Bill > H1144

This bill aims to improve the regulation of vendors providing emergency housing assistance by requiring the department overseeing the program to notify the chief executive officer of the municipality where a family is placed in temporary shelter within 72 hours of placement. It also mandates that the department establish rules and regulations to ensure these vendors comply with various state codes, including the Massachusetts State Sanitary Code, Plumbing Code, Fuel Gas Code, Electrical Code, and Building Code, and any other laws governing safe and sanitary housing. Furthermore, the bill creates a process for municipal officials to report vendor noncompliance to the department and authorizes the department to impose fines for violations, with payments to noncompliant vendors withheld until issues are corrected. Additionally, it clarifies that occupancy of rooms in establishments like hotels and motels for the emergency housing program will be subject to local excise taxes, and it ensures that cities, towns, and regional school districts will be reimbursed by the commonwealth for the costs of transporting homeless students as required by the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.