Shelter funding, reform bill sent to Gov. Maura Healey

A bill pumping another $425 million into Massachusetts' overburdened emergency family shelter system landed on Gov. Maura Healey's desk Wednesday, more than three weeks after administration officials said they ran out of funding to pay providers for new services.

The House and Senate took the last votes needed on the mid-year spending bill that also outlines a suite of additional safety and eligibility changes.

A day after top Democrats reached an agreement on the final bill (H 61), the House approved it 127-23 and the Senate passed it 32-7. All Republicans in both chambers opposed the legislation, as did Democratic Reps. Colleen Garry of Dracut and David Robertson of Tewksbury, as well as Democrat Sens. John Velis of Westfield and Mark Montigny of New Bedford.

Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Michael Rodrigues said the final legislation is "very close" to the version his chamber approved two weeks ago, combining another round of funding with a series of reforms designed to increase safety and reduce caseloads in the system.

"It lowers the cap from nine months to six months," said Rodrigues. "It statutory-caps the number of families that can be in there to 4,000, which is the traditional, pre-migrant-inflow level. So I think it strikes a good balance."

The Westport Democrat also said he hopes not to need another mid-year injection in the next budget cycle.

"We're hoping that the number that we include in [the fiscal year] '26 annual budget will last the full year, because, you know, the well is dry," Rodrigues told reporters before the Senate vote.

City and state leaders are recognizing the reality and the need for adjustments.

"I'm pleased to see that they enacted the reforms that I proposed," Healey said.

"I know there are budget constraints all around that are very real," said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

But budget hawks remain skeptical of the state's approach.

"They're not going to change," said Paul Craney with Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. "The taxpayers will be on the hook for another bailout in six months."

Anti-homelessness advocates have blasted the changes that will limit eligibility for shelter, arguing that the state should instead dip into its more than $8 billion rainy-day savings account or find funds elsewhere to keep serving people in dire circumstances under the spirit of the "right-to-shelter" law.

Budget-writers and Healey underfunded the emergency shelter program in the annual state budget, forcing them to seek more money early in the 2025-2026 term.

Administration officials have said the last batch of funding ran out Jan. 31, leaving the state without resources to pay bills that came due after that date. They've also pointed out that there is a "lag" between the time that a provider submits a bill to the state and when the provider would typically expect to receive payment.

Officials said Wednesday that no payments to providers are behind schedule and that officials have not observed any impact on shelter services since funding expired.

"The administration had sufficient resources available to make provider payments for services delivered through the end of January," said Matt Murphy, a spokesperson for the Executive Office for Administration and Finance. "We are encouraged by the progress being made by the Legislature on our supplemental budget request and will continue to do all we can to ensure that services are not negatively impacted for families in our emergency assistance system."

Healey's fiscal 2026 annual budget bill proposes $325 million for the family shelter line item, about the same level as the fiscal 2025 budget that left accounts underfunded several months into the year.

The administration and lawmakers are hopeful that reforms, including a 4,000-family cap on shelters for calendar year 2026 and a six-month stay limit, will reduce eligibility and rein in costs closer to historical levels.

Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr said the updated spending bill "continues to miss major opportunities for significant reform" to the shelter system, and he lamented that top House and Senate Democrats struck a private agreement on the language without convening a conference committee for more formal talks.

House and Senate Democrats on Wednesday also rolled out committee assignments for the term that dictate which lawmakers will review which topics — plus hefty stipend pay for those picked as committee chairs, vice chairs and in leadership slots.

The appointments came 56 days into the term, the latest into a two-year session in at least the past decade.

Asked if work on the shelter funding bill affected the timing, Rodrigues called it "a pretty heavy-duty piece of legislation to start the term on."

"But we were ready for it, we knew it was coming, so it did not surprise us," he said.

Former Republican Rep. Geoff Diehl mentioned on social media Tuesday that he'd been talking to Rep. Nick Boldyga, who was at the State House for a House session focused on operating rules.

"We laughed that DC has already affirmed most of Trump's cabinet and has a budget teed up. MA? Still at the starting line, 3 months after the election," Diehl wrote on X.

Rodrigues called the measure a compromise aimed at stability.

"You end up someplace in the middle trying to reach a balance," said Rodrigues. "You get those at the extreme ends of the fulcrum disappointed."