Bill > H4582

This bill makes supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2024, totaling $266 million, to address various needs including settlements, judgments, and the humanitarian crisis related to housing. * **Office of the Comptroller:** $15,000,000 from the General Fund for settlements and judgments. * **Emergency Housing Assistance Program Reserve:** $251,000,000 from the Transitional Escrow Fund to support shelters and services for families seeking housing, including funding for training programs, family welcome centers, supplemental staffing, and resettlement agencies. This funding is available through fiscal year 2025. * **Training Programs and Tax Credits:** The bill establishes provisions for "approved training programs" and "authorized training programs" to help individuals in the emergency housing assistance program gain skills for the workforce. It also introduces tax credits for businesses that offer such training, with a total cap of $10,000,000 annually for these credits. Sections related to these tax credits are repealed effective January 1, 2026, or upon the end of the emergency shelter capacity limitation, whichever is sooner. * **Outdoor Table Service and Mixed Drinks:** The bill allows cities and towns to approve expanded outdoor table service for restaurants and allows establishments licensed to sell alcohol to sell mixed drinks for off-premises consumption under specific conditions, effective April 1, 2024. * **Nursing Practice:** Allows nursing graduates and senior nursing students to practice under supervision, effective March 31, 2024. * **Remote Transactions:** Amends laws to allow certain financial transactions to be conducted via synchronous real-time video conference or telephone, effective March 31, 2024. * **Extension of Certain Programs:** Extends the availability of certain funds related to the emergency housing assistance program to fiscal year 2025. * **Reporting Requirements:** Mandates various bi-weekly and monthly reports from executive offices regarding the emergency housing assistance program, shelter capacity, expenditures, and training program participation. * **Special Commission:** Establishes a special commission to study and make recommendations on the sustainability, efficiency, and effectiveness of the emergency housing assistance program, with a report due by December 1, 2024. * **Food Procurement:** Requires a competitive bidding process for food expenditures within the emergency housing assistance program. * **Transitional Escrow Fund Transfer:** Allows for a transfer of up to $175,000,000 from the Transitional Escrow Fund to support the emergency housing assistance program, effective July 1, 2024.