Budget Amendment ID: FY2019-S4-797-R1

Redraft ECO 797

Economic Mobility & Stability Program

Messrs. Eldridge and Lewis, Ms. L'Italien and Mr. Moore moved that the proposed new text be amended by adding the following sections:-

SECTION XX.  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 ineligibility for benefits and programs due to minor income increases 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 XX. The commission shall consist of the following members or their designees:

(a) The chairs of the joint committee on children, families, and persons with disabilities, who shall serve as co-chairs; the secretary of administration and finance; the secretary of education; the secretary 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 senate minority leader; the speaker of the house of representatives; the minority leader of the house of representatives; the chairs of the joint committee on housing; and the chairs of the joint committee on labor and workforce development.

(b) One representative of each of the following 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, and Way Finders.

SECTION XX. The commission shall report its findings and recommendations together with drafts of legislation necessary to carry out the recommendations to the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives, the joint committee on housing, and the senate and house committees on ways and means no later than December 31, 2018.