Bill > H145

This bill aims to improve emergency housing assistance for children and families experiencing homelessness. The key provisions are: 1. The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) must provide emergency housing assistance, including their own room or rooms with beds for sleeping, to eligible families who have an immediate need, even if they have not spent a night in a public or private place not designed for regular sleeping accommodation. 2. DHCD must promptly respond to requests for emergency housing assistance on the same business day, either by offering shelter placement or generating a written denial with an explanation of the reasons and the right to appeal. 3. DHCD is prohibited from denying or terminating assistance based solely on the amount of a family's assets, although income generated by those assets may be counted as income. 4. The bill establishes an ombudsperson unit within the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development to act as an independent mediator and advocate for applicants and participants in the emergency assistance and short-term housing transition programs. 5. The ombudsperson unit is required to annually report on the requests received, their resolution, and the demographics of the requestors, and the joint committees on Ways and Means and Housing must hold oversight hearings to discuss the data and the unit's efficacy.

Health and Social Services

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/H145