BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey signed a $425 million bill Friday to fund the emergency shelter system through June and make temporary and permanent reforms to address the cost and security of the system.
The House and Senate took the last votes needed on the mid-year spending bill Wednesday with all Republicans in both chambers and a handful of Democrats (Reps. Colleen Garry of Dracut and David Robertson of Tewksbury, and Sens. John Velis of Westfield and Mark Montigny of New Bedford) opposed.
The new law is designed to recapitalize the system, which ran out of funds about a month ago, and to shrink its high costs and the number of families served by it. It features a shorter shelter stay limit, pared-down eligibility criteria, a cap on families the state will serve in 2026, stricter security measures, and more.
Healey’s office also released a 53-page assessment she had former Boston Police Department head Ed Davis undertake of the Emergency Assistance program’s security and security-related protocols. The administration said Davis and his firm The Edward Davis Company will now be retained “to assist with the implementation of the report’s recommendations, many of which are already underway.”
“We all know that urgent action is needed to lower the cost of the system and make sure it is a viable, safe and temporary option for Massachusetts families who have fallen on hard times,” Healey said. “We’re grateful for the hard work of the Legislature for passing this important bill and to Ed Davis and his team for their review of the security of our system – and we’re ready to get to work on implementation.”
Healey’s office said one of Davis’ “key recommendations” is to limit the state’s policy of presumptive eligibility, a mandate added to the EA system line item in 2005 requiring the state to place families based on self-attestations of eligibility. The supplemental budget Healey signed Friday addresses that by allowing the state to verify eligibility for EA benefits during the application process.
The Massachusetts Republican Party blasted the law soon after Healey signed it, saying its “reckless spending—pushed through under the guise of reform—does nothing to stem the flow of migrants into the state, nor does it improve the dangerous and unsustainable conditions in overcrowded shelters where crime has run rampant.”
“This is yet another example of Democrats prioritizing politics over public safety and fiscal responsibility,” MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale said. “They claim this supplemental budget includes reforms, but in reality, these so-called changes are purely for show. They fail to address the root cause of this crisis and leave Massachusetts taxpayers on the hook for billions.”
The announcement of Healey’s signing included new information on the status of the EA system that has been a major humanitarian and financial challenge for Massachusetts for the last two-plus years.
Almost 700 families exited the shelter system to stable housing in January, which the administration said was the highest number in more than a decade. The EA system currently serves about 5,800 families, a 22% decrease from the peak levels of 2023 and 2024. The number of hotel shelters, which the administration pledged to eliminate by the end of 2025, has been reduced by half in recent months.
Following an influx that led Healey to declare a state of emergency in August 2023, migrant families now account for less than a quarter of the EA system’s applicants. The Healey administration said that “more than 75 percent of families now seeking shelter are long-time Massachusetts families.”
The administration added that all “adult EA residents have now been CORI checked or will be terminated from the program if they do not consent.”
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