House, Senate approve plan to cap family shelter stays at 9 months and up budget by $251 million

The House voted 117-36 and the Senate 29-9 to approve a supplemental budget that will steer $251 million more into the family shelter system and calling for new limits on how long families may stay in shelters.

The agreement announced Wednesday afternoon would pull another $251 million from the so-called Transitional Escrow Account to help pay for fiscal 2024 shelter system costs, with another $175 million from the fund available in the budget year that starts July 1.

It also imposes a new nine-month limit on how long families can stay in the state's emergency shelters, with limited extensions or waivers available.

House Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz introduced the compromise bill in the House, saying the issues taken up in it are "not easy ones."

"With the federal government completely missing in action on the migrant crisis, we are alone in confronting this challenge. The changes that are being offered in this bill would still leave the commonwealth with by far the most generous length of stay in the nation, with places like New York City and Chicago measuring caps in days, not months," Michlewitz said. "By making these temporary adjustments, we will ensure the sustainability of the right to shelter law here in the commonwealth for years to come."

While Michlewitz celebrated the generosity of the Massachusetts shelter system, Minority Leader Brad Jones said one could instead "lament the fact that we have the most generous situation in the country because we're paying the price for it." He called the conference committee report, which passed the House without a single Republican vote, "a funding bill to kind of keep the problem going in Massachusetts."

"When we pass this legislation today ... you're gonna find that we've laid out in excess of a billion dollars to address this issue. It is absolutely crowding out our ability to do any number of other things that we need, want and should do in the commonwealth. And it's unnecessary," Jones said.

He added that three of the four committees he represents were "actively talking about the overrides they need to do to provide essential services at the municipal level" and suggested additional dollars spent on the shelter system funds could be redirected to cities and towns.

All 25 House Republicans voted against the compromise bill, as did independent Rep. Susannah Whipps of Athol and 10 Democrats: Cambridge Rep. Mike Connolly, Taunton Rep. Carol Doherty, Dracut Rep. Colleen Garry, Leominster Rep. Natalie Higgins, Hull Rep. Joan Meschino, Tewksbury Rep. David Robertson, Pepperell Rep. Margaret Scarsdale, Acton Rep. Dan Sena, Somerville Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven, and Gardner Rep. Jonathan Zlotnik.

On the other side of the State House, the Senate's four Republicans opposed the measure joined by five Democrats: state Sens. Nick Collins of Boston, John Cronin of Fitchburg, Jamie Eldridge of Acton, Walter Timilty of Milton and John Velis of Westfield.

Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Michael Rodrigues, the lead negotiator from his chamber, called the final compromise "a fiscally responsible, humane and sustainable response to the ongoing emergency assistance shelter crisis."

"As we all know, the projected cost of the state's emergency shelter program is on an unsustainable trajectory, and there is no federal assistance in sight," Rodrigues said on the Senate floor. "Without action, it will continue to undercut the collective work we all have engaged in over these last few years to support our state's fiscal year."

"It's important to remember who we're talking about here, ultimately: families with young children, who deserve nothing more than our help and a path out of the shelter system and into self-sufficiency," he added.

Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr described the combined bottom line of about $426 million an "improvement" over the chamber's initial proposal, which would have made even more state savings available for shelter spending in fiscal 2025, but argued it fell short on reforms to the system such as prioritizing services for Massachusetts residents.

"It is heartening to see at one level that the House and the Senate are now poised to amend the right to shelter law," Tarr, a Gloucester Republican, said. "That being said, the question is: how best to amend the right to shelter law? While there are some changes here relative to the duration that a family could remain in shelter, the major elements of reform are left untouched."