Amendment #700 to H4400

Economic Mobility and Stability Program

Representatives Vega of Holyoke, Ashe of Longmeadow, Decker of Cambridge, Hecht of Watertown, Holmes of Boston, Khan of Newton, O'Connell of Taunton, Rogers of Cambridge, Smizik of Brookline, Tosado of Springfield, Ultrino of Malden and Vargas of Haverhill move to amend the bill by adding the following section:

"SECTION XXXX.

SECTION 1.  There is hereby established a special commission to study data related to programs that provide joint support for stable housing and to increase economic self-sufficiency. The commission will examine various program components, program outcomes including changes in earned income, education, and state and federally funded services, and the feedback of participants and those not enrolled in programs, for the purpose of producing a report with recommendations for criteria for  economic mobility and financial stability programs for families and individuals with extremely low incomes, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, that can be offered across the Commonwealth. The Commission shall examine the impacts of cliff effects on households with low incomes and determine ways to adjust assistance in response to changes in income, including automatic adjustments tied to minimum wage increases.

SECTION 2. The commission shall be chaired by the House and Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities. The commission shall consist of, but not limited to, the following members or their designees:

The secretary of administration and finance; secretary of education; the secretary of the department of labor and workforce development; the undersecretary of the department of housing and community development, the commissioner of the department of transitional assistance; the president of the senate; the speaker of the house of representatives; the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on housing; and the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on labor and workforce development.

One representative of each of the following organizations, but not limited to these organizations: Abt Associates, Cambridge Housing Authority, Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance, Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association, Compass Collaborative, CONNECT, Economic Mobility Pathways, Father Bill’s & Mainspring, Franklin County Regional Housing & Redevelopment Authority, Homes for Families, Housing Assistance Corporation, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Organizations, Massachusetts Association for Community Action, Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, Massachusetts Union of Public Housing Tenants, Metro Housing Boston, MIDAS Collaborative, Regional Housing Network of Massachusetts, United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, the University of Massachusetts Center for Social Policy, Way Finders.

SECTION 3. The commission shall file a report of its findings and recommendations together with drafts of legislation necessary to carry out the recommendations, with the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives, the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on housing, and the house and senate committees on ways and means within 6 months of the passage of this act.".

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #700 to H4400

Economic Mobility and Stability Program