Mass. migrant shelter funds in GOP hands
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Massachusetts Democrats reached a compromise on a $2.8-billion budget with emergency shelter funding Thursday but were blocked by a single Republican lawmaker when they tried to pass the bill.
Why it matters: State Democrats and Republicans appear to be at an impasse, with shelter funding, disaster relief and union contracts for state employees hanging in the balance.
Catch up fast: Democratic leaders in the House and Senate filed a compromise bill with $250 million in emergency shelter funding.
- The bill includes a House provision to make Gov. Maura Healey create an overflow shelter for waitlisted families by Dec. 31.
- Democrats tried to advance the bill during an informal session Thursday when Rep. Paul Frost, an Auburn Republican, called into question the presence of a quorum.
- The move brought the Democrats' plans to a halt. Only 15 of the House's 159 members were present, per State House News Service.
The latest: Lawmakers return to Beacon Hill Friday for their second attempt to pass the spending bill in informal session, despite the risks it will again fail to reach a vote.
Zoom out: Around 100 families are on a waitlist for emergency shelter now that the state's 7,500-family cap is in place.
- A handful are staying in a state transportation building that's being used as a temporary overflow site.
- But waitlisted families face the risk of having to stay out in the cold if they can't find a bed for the night.
State of play: Republicans on Beacon Hill remain opposed to emergency family shelter funding that would benefit thousands of recently arrived migrant families.
Yes, and: Democrats blew past their formal law-making deadline two weeks ago and empowered individual members, including 28 Republicans, to halt any bills until January.
Zoom in: Republicans have pushed for smaller budget bills for provisions they support, such as funding for state union contracts and disaster relief.
- Now they're calling for a formal session for the latest spending bill to allow time for debates and amendments.
What they're saying: MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale called the emergency family shelter provisions a "poison pill" in the spending bill, praising Republicans' efforts to force a formal session.
The other side: "The fact remains that every day that goes by, it's another day that the shelter money doesn't get funded," House Ways & Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz, a Boston Democrat, told reporters.
- "It's another day that goes by that those [union] contracts that have been ratified don't get fully funded."
Axios Boston's Mike Deehan contributed reporting.