{"AmendmentNumber":"401","ParentBillNumber":"S3178","Bill":null,"Sponsor":{"Id":"SND0","Name":"Sal N. DiDomenico","Type":1,"Details":"https://malegislature.gov/api/GeneralCourts/194/LegislativeMembers/SND0","ResponseDate":"2026-07-23T23:08:51.357"},"Category":null,"Action":"Adopted","RollCall":[],"Title":"Creating the Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments and Households Fund (The ENOUGH Act)","Branch":"Senate","RedraftNumber":1,"IsFurther":false,"GeneralCourtNumber":194,"Text":"Messrs. DiDomenico, Keenan, Collins and Eldridge and Ms. Howard move that the proposed new text be amended by adding after section 9 the following section:-\r\n\"SECTION 9A. Said chapter 23B is hereby further amended by adding the following 2 sections:-\r\nSection 37. (a) There is hereby established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate non-budgeted special revenue fund, to be known as the Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments and Households Fund, which shall be administered by the executive office of housing and livable communities. The fund shall be credited with: (i) revenue from appropriations or other money authorized or transferred by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) funds from public and private sources, including, but not limited to, gifts, grants and donations and settlements received by the commonwealth that are designated to be credited to the fund; and (iii) interest earned on such revenues. Any unexpended balance in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall remain available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years and shall not revert to the General Fund. No expenditure shall be made from the fund that shall cause the fund to be in a deficit at any point.\r\n(b) Monies in the fund shall be expended, without further appropriation, for the executive office to fund grants under subsection (c) and support partner organizations receiving grants with planning, operations and implementation of services. Monies in the fund may be used to provide direct or third-party administrative support to grantees, including technical assistance, capacity building and program evaluation.\r\n(c) The executive office of housing and livable communities shall develop a grant program to support community-driven, place-based strategies and programs aimed at reducing poverty and increasing community health, safety and well-being. The grant program shall support collaborative efforts to improve outcomes and opportunities for children and families living in the state’s most distressed neighborhoods and to transform those communities by aligning housing and community development investments with access to a community-based continuum of high-quality education, services, enrichment and practices based on the best available evidence that will address needs from birth through college and career; and shall include, but not be limited to: (i) reducing concentrated poverty and expanding economic opportunity for people with low incomes; (ii) providing cradle-to-career access to high-quality education, training and care; (iii) connecting residents to jobs and in-demand occupations; (iv) enabling access to quality early education and care, affordable housing and health care, including reproductive, maternal, behavioral and mental health care; (v) providing support for vulnerable populations such as people with disabilities, justice-involved youth and adults, and families involved with the child welfare system; (vi) connecting individuals and families to appropriate benefits and support programs; and (vii) supporting students in attending and succeeding in K-12 school environments through the expansion of integrated student support services and enrichment programs. In developing and administering the grant program, the executive office may consult with individuals that have expertise as subject matter experts, providers or people with lived experience in a wide array of issues and areas that affect people in poverty.\r\n(d) To be eligible for the grant program established under subsection (b), entities shall form place-based partnerships shall include, but shall not be limited to: (i) non-profit organizations; (ii) institutions of higher education; (iii) public schools; (iv) school districts; (v) municipalities; and (vi) community-based organizations.\r\n(e) The executive office of housing and livable communities shall develop a transparent and competitive process for the awarding of grants. The executive office shall prioritize applicants serving communities that have experienced long-term economic distress, have demonstrated a commitment to cross-sector collaboration and partnerships and show demonstrated engagement with community stakeholders and people with lived experience in their proposal.\r\n(f) Grants shall be provided through the following tracks: (i) one-year partnership development grants, which shall establish the foundation for proposed place-based strategy; two-year plan development grants, which shall use a formal partnership structure to conduct a shared community needs assessment to develop comprehensive action plans; and (iii) two-to-four-year implementation grants, which shall launch approved action plans, leverage additional funding streams, conduct progress monitoring and continuous quality improvement.  Implementation grants may be extended up to two years after the initial grant cycle provided accountability and data supports grant extension.\r\n(g) Annually, not later than October 1, the executive office of housing and livable communities shall submit a report to the governor, the clerks of the senate and house of representatives and the senate and house committees on ways and means on the administration of the Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments and Households Fund, which shall include, but not be limited to: (i) grant recipients and amounts received; (ii) the expenditures made from the fund; (iii) the anticipated funding obligation for the next fiscal year; and (iv) summaries of funded projects. The report shall be made publicly available on the executive office’s website.”.\r\nSection 38. There shall be an engaging neighborhoods, organizations, unions, governments and households (ENOUGH) fund advisory committee, the function of which shall be advisory to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities in connection with the management, operation and awarding of the fund. The committee shall consist of the following members: the secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities or her designee; the secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services or her designee; the secretary of the Executive Office of Education or her designee; the secretary of the Executive Office of Economic Development or her designee; the secretary of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development or her designee; the secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation or her designee; the commissioner of the Department of Transitional Assistance or her designee; the president of the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency or her designee; the director of rural affairs or her designee; 8 members to be appointed by the governor who shall collectively have expertise as subject matter experts, providers, or people with lived experience in a wide array of issues and areas that affect people in poverty, including but not limited to cash benefits and other income supports, tax credits and tax assistance, asset development and wealth building, early education and out-of-school time, K-12 education including vocational education, higher education, workforce development and skills training, labor unions and apprenticeships, immigration and refugee settlement, housing and homelessness, nutrition and food security, public health, maternal health and infant support, early intervention, transportation, environmental justice, health care, behavioral and mental health care, trauma-sensitive intervention and violence prevention, social services, child welfare, digital equity, justice-involved and re-entry services, legal services, and services for special populations such as children and adults with disabilities, the LGBTQIA+ community, veterans, elders, and youth aging out of foster care. All members shall be appointed for a term of 5 years, may be reappointed, and shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed from the fund for ordinary and reasonable in-state travel expenses. The committee may meet as often as the members may determine, but shall meet at least bi-annually, or at such other intervals as may be established by the agency in order to advise the agency, or such other qualified organization with which the agency contracts, with respect to the fund and to make any advisory recommendations with respect thereto to the agency. All grant applications recommended by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities shall be reviewed and approved in consultation with the advisory committee.\"\r\n"}