Amendment #62 to H4200

Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP) Outside Section

Mr. Toomey of Cambridge moves to amend the bill by adding the following section:-

SECTION XXXX. Chapter 179 of the Massachusetts Acts of 1995 is hereby amended by striking out Section 16 in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following:

SECTION 16.  The department of housing and community development, hereinafter referred to as DHCD, shall, subject to appropriation, establish and administer a rental assistance program in the form of mobile or project based vouchers for eligible and qualified handicapped persons of low income as determined pursuant to DHCD regulations.

To be eligible for the rental assistance program applicants shall (1) be an eligible and qualified handicapped person of low income in accordance with DHCD regulations; and (2) be eligible and qualified for housing developed pursuant to sections thirty-nine and forty of chapter 121B of the General Laws, or be residing in housing developed pursuant to sections 39 and 40 of said chapter 121B on March 1, 1995.

Income eligibility for the rental assistance program shall be consistent with income eligibility for low rent housing projects developed pursuant to said chapter 121B. Rental assistance program participants shall be required to pay not less than 25 percent of their net income, as defined in DHCD regulations, for units if utilities are not provided by the unit owner, or not less than 30 percent of their income for units if utilities are provided by the unit owner. Rental assistance funds shall be awarded to a local housing agency, either a local housing authority or a regional nonprofit housing agency, on the basis of relative need in the community served by such local housing agency as determined by DHCD.

The local housing agency shall administer the rental assistance program in accordance with regulations established by DHCD. In areas where a local housing authority administers a housing program under the provisions of sections 39 and 40 of said chapter 121B and where the housing authority administers a federal Section 8 existing housing assistance program or Section 8 voucher program and has voted to adopt an amendment to its Section 8 administrative plan, such local housing authority shall receive preference in administering the rental assistance program in accordance with regulations established by DHCD. Such plans shall provide that program participants of the rental assistance program, provided for herein, shall receive first preference consideration coequally with the particular local housing authority's other first preference criteria. In areas where no local housing authority administers a state rental assistance program or does not choose to administer the rental assistance program, regional nonprofit housing agencies shall be eligible to administer the program. As participants either obtain permanent affordable housing or are terminated from the program, their rental assistance may be made available to the next eligible applicant as determined under regulations established by DHCD, subject to appropriation. Any grievance procedures established for the program shall be consistent with those of the rental voucher program created pursuant to section two of chapter 133 of the acts of 1992.

DHCD shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this section no later than December 1, 1995.

Nothing stated herein shall give rise to enforceable legal rights in any party or an enforceable entitlement to any form of housing and further, nothing stated herein shall be construed as giving rise to such enforceable legal rights or such enforceable entitlement.

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #62 to H4200

Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP) Outside Section