following figure: “9” and after the words “state sanitary code” inserting the following: “, 105 CMR 410.750,” and by inserting after the words “household seeking emergency shelter” the following: “and who had no knowledge of the individual’s actions that resulted in such eviction” and by inserting after the words “condemnation or nonpayment of rent” the following words: “caused by a documented loss of income within the past 12 months directly as a result of a job loss or medical condition”; and in said item after the words “attributable to a disability” by striking out the words “caused by a documented loss of income within the past 12 months directly as a result of a job loss or medical condition” and, by inserting after the word “representatives” the following: “and the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities” and, by inserting after “prior 12 months” the following: “and, that the report shall state the department’s assessment of the effects of benefit or eligibility changes upon recipient families, and the report shall detail the savings realized by any such changes to benefits or eligibility” and by inserting the following: “provided further, that funds shall be expended for programs operated by Horizons for Homeless Children;”
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 7004-0104, by striking out the figures “$1,200,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figures: “$1,400,000”.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 7004-0108, by inserting after “assistance provided under this item shall include” the following “not less than” and by striking the figurer “3” and inserting in place thereof the figure “6”.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 7004-3036, by after the words “consolidation of said services;” striking the word “and” and inserting after the words ”compensation of state employees;” the following: “and provided further, that not less than $100,000 shall be expended to Springfield Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc., so-called, in Springfield”.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 7004-9005, by inserting after “repairs” the following “provided further, that not less than $50,000 be provided for the Clinton Housing Authority for the purposes of repairs and improvements to the Church Street Senior Housing Complex, located in the town of Clinton; and provided further, that not less than $50,000 be provided for the Clinton Housing Authority for the purpose of repairs and improvements to the Water Street Senior Housing Authority Complex, located in the town of Clinton;” and by striking out the figures “$62,500,000” and inserting in place thereof the figures “$64,500,000”.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 7004-9024, by striking the words, “provided further, that these new vouchers shall only be available to families receiving benefits through line item 7004-0103; provided further, the additional vouchers shall serve as a one-time, caseload reduction mechanism and shall be targeted to families who are residing in hotels or motels as of January 1, 2012; and provided further, no vouchers beyond the amount described within shall be given to families residing within the shelter system during fiscal year 2013”.
and inserting in place thereof the following:-
provided further, that these new vouchers shall first be available to families residing in hotels or motels provided they meet all Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program criteria necessary to be granted a voucher and the department has determined that they are ready to attempt to maintain a tenancy; provided further, that once the undersecretary certifies that as many families as possible are moved from motels, families residing in shelters shall be eligible to receive any remaining vouchers; provided further, that once a family vacates shelter, a family from motels shall be moved into the previously occupied space in order to receive maximum support services; provided further, the additional vouchers shall serve as a one-time, caseload reduction mechanism and shall be targeted to families who are residing in hotels, motels, or emergency assistance family shelters as of April 1, 2012; and provided further, no vouchers beyond the amount described within shall be given to families residing within the shelter system during fiscal year 2013.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 7004-9316, by inserting after “median income” the following: “subject to the department’s discretion based on data reflecting program demand and usage;” and in line 47, by inserting after “established by the department” the following: “; provided further, the department shall submit a report to the chairmen of the house and senate committees on ways and means, the chairmen of the joint committee on housing and the secretary of administration and finance detailing the extent of involvement of regional community action programs in the administration of this line item program within the past five years; provided further, the report shall include, but not be limited to, the appropriation allocation to each community action program, the effectiveness of their services, and the estimated number of families served per year; provided further, the report shall also examine the potential for broader inclusion of community action programs in the future administration of this program; and provided further, the department shall submit this report no later than January 1, 2013”.