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Emergency Assistance Supplemental Budget
Status
Signed Into Law
An Act making appropriations for fiscal year 2024 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects
The Massachusetts Legislature passed a supplemental budget to address the state's emergency shelter system, providing $251 million in funding for shelter costs, workforce training, and rehousing efforts. Key provisions include limits on shelter stays, creation of a commission to study future needs, and making certain pandemic-era policies permanent, such as outdoor dining and cocktails-to-go.
Highlights
- $251 million allocated for Fiscal Year 2024 shelter costs, including support for workforce training, family welcome centers, rehousing,and English language learning.
- Families in the shelter system granted a maximum stay of nine months, with possible extensions based on specific circumstances like employment, medical conditions, or domestic violence.*
- $10 million allocated for workforce training programs and a tax credit for companies that offer job training to shelter participants.
- The bill made permanent certain COVID-era measures, including outdoor dining, cocktails-to-go, and expanded eligibility for nursing education programs.
*Please note that further programmatic changes
to the emergency shelter system were made in
2025 (see Chapter 1 of the Acts of 2025)
"Negotiating the differences between our two respective bodies is never an easy task, but in the end, we were able to reach a compromise agreement on the Fiscal Year 2024 supplemental budget that ensures our collective response to the ongoing emergency assistance shelter crisis is responsible, humane, and sustainable."
- Senator Michael J. Rodrigues, (D-Westport) Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means
- Senator Michael J. Rodrigues, (D-Westport) Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means
