As the House gets ready to take up the economic development bill (House Bill 5007) (and while we await the imminent release of the Conference Committee's fiscal year 2023 budget proposal), please ask your State Representative to cosponsor and actively support several key amendments:

Amendment #652 would create a $250 million reserve fund to promote housing stability by supplementing the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program and providing access to RAFT-like benefits for a broader range of households. The reserve fund would serve households with incomes up to 80% of the area median income, provide up to 12 months of rental assistance, be available upstream, and require DHCD and the RAFT administering agencies to make direct payments to tenants in cases where the property owner is not responsive (incorporating elements of the federally funded Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which stopped taking applications in Massachusetts as of April 16th.)

Amendment #782 would expand access to standard Massachusetts ID cards for people experiencing homelessness by incorporating language from the Everyone Needs ID Mass ID access bill, House Bill 3515/Senate Bill 2612. It would establish a fee waiver process for youth and adults experiencing homelessness seeking standard Mass IDs; create a process for individuals experiencing homelessness to apply for standard Mass IDs if they cannot meet the existing criteria by allowing ID applicants who are experiencing homelessness to submit residency documentation from providers of homelessness services and state agencies under the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS); and expand upon the Registry of Motor Vehicles’ efforts to better serve people experiencing homelessness.

Amendment #178 would increase cash assistance grants for families and individuals participating in the Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children program (EAEDC) and the Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (TAFDC) by 10% in FY23. While grants have slowly increased over the past several years, the current grant levels remain below the deep poverty line (50% of the federal poverty guidelines) at a time when inflation and inequality take their toll on the lowest income families and individuals in the Commonwealth, with disproportionate impacts in communities of color.

Representatives' contact information can be found at https://malegislature.gov/Legislators/Members/House and www.wheredoivotema.com. The State House switchboard number is 617-722-2000. Please share any feedback or questions with kelly@mahomeless.org. If your Rep already has sponsored or cosponsored one or more of the highlighted amendments, please thank them. (You can see the current cosponsors by clicking on amendment numbers near the top of this alert.)

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