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BOSTON (State House News Service) — A Superior Court judge will make a decision by Wednesday on whether Gov. Maura Healey's administration can put a cap on the number of people housed under the state's right-to-shelter law.
At an emergency court hearing Tuesday afternoon, Judge Debra Squires-Lee sought more information from Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston, who filed the lawsuit against Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities and Secretary Ed Augustus, and Assistant Attorney General Kim Parr, who represented the administration.
Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston filed the class action lawsuit on Friday, seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the state from "undermining" its right-to-shelter law by implementing a cap on the number of people the state's shelter system can accommodate, essentially no longer guaranteeing housing for qualified families protected under the law.
The Healey administration projects the system will not "have enough space, service providers or funds to safely expand beyond 7,500 families," and Parr said they expect to hit that number by the end of the week.
LCR argues that state law requires an opportunity for public input before state agencies make changes to benefits programs, and that for the Emergency Assistance program in particular there is a specific requirement that the Legislature be given 90 days notice in advance of any changes. No such formal notice was given, LCR Attorney Jacob Love said.
The administration filed an emergency regulatory amendment just before the court hearing, which gives Augustus the ability to set a hard cap on the number of families that can be housed.
Squires-Lee sought more information from Parr relative to the cost of continuing to accept every qualified family into shelter for the 90-day duration of giving notice to the Legislature, and additionally said she wanted to give LCR an opportunity to read through and respond to the administration's new regulations. Lawyers will file additional affidavits over the next day, they said, before the judge makes her decision.
Written by Sam Drysdale/SHNS
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