Bill
S 996
Creates a statewide reentry housing program prioritizing near-release and formerly incarcerated people, coordinating housing agencies and projects, with reporting and preferences.
Status and sponsors
- Primary sponsor: Senator Adam Gómez (Hampden).
- Filed in the Senate on 1/17/2025; introduced/read in March 2025 and currently listed as REFERRED TO FINANCE. A public hearing was scheduled for 07/23/2025.
- Note: the bill title indicates it “makes an appropriation,” but the provided text does not include a dollar amount.
Purpose / intent
- Establish a statewide, coordinated program to improve housing access and supports for people leaving incarceration (“returning citizens”) and formerly incarcerated persons.
- Require state housing programs, agencies and funded projects to prioritize or give preference to people about to be released from correctional facilities and to formerly incarcerated persons.
Key provisions and changes
1. New reentry program (Chapter 23B, new §31)
- Creates a “reentry and formerly incarcerated persons program” administered by the department (the department named in chapter 23B — the housing department). The department is designated the central coordinating agency.
- Requires coordination with the Department of Correction, the Office of Probation and the Parole Board.
- Program responsibilities:
- Help incarcerated people understand housing options before and after release.
- Help them find pathways to short‑term and permanent housing.
- Help them access financial supports (e.g., state housing vouchers).
- Mandates development of tools and outcome measures (surveys, guidelines, measurable goals) and partnerships with community‑based organizations, prioritizing organizations that include affected populations in leadership.
- Requires outcome‑based measurements and annual reviews of program implementation and expenditures (including tax expenditures).
- Annual reporting to the joint committee on housing and joint committee on community development and small businesses (with clerks of House and Senate).
Who is affected
- Primary beneficiaries: incarcerated people nearing release and formerly incarcerated persons seeking stable housing.
- State agencies: Department of Housing (chapter 23B department), Department of Correction, Office of Probation, Parole Board, and other state agencies that administer housing funds or regulate housing programs.
- Local and regional housing authorities, community development corporations, developers and recipients of state housing subsidies or approvals (projects under 40B, 40H, 40R, etc.).
- Community‑based organizations serving reentry populations; bill encourages their involvement and leadership.
Procedural / timeline notes
- Filed 01/17/2025; actions show multiple committee referrals (Housing; Environment & Public Works; Finance) and scheduling for a public hearing on 07/23/2025.
- The title references an appropriation, but no appropriation amount or funding language is included in the excerpt provided — final fiscal impact would depend on the appropriation and agency implementation plans.
Potential impacts (practical considerations)
- Would direct housing dollars and program design toward returning citizens and create formal reporting/oversight requirements.
- Could increase housing placements and supports tied to reentry, potentially reducing housing instability and recidivism; would also create administrative and compliance responsibilities for housing agencies and project sponsors.
- Implementation details (eligibility rules, voucher amounts, enforcement of preferences, and any appropriation) will drive scale and cost.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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