• Increase funding for the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition homelessness prevention program (RAFT, Line Item 7004-9316) to $180.6 million

• Increase funding for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP, Line Item 7004-9024) to $173.2 million

• Increase funding for the Emergency Assistance family shelter program for families with children (EA, Line Item 7004-0101) to $324.1 million

• Increase funding for housing and services for unaccompanied youth (Line Item 4000-0007) to $10.5 million

• Make Chapter 257 eviction protections permanent (Outside Section 28)

• Amendment #1483, "Improvements to the RAFT Homelessness Program," from Representative Decker. This amendment would prohibit DHCD from imposing a notice to quit requirement on households seeking assistance with back rent and move RAFT benefits upstream; require direct-to-tenant payments in cases where the landlord is not cooperative with the RAFT application and documentation process; direct DHCD to provide forward rent payments for households without rental arrearages; and direct DHCD to provide multiple months of assistance as long as the award would not exceed the 12-month benefit cap.

• Amendment #842, “Residential Assistance for Families in Transition", from Representative Howard. This amendment would increase RAFT funding by almost $80 million so as to provide $250 million for RAFT in FY24.

• Amendment #1565, "Improvements to Emergency Assistance for Children and Families," from Representative Decker. This amendment would restore the FY22 language to establish an ombudsperson unit to assist families applying for and participating in EA and HomeBASE; eliminate the EA asset limit; direct DHCD to make every effort to place families in their own room while in shelter to increase privacy and dignity and improve public health; and improve tracking and reporting language. The tracking and reporting requirements in the amendment largely would continue requirements that already are in place in the FY23 budget. In addition, the amendment would establish due dates for the reports to allow the Legislature to respond in a timely fashion to changing trends in EA data, and it would require public posting of the reports to maximize transparency.

• Amendment #1219, "Prevent Seniors from Experiencing Homelessness," from Representative Uyterhoeven. This amendment would add $10 million to the budget for a short-term housing bridge subsidy program for low-income older adults at risk of housing instability.

• Amendment #974, "Housing and Services for Unaccompanied Youth Experiencing Homelessness," from Representative O'Day. This amendment would increase funding for the youth homelessness line item by almost $1.5 million, so as to provide $12 million in FY24.

• Amendment #498, "Improvements to HomeBASE," from Representative Barber. This amendment would make critical changes to the Department of Housing and Community Development's HomeBASE rehousing program for families with children who have experienced homelessness. This amendment would increase the value of HomeBASE subsidies to $30,000 over 2 years, up from the proposed level of $20,000 over 2 years. This increase is critical given the high cost of housing in every region of the Commonwealth, which has made it very difficult for families to lease up or stay leased up with HomeBASE assistance. The amendment also would allow for renewals beyond two years at $15,000/year for eligible households still seeking permanent, affordable housing. In addition, the amendment would eliminate the income eligibility limits for families once they are enrolled in HomeBASE and allow families to maximize their incomes without fear of the cliff effect. Finally, the amendment would carry over any unspent FY23 HomeBASE funds into FY24.

• Amendment #843, "Mass Rental Voucher Program," from Representative Howard. This amendment would increase funding for MRVP from $173,247,567 to $250,000,000.

• Amendment #1023, "Lift Kids Out of Deep Poverty," from Representative Decker. This amendment would increase monthly TAFDC grants by 20%, not including the rental allowance; increase TAFDC line item funding by $73.2 million to $497,469,513; increase monthly EAEDC grants by 20%; increase EAEDC line item funding by $27.4 million to $224,555,514; and add two outside sections to increase TAFDC and EAEDC grants by 20% each year until they reach half of the federal poverty level.

• Amendment #1011, "Identification for youth and adults experiencing homelessness," from Representative O'Day. This amendment would add $75,000 in the line item to provide free Mass IDs to people experiencing homelessness. It also would add an outside section to establish the fee waiver and documentation standards for youth and adults experiencing homelessness to access standard Mass IDs.

• Amendment #392,"Local Housing Authorities," from Representative Sena. The amendment would increase funding for public housing operating subsidies by $10 million to $112 million.

• Amendment #1137, "Access to Counsel," from Representative Rogers and Representative Day. This amendment would add a statewide Access to Counsel Program to be administered by the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, funded at $7 million. The program would provide legal representation to low-income tenants and certain low-income owner-occupants in the eviction process and fund outreach to eligible individuals to educate them about their rights. The amendment also would add an outside section to establish the access to counsel program in statute.

• Amendment #1483 on improving the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) homelessness prevention program and Amendment #842 on increasing RAFT funding

• Amendment #1565 on improving the Emergency Assistance (EA) family shelter program and establishing an ombudsperson unit to assist families applying for and participating in the EA and HomeBASE programs

• Amendment #1219 on creating a $10 million bridge subsidy program for low-income older adults at risk of housing instability.

• Amendment #974 on increasing funding for housing and services for unaccompanied youth and young adults experiencing homelessness

• Amendment #498 on the improving the HomeBASE program

• Amendment #881 on increasing funding for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP)

• Amendment #1023 on increasing monthly grants for participants in the Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children program (EAEDC) and Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC) cash assistance programs

• Amendment #1011 on providing free Mass IDs to youth and adults experiencing homelessness

• Amendment #392 on increasing public housing operating subsidies

• Amendment #1137 on creating an access to counsel program for low-income tenants and certain low-income owner-occupants in the eviction process