Amendment #602 to H5150

Assistance for In-Need Families

Mr. Cabral of New Bedford moves to amend the bill in section 2B, in item 1599-2040, in line 33, by inserting after “manner” the following: “and provided further, that not less than $10,000,000 shall be expended for grants to community foundations to provide support to individuals and households throughout the commonwealth who are experiencing severe economic hardships due to the 2019 novel coronavirus; provided further, that grants shall be distributed equitably among the community foundations based on the following factors: (i) population of individuals living in poverty in the area served by the foundation; (ii) limited availability of federal pandemic-related relief funds that provide direct emergency financial assistance to individuals or households served by the foundation; (iii) pandemic-related public health impact on the region served by the foundation; (iv) population of individuals with unmet economic needs resulting from the 2019 novel coronavirus; and (vi) geographic area and the number of gateway municipalities, as defined in section 3A of chapter 23A of the General Laws, or cities with high proportions of low-income and non-English or limited English speaking  populations served by the foundation; provided further, that community foundations receiving grants shall issue request for proposals to community organizations to provide direct economic support for costs related to meeting basic human needs, such as housing and utility support and food security, to low-income impacted individuals and households with no, or very limited, access to sources of economic relief; provided further, that community foundations receiving grants shall evaluate community organizations applying based on their: (a) history of serving low-income and non-English or limited English speaking and historically underserved communities; (b) history of serving populations whose economic hardship has been exacerbated by the 2019 novel coronavirus; (c) ability to conduct outreach to identify individuals and households that qualify for assistance; and (d) ability to establish a simplified application 10 of 39 process; provided further, that community foundations receiving grants shall work with the executive office and subgrantees to develop and implement a reporting process to ensure that financial assistance is directed to the individuals and households most impacted by the 2019 novel coronavirus; provided further, that if an area, city or town is determined to be unserved by a community foundation, the executive office shall work directly with community organizations to distribute grants providing direct aid to individuals and households; and provided further, that the executive office shall, to the extent feasible, seek out philanthropic and other private funds necessary to match contributions equal to $1 for every $1 contributed by this item; and provided further that the federal reimbursement for any expenditure from this item shall not be less than 100%,” and in said item by striking out the figures “$50,000,001” and inserting in place thereof the figures “$60,000,001”.

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #602 to H5150

Assistance for In-Need Families