Budget Amendment ID: FY2027-S4-529

EHS 529

Personal Needs Allowance

Ms. Lovely moved that the proposed new text be amended by inserting after section ___ the following section: -

Section XX,

Section 1 of chapter 117A of the general laws, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended, by striking out the second paragraph, and inserting in place thereof, the following new paragraph:

Any person (i) who is eligible for assistance under the provisions of this chapter, (ii) who is not maintaining his or her own home, and (iii) who is receiving care in a licensed nursing home, a licensed chronic hospital, a licensed rest home or an approved public medical institution, shall retain an amount not less than seventy-two dollars and eighty cents of their monthly income for clothing, personal needs allowance, and leisure time activities. If there is no such income, or if such income is less than seventy-two dollars and eighty cents or such higher amount established the general appropriation bill, the recipient shall be paid the difference between such income and the amount for personal needs allowance established by the most recent fiscal year budget, provided further, that the personal needs allowance shall be increased annually thereafter by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton area, as published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The provisions of this section shall be effective on July 1, 2027.