Amendment #649 to H.3400

Amendment #649 to H3400

HomeBASE and Other Short Term Housing Assistance - Language Changes

Representatives Rushing of Boston, Honan of Boston, Sciortino of Medford, Kocot of Northampton, O'Day of West Boylston, Hecht of Watertown, Gordon of Bedford, Malia of Boston, Farley-Bouvier of Pittsfield, Stanley of Waltham, Brady of Brockton, Andrews of Orange, Fox of Boston, Reinstein of Revere, Provost of Somerville, Gobi of Spencer, Garballey of Arlington, Sannicandro of Ashland, Decker of Cambridge and Rogers of Cambridge move that the bill be amended in section 2, in item 7004-0099, in line 39, by striking out “provided further, that the department shall, not later than September 1, 2013, promulgate and uniformly enforce regulations clarifying that a household that otherwise qualifies for any preference or priority for state subsidized housing or rental assistance based on homeless or at-risk status shall retain that preference or priority notwithstanding receipt of rental assistance that is intended to be temporary including, but not limited to, any temporary or bridge subsidies provided with state or federal funds;” and by inserting in place thereof the following:

“provided further, that the department shall, not later than September 1, 2013, promulgate and uniformly enforce regulations effective retroactive to July 1, 2011, clarifying that a household that otherwise qualifies for any preference or priority for state subsidized housing or rental assistance based on homeless or at-risk status shall retain that preference or priority notwithstanding receipt of rental assistance that is intended to be temporary including, but not limited to, any temporary or bridge subsidies provided with state or federal funds, which shall include HomeBASE rental assistance;”

And that the bill be further amended by striking out item 7004-0108 and inserting in place thereof the following item:

“7004-0108 For a program of short-term housing assistance to help families in addressing obstacles to maintaining or securing housing for: (a) families eligible for temporary emergency shelter under item 7004-0101; and (b) families that received rental assistance under this item prior to July 1, 2012; provided, that the assistance provided under this item shall include not less than 12 months of housing stabilization and economic self-sufficiency case management services for each family receiving benefits hereunder; provided further, that the assistance may include, but shall not be limited to: payments of rent and utility arrears, a portion of the household’s monthly rent, first month’s rent, last month’s rent, security deposit, utility charges and extraordinary medical bills, so long as such assistance will maintain housing for the family; provided further, that except for a family receiving rental assistance, no other assistance from this item shall exceed $4,000 in a 12 month period; provided further, that, excluding families receiving rental assistance, a family shall not receive more than a combined sum of $4,000 in a 12 month period from this item and item 7004-9316; provided further, that a family shall not be able to receive cash assistance hereunder for 12 months from the last date it received cash assistance, excluding families whose rental assistance under this item has expired; provided further, that families that received rental assistance under this item prior to July 1, 2012 shall remain eligible for assistance greater than $4,000 under this item provided that the monthly rent for the housing does not exceed the amount approved by the department of housing and community development; provided further, that families eligible for rental assistance shall pay not more than 35 per cent of household income towards rent and utilities; provided further, that a family's eligibility for rental assistance provided hereunder shall not exceed a period of 36 successive months from the date the family first received rental assistance hereunder, not including time spent in temporary accommodations; provided further, that so long as they meet the requirements of their housing stabilization plan, a family that received household assistance or rental assistance pursuant to this item whose income exceeds 50 per cent of area median income shall not become ineligible for assistance due to exceeding the income limit for a period of 6 months from the date that the 50 per cent level was exceeded; provided further, that the continued eligibility of the family shall be determined on an annual basis; provided further, that a family shall not be deemed ineligible as a result of any single violation of a self-sufficiency plan; provided further, that the department shall take all steps necessary to enforce regulations to prevent abuse in the short-term housing transition program including a wage match agreement with the department of revenue; provided further, that a family that was terminated from the program or did not make a good faith effort to follow its housing stabilization plan during the term of its assistance shall be ineligible for benefits pursuant to item 7004-0101 and this item for 24 months from the last date upon which they received assistance hereunder, including housing stabilization and economic self-sufficiency case management services; provided further, that a family’s housing stabilization plan shall adequately accommodate the age and disabilities of the family members; provided further, that no family with a head of household who is over 60 years of age or who is disabled and who is in compliance with the requirements of a housing stabilization plan that accommodates disabilities shall be denied short-term housing assistance; provided further, that any such family with a head of household who is over 60 years of age or who is disabled shall not have engaged in, or be engaged in, any activity that threatens the health, safety or security of the family, other program participants or program staff; provided further, that families receiving benefits under this program who are found not to be eligible for continuing benefits shall be eligible for aid pending a timely appeal pursuant to said chapter 23B; provided further, that families who are denied assistance under this item may appeal pursuant to said chapter 23B, including subsection (F) of section 30, and regulations adopted to implement said chapter 23B; provided further, that, notwithstanding any general or special law or rule or regulation to the contrary, a family that loses assistance under this item at the end of 24 months and who is thereafter evicted for nonpayment of rent shall be deemed to have experienced a documented loss of income through no fault of the family for purposes of subsection (iv) of category (c) in item 7004-0101; provided further, that, notwithstanding any general or special law or rule or regulation to the contrary, a family that loses assistance under this item at the end of 24 months and who would be required to pay more than 35 percent of income for rent and utilities if the family remained in the unit without assistance shall be deemed to have been evicted for pure no fault reasons for purposes of eligibility for assistance funded by 7004-0101; provided further, that, notwithstanding any general or special law or rule or regulation to the contrary, families who left units subsidized through this item before the end of their lease or before the end of their rental assistance based on any advice or suggestion from the department or its agents or contractors shall not be found to have abandoned subsidized housing without good cause and shall be deemed to be eligible for assistance under item 7004-0101 based on a no fault eviction;

provided further, that benefits under this item shall be provided only to residents of the commonwealth of Massachusetts who are citizens of the United States or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence or otherwise permanently residing under color of law in the United States; provided further, that the department, as a condition of continued eligibility for assistance pursuant to this program, may require disclosure of social security numbers by all members of a family receiving assistance hereunder for use in verification of income with other agencies, departments and executive offices; provided further, that any family in which a member of the family fails to provide a social security number for use in verifying the family's income and eligibility shall no longer be eligible to receive benefits from this program; provided further, that the department shall administer this program through the following agencies unless administering agencies are otherwise procured by the department: the Berkshire Housing Development Corporation, the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance, Inc., the Community Teamwork, Inc., the Housing Assistance Corporation, the Franklin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority, Hap, Inc., the Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership, Inc., the Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development, the South Middlesex Opportunity Council, Inc., the South Shore Housing Development Corporation and RCAP Solutions, Inc; provided further, that the department of housing and community development shall reallocate financing based on performance based statistics from under-performing service providers to above average service providers in order to move as many families from hotels, motels, or shelters into more sustainable housing; provided further, that the department shall use funds provided for this program for stabilization workers to focus efforts on housing retention, and link households to supports including job training, education, job search, and childcare opportunities available and may enter into agreements with other public and private agencies for the provision of such services, and that a stabilization worker shall be assigned to each household; provided further, that all of this item shall be subject to appropriation and, in the event of a deficiency, nothing in this item shall give rise to or shall be construed as giving rise to any enforceable right or entitlement to services in excess of the amounts appropriated in this item; provided further, that funds shall be used to transition families served by the program to more rapidly move them into temporary or permanent sustainable housing; provided further, notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, 60 days before promulgating or amending any regulations, administrative practice or policy that would alter eligibility for or the level of benefits under this program, other than that which would benefit the clients, the department shall file with the house and senate committees on ways and means and the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, a report setting forth justification for such changes, including, but not limited to, any determination by the secretary of housing and economic development that available appropriations will be insufficient to meet projected expenses; and provided further, that the department shall submit quarterly reports to the house and senate committees on ways and means, which shall include the number of families served, the type of assistance given, the number of families assisted through this program, the average, minimum and maximum cost per family of such assistance, the number of households transitioned into federal funded public housing or rental assistance, the number of households transitioned to 7004-9024, the number of households that exited the program into alternative housing, the number of households exiting the program and unaccounted for provided further, the report shall include, the number of families served who required further assistance at a later date, the type of assistance later required and provided, and the current housing stability of each family who received assistance within the prior 12 months, including transitional housing or short-term housing assistance, and shall include any obstacles encountered with the administration of this program ...............................$58,788,556”

And that the bill be further amended by striking out 7004-9316 and inserting in place thereof the following item:

“7004-9316 For a program to provide assistance in addressing obstacles to maintaining or securing housing for families, including families whose HomeBASE rental assistance has expired, with: (a) a household income not greater than 30 per cent of area median income that are homeless and moving into subsidized or private housing or are at risk of becoming homeless; or (b) a household income greater than 30 per cent but not more than 50 per cent of area median income that are homeless and moving into subsidized or private housing, or are at risk of becoming homeless due to a significant reduction of income or increased expenses; provided, that assistance shall be administered by the department through contracts with the regional non-profit agencies; provided further, that not less than 90 per cent of the funds shall be provided to households with an income not greater than 30 per cent of area median income, subject to the department’s discretion based on data reflecting program demand and usage; provided further, that in distributing 90 per cent of the funds, the department shall prioritize those families most likely to otherwise require shelter services under item 7004-0101; provided further, that the amount of financial assistance shall not exceed more than $4,000 in any 12 month period; provided further, that excluding families receiving HomeBASE rental assistance or whose HomeBASE rental assistance has expired, a family shall not receive more than a combined sum of $4,000 in a 12 month period from this item and item 7004-0108; provided further, that a family shall not be eligible for assistance hereunder for 12 months from the date it received assistance under item 7004-0108 including housing stabilization services and economic self-sufficiency case management services; provided further, that prior to authorizing a residential assistance payment for a family, the administering agency shall make a finding that the payment will enable the family to retain its current housing, obtain new housing or otherwise avoid homelessness; provided further, that in making these findings the agency shall, unless the facts of the case warrant otherwise, apply a presumption that the payment will enable a family to retain its housing, obtain new housing or otherwise avoid homelessness; provided further, that residential assistance payments may be made through direct vendor payments according to standards to be established by the department; provided further, that the agencies shall establish a system for referring families approved for residential assistance payments who the agencies determine would benefit from these services to existing community-based programs that provide additional housing stabilization supports, including assistance in obtaining housing subsidies and locating alternative housing that is safe and affordable for those families; provided further, that the program shall be administered under guidelines established by the department; provided further, the department shall submit a report to the chairs of the house and senate committees on ways and means, the chairs 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 5 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; provided further, the department shall submit this report no later than January 1, 2014; provided further, that the department shall report quarterly to the house and senate committees on ways and means detailing: (a) the number of families applying for assistance; (b) the number of families approved for assistance; (c) the minimum, median and average amount of financial assistance awarded; (d) the total amount of assistance awarded to date, including a breakdown by income category; and (e) the number of families falling into each income category; and provided further, that the department shall track a family’s reason for assistance by the same categories used in 7004-0101 ............................... $8,760,000”