Massachusetts Senate Passes its Final FY2018 Budget - May 26, 2017

Post date
June 7, 2017

On May 25th, the Massachusetts Senate passed its final FY2018 budget recommendation. The $40.8 billion budget provides strong support for many affordable housing, homelessness prevention, and community development programs.

For an overview of proposed funding levels in the House and Senate budgets, please click here.

The Senate budget provided the following support for CHAPA’s budget priorities:

  • Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP): The Senate proposed $100 million for MRVP, an increase of $13.5 million over FY2017, which will support up to 300 new vouchers. The Senate made several program changes including increasing eligibility for MRVP from 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI) to 80% of AMI. The budget also directs 75% of vouchers to be targeted to extremely low-income households who earn only 30% of AMI. These changes address cliff effects by allowing families to increase their incomes without the threat of completely losing their vouchers before they become economically self-sufficient. The budget also authorized the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to create a voucher management system and directs DHCD to distribute new vouchers by August 1st, which will help improve the administration of MRVP.
     
  • Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP): The Senate authorized $5.5 million for AHVP, an increase of $900,000 over FY2017.
     
  • Public Housing Operating Subsidy: The Senate proposed $64.5 million for public housing operating subsidies, level funding the program.
     
  • Public Housing Reform: The Senate provided $1,100,000 for this program, a $300,000 increase over the previous year. The Senate also included language to authorize a centralized wait-list for public housing. An amendment sponsored by Sen. Joseph Boncore passed during budget debate, providing the program with the additional $300,000 and the authorization language.
     
  • Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT): The Senate authorized $18.5 million for RAFT, a $5.5 million increase over FY2017.
     
  • HomeBASE: The Senate funded HomeBASE with $32.6 million, an increase of over $600,000 from the previous year. The Senate continued a program within HomeBASE that allows families in domestic violence or substance abuse shelters or those participating in sober living programs to access HomeBASE if a family is otherwise eligible. An amendment sponsored by Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz removed the $300,000 cap on this program. An amendment sponsored by Sen. Vinny deMacedo also reduced the 24-month bar on families who have been terminated from the program to a 12-month bar from the program.
     
  • Foreclosure Prevention Counseling: The Senate proposed $2.35 million for foreclosure and housing counseling services, level funding the program. An amendment sponsored by Senator Jamie Eldridge guarantees that at least $1.3 million will be used for these counseling services.
     
  • Housing Court Expansion: The Senate included language that authorizes the statewide expansion of Housing Court and provides $1 million for the expansion.
     
  • Tenancy Preservation Program (TPP): The Senate level funded TPP with $500,000.
     
  • Housing Consumer Education Centers (HCECs): The Senate authorized $2.97 million for HCECs, with $180,000 from the line-item dedicated to earmarks. Not taking into account the earmarks, this is still $500,000 more for HCECs over the previous year.
     
  • Home & Healthy for Good (HHG): The Senate proposed $2 million for HHG, level funding the program.
     
  • Mass. Access Affordable Housing Registry (MassAccess): The Senate authorized level-funding of $80,000 for MassAccess.
     
  • Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Housing & Services: The Senate included $2.5 million for Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Housing & Services, an increase of $500,000 over FY2017.
     
  • Community Preservation Trust Fund: Through an amendment sponsored by Sen. Cynthia Creem, the Senate included an outside section in the budget authorizing an increase to the deeds recording fee to strengthen the Community Preservation Trust Fund in order to provide an increased state-match to communities that have enacted the Community Preservation Act.
     
  • Housing Stability and Economic Mobility Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): The Senate budget contained an outside section that directs he Secretaries of Housing and Economic Development, Health and Human Services, Labor and Workforce Development, and Education to work togethter to coordinate services to extremely low income households in order to support housing stability and economic mobility.

CHAPA thanks Senate President Stan Rosenberg, Senate Ways and Means Chair Karen Spilka, and Housing Committee Chair Joseph Boncore for their leadership developing the FY2018 Senate budget and providing strong support for affordable housing resources.

We also thank all our amendment sponsors, including Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, Sen. Cynthia Creem, Sen. Vinny deMacedo, Sen. Eileen Donoghue, Sen. Jamie Eldridge, Sen. Jennifer Flanagan, Sen. Jason Lewis, and Sen. James Welch.

Finally, thanks to all the Senators for co-sponsoring the amendments as well as the entire Legislature for their strong support for affordable housing.

The FY2018 state budget process now moves to a Conference Committee who will reconcile the differences between the House and Senate budget proposals in time for the start of FY2018 on July 1st. The members of the Conference Committee are Rep. Brian Dempsey, Sen. Karen Spilka, Rep. Stephen Kulik, Sen. Sal DiDomenico, Rep. Todd Smola, and Sen. Vinny deMacedo.