Late last Thursday evening (or technically very early Friday morning), the Senate passed its final FY 2025 budget. When the Legislature began consideration of the budget earlier this spring, many had grave concerns about the impact that lower than expected revenue figures would have on housing line items. Fortunately, both the House and the Senate protected these programs from funding cuts, and in most cases increased their bottom lines.
Also encouraging from both the House and the Senate were the rejections of amendments that would have delayed or weakened the MBTA Communities Act. CHAPA applauds the Legislature for its continued support of this important law.
Now that the dust has settled on the public debates in the House and Senate, action moves to a conference committee made up of three members from each branch who will work to iron out differences between the two versions. The Conference Committee will be aiming to complete its work before the end of June so the Legislature can get a final budget on the Governor’s desk before the end of the current fiscal year on June 30.
Below is a chart tracking funding proposals and requests throughout this process. The underlined and bolded figures in the final two columns indicate the higher funding proposal between the House and Senate where there is a difference between the two:
| Line-Item | Program | FY24 Budget | CHAPA FY2025 Requests | Governor’s FY25 Budget Proposal | House Final | Senate Final |
| 7004-9024 | Mass. Rental Voucher Program | $179,597,023 | $300,000,000 | $219,038,574 | $219,038,574 | $219,038,574 |
| 7004-9030 | Alternative Housing Voucher Program | $16,863,078 | $30,000,000 | $16,355,696 | $16,355,696 | $16,355,696 |
| 7004-9316 | Residential Assistance for Families in Transition | $190,000,000 | $300,000,000 | $197,406,952 | $197,406,952 | $197,406,952 |
| 7004-9005 | Public Housing Operating | $107,000,000 | $189,000,000 | $112,000,000 | $112,000,000 | $115,000,000 |
| 7004-3036 | Housing Consumer Education Centers | $10,474,000 | $12,000,000 | $8,774,000 | $8,774,000 | $8,974,000 |
| 7004-9007 | Public Housing Reform | $1,315,000 | $7,700,000 | $1,250,000 | $1,250,000 | $1,250,000 |
| 7004-0104 | Home & Healthy for Good | $8,890,000 | $8,890,000 | $8,390,000 | $8,890,000 | $8,890,000 |
| 7004-0108 | HomeBASE | $37,070,445 | $80,000,000 | $57,300,000 | $57,322,001 | $57,322,001 |
| 7006-0011 | Foreclosure & Housing Counseling | $3,050,000 | $3,050,000 | $1,500,000 | $2,800,000 | $1,500,000 |
| 7004-3045 | Tenancy Preservation Program | $2,042,755 | $2,000,000 | $2,042,755 | $2,042,755 | $2,042,755 |
| 4120-4001 | MassAccess Registry | $150,000 | $300,000 | $150,000 | $150,000 | $150,000 |
| 4000-0007 | Unaccompanied Homeless Youth | $11,000,000 | $15,000,000 | $10,545,850 | $10,545,850 | $10,545,850 |
| 7004-0106 | New Lease for Homeless Families | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 |
| 0321-1800 | Access to Counsel Program | – | $3,500,000 | $3,500,000 | $2,500,000 | – |
| NEW | Fair Housing Trust Fund | – | $2,500,000 | – | – | – |