by iwd Tina | May 28, 2024 | Housing News
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 |
– |
– |
– |
by iwd Tina | May 20, 2024 | Housing News
On Tuesday, the Senate is scheduled to begin its consideration of the FY 2025 state operating budget. Earlier this month, senators filed 1,100 amendments to the Senate Ways and Means proposal, including CHAPA’s priority amendments below. Please contact your senator and ask them to support the inclusion of these provisions in the final Senate budget that is expected to pass later this week:
#155 – Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (Sen. Feeney)
Directs $500,000 to the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance to provide technical assistance and engage in resources development and systems work to advance housing solutions to end homelessness; increases the total funding for the Home and Healthy for Good program by the same amount.
#208 – Saving Toward Affordable and Sustainable Homeownership (STASH) Program (Sen. Crighton)
Directs $750,000 for the STASH Program to support first-generation homebuyers.
#218 – Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) (Sen. Lovely)
Codifies MRVP in statute and makes improvements to the program, including deepening affordability for renters, improving renter safety, improving data collection, and increasing administrative fees to cover costs associated with running the program for regional housing agencies and housing authorities.
#240 – Improvements to the RAFT (Residential Assistance for Families in Transition) Homelessness Prevention Program (Sen. Gomez)
Adjusts RAFT guidelines by making additional funds available to administrating agencies to resolve housing crises, and eliminates the need for a utility shut-off notice, a notice to quit, or a summary process summons and complaint to access RAFT.
#272 – Housing Authorities (Sen. Edwards)
Increases public housing operating funding by $2 million to $117 million.
#292 – Homebuyer Consumer Counseling (Sen. Eldridge)
Makes a modest investment in a program that has proven to be a crucial tool for keeping people in their homes by providing high-quality homeowner education and foreclosure counseling services.
#323 – Improvements to HomeBASE (Sen. Jehlen)
Adjusts guidelines for HomeBASE to make short-term housing transition benefits available for 12-month renewable allotments to re-housed families, allows for renewals for eligible families beyond 3 years, if necessary, eases certain current spending limitations to keep families housed, and continues the prior appropriation.
#906 – Housing Assistance for People in Reentry (Sen. Gomez)
Increases funding for the line item to $9 million to provide rental assistance for returning citizens.
by iwd Tina | May 13, 2024 | Housing News
Our CHAPA Fair Housing Symposium: Advancing Responsible Fair Housingtook place on April 25th. Information on this year’s symposium, including bios, links, slides, resources, and more, can be found on our Event Page. The event was recorded and can be found on our YouTube channel, where you can view it in full or by presentation/section. A summary of the event and resources shared can be foundhere.
We are so appreciative to our amazing presenters, panelists and moderators.
- Dr. Michael Akinwumi, Chief Responsible AI Officer,NFHA
- Jamie Williamson, District Director,U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Dr. James Jennings, Lead Researcher, Professor Emeritus, Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, Tufts University
- Kadineyse Paz, Assistant Researcher, Neighborhood Fellow, Tufts University
- Cashauna Hill, Executive Director,The Redress Movement
We were so pleased to award this year’sFair Housing Champions:
If you would like to nominate a 2025 recipient, please complete this form, we would love to hear from you.
There is much work to do ahead of us. Please consider supporting our CHAPA legislative prioritiesand furthermore joining our Fair Housing Committee. This Committee meets periodically, bringing together diverse stakeholders from across the state to intentionally advance fair housing and serve as a place to share information, work on legislation, coordinate efforts, and educate ourselves throughout the year.
During the month of April, we shared many resources including books, tools, articles, videos, and more on our social media. If you missed any of them, a summarized list can be found here. We hope that you check them out and share them broadly.
If you are interested in additional learning opportunities, we invite you to participate in the Confronting the History of Housing Discriminationlearning session we host in partnership with JALSA, as well as our Affordable Housing 101sessions.
In order to responsibly advance fair housing in our work we must do so proactively and intentionally. Let us continue to work together to find the solutions to advance and ensure fair housing for all.
Special thank you to our Sponsor for the Event:
by iwd Tina | May 8, 2024 | Housing News
Last month, the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, along with members of the Housing Advisory Council, kicked off a series of listening sessions across Massachusetts to inform the development of a Statewide Housing Plan. To date, EOHLC has held four sessions in Lynn, Springfield, Dartmouth, and Brockton. Between now and June 4, there will be ten more, including two virtual opportunities to provide input.
For a complete list of all the sessions as well as a link to register for specific sessions, click here.
by iwd Tina | May 7, 2024 | Housing News
On Tuesday, the Senate Ways and Means Committee released its budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2025. Overall, the bill mostly mirrored the version that passed the House last month – MRVP funding was the same at $219 million ($40 million more than FY 24), RAFT received $197 million ($7.4 million more than FY 24), and HomeBASE came in at $57 million ($20 million more than FY 24).
Encouragingly, Senate Ways and Means proposed $3 million more than the House for the Public Housing Operating line item – $115 million, which is an increase of $8 million from last year.
Still, there remain items of concern. Access to Counsel, which was included for the first time in the House budget with funding of $2.5 million, was absent from the Senate budget. And funding for the Alternative Housing Voucher Program is $500,000 less than FY 24.
Senators have until the end of this week to file amendments to the Senate Ways and Means Proposal. The full Senate is expected to debate the budget during the week of May 20.
The Building Blocks Committee will meet on Thursday, May 9 at 1pm to discuss priority amendments and advocacy strategy. If you are interested in joining that meeting, click here to register and for the Zoom link.
by iwd Tina | Apr 29, 2024 | Housing News
Last week, the House of Representatives passed its FY 2025 budget. Representatives filed nearly 1500 amendments but less than $110 million in funding above the level proposed by the House Ways and Means Committee was approved.
Although CHAPA’s priority amendments were not included in the final House budget, housing accounts generally fared well considering difficult revenue projections. The final House budget includes:
- A $40 million increase over FY 24 for MRVP (7004-9024)
- A $5 million increase over FY 24 for Public Housing Operations (7004-9005)
- A $20 million increase over FY 24 for HomeBASE (7004-0108)
- A $7 million increase over FY 24 for RAFT (7004-9316)
- Inclusion and funding for an Access to Counsel Program (0321-1800)
Also encouraging was the rejection of three amendments that would have delayed or weakened the MBTA Communities Act. This landmark law paves the way for multifamily zoning in nearly 200 municipalities in proximity to public transportation. CHAPA applauds the House for its continued commitment to this measure that is an important too to address Massachusetts’ current housing challenges.
There is still work to be done, and it was disappointing that the House budget includes $500,000 less for the Alternative Housing Voucher Program (7004-9030) as compared to FY 24.
The budget process now moves to the Senate, which is expected to take up its work on the FY 25 spending plan in the next few weeks. Traditionally, that branch completes its consideration before Memorial Day.
