Vermont Legislature SmartTranscripts:

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Okay. Welcome back after it feels like we've been here for hours already today, which, of course, we have. Not in this room. Correct. So we are picking up on our final walk through before we vote on VR twenty six zero seven six six, which is our homelessness bill. And Katie has a new draft 8.1 that she's going to share with us. And I'll probably just interrupt you at various times, Katie, to explain what I've asked you to do and the various situations. That works. The McLean Office

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: of Legislative Council, happy crossover day. Those who celebrate.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: We may finish this faster than I thought we were going to. Maybe we can.

[Jubilee McGill (Member)]: Sorry.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: That's a little crossover day humor. Alright. Good.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: It might be helpful. There's lot of colors in this draft, and I wanted to explain why. You were looking at drafts while I was editing new drafts, so our drafts crossed. So I just retained all the yellow highlighting. Everything that you have not seen is in green, with the exception that I did try to fix the hotel motel section. And remember, we had it divided into two categories, I brought it into one. That's not highlighted in green, but I'm pretty sure you haven't taken a look at that yet. So those are the pieces that we're sort of

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: looking at. Should go

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: slowly from the top and walk through the whole thing? Do you want to

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: move? No, we've done that sufficiently many times. We went through in pretty detail all the yellow yesterday before you got here and then when you were here and then when Jen was here. So, we're great with just concentrating on the green. And I think we'll be good to go through the hotel section again. Okay.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: So, let's see, I'm in section four. This is a new chapter that we've set up. There are new definitions. So highly structured shelter, this is pulled from language in the section below, means a shelter that provides programming that emphasizes case management, housing stability, employment, education or treatment services, as well as other services as appropriate in a manner that accommodates an eligible household's disability, if any.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: So we've done all the yellow, Katie. We don't know.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Oh, you did do the yellow. I'm sorry.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: That's okay. Okay. Just before you talk about C. So we received feedback from the network on domestic and sexual violence that asked us to include the annotated version of the HUD definition of domestic violence. And so I have added it here for clarity on exactly what that means. And this is taken directly from HUD. Okay, so now homelessness means, drop down to subsection C, fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other dangerous or life threatening conditions that relate to violence against a household or household member that neither takes place in the primary that either takes place in the primary nighttime residence or causes the household or household member to be afraid to return to the primary nighttime residence. So I'll just pause here because this is first time people are seeing the language. Are there any questions about that language or where it came from or anything? As I said, it came directly from HUD?

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: Okay. Thank you. We can move on, Katie. And I'm just reminding people, this is our last walkthrough. Okay? So if you

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: have questions, bring them up.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Okay. There's your second definition that I won't stop at. There's the continuum section, program component section. You'll see here that this five used to be five broken out into five a and five b. Now it's just a five.

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: It's

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: That changed. 11.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Okay.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Subdivision. 5. Level five.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: You have a question, Anne?

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: No, no, I missed the page. Got it back.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Oh, okay. I'll try to tell you where I am. So page 11, prevention and diversion services. You just added a comma after brief. There it is. Slide 14. Page 12, shelter services, no changes. Top of page 13, low barrier, no changes. Top of page 14, specialized services, no new changes, permanent supportive housing. See, this is a long sentence, but you've added, where can I pick it up? Such as family supportive housing and other supportive housing services funded in Polar Park by Medicaid if the household and services are eligible for Medicaid. Okay, so here is our hotels and motels section. So this used to be broken out into two pieces. Now it's all one section. So first we have our intent language to decrease reliance. Subdivision two are the department's responsibilities, and there's a list. And then three is the household responsibilities. So if a hotel or motel is utilized pursuant to this section, the department shall enter into an agreement with one or more community partners to provide relevant supportive services to eligible households, permit a population specific placement to the extent certain populations are not isolated from the wider community served through the program. Propose hotel and motel rates as part of its budget presentation for the General Assembly's consideration. Use only hotel and motel rates established by the general assembly, and enter into agreements for the use of blocks, hotel and motel rooms, and negotiate conditions of use for those blocks, including access to providers of case management and other supportive services with space to provide services as negotiated and ensure that services are not provided pursuant to this subsection on a night by night basis.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: So C, this is the families. And so I just want to highlight for people that was a dialogue that we had, that people had some concerns about. So that F applies to both the nonwinter and the winter.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Three, this is the family's responsibility. So if a hotel or motel is utilized pursuant to this section, eligible household shall participate in case management services, planning for housing stability or other services to the extent of the eligible household to the extent of that eligible household stability. Four, we have the rules that apply to hotels or motels. Five, this is the breakdown between the two levels and the number of rooms. So if two weeks' den funds are appropriated for this purpose, between April 1 and November 30 of each year, the utilization of hotel and motel rooms pursuant to this section shall be capped at 700 rooms per night. And between December 1 and March 31 of each year, the utilization of hotel and motel rooms pursuant to this section shall be kept at 1,000 rooms per night. Then in six, we have this same language. If an eligible household's needs cannot be met by levels one through four of the continuum, the office may utilize hotels and motels if capacity, staffing, and geographic accessibility are available.

[Brenda Steady (Member)]: Yes. How many are we capped at now with rooms?

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: There's no cap in the winter and it is 1,100 in the non winter.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: So the next section, twenty two zero nine, page 18, other services, no changes here?

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Oh, I one of the changes that I sent to you Here? Yes. On the caps, maybe you put it someplace else. Those those EV. Caps do not yeah. The DV. The these are exclusive of DV. So in other words catch that. Yeah.

[Brenda Steady (Member)]: For a separate fee.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: So domestic by the network utilizes hotels when they don't have shelter or other space available. And so those are not counted in this pattern. The network has a whole separate thing. And

[Jubilee McGill (Member)]: I have received a lot of folks questions from a lot of folks asking, are these separate? I think folks are really worried that staying in the hotels between this December 1, March 31 will count towards people's seventy days.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: I That's in the next section. Yeah. Is it? Okay. No. I mean, I'm not saying it's responded to, but that

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Yeah. Is that part of talk about that when we get to that section. Anyway, it's not it's not intended to count towards

[Jubilee McGill (Member)]: I know that's I not intended because we should talking it, but it's yeah. I was waiting to see the new section. Yeah. I think it's yeah. Okay.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Okay. So I will add the DV piece here, And I guess you'll see it when I write it. Okay. Page eighteen, twenty two zero nine, other services. No changes. Twenty two ten, household responsibilities. This used to say eligibility and responsibilities. The change here was requested by the network unless explicitly exempt from case management requirements under this chapter or by federal law. So the

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: domestic and sexual violence folks have very specific law that they work under. And so there are exemptions in certain cases for certain things. And so we just wanted to be clear that this is if they can't do it by federal law, then they can't do it.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Page 20. You've changed, you've updated the days to thirty days. So household that knowingly provides false, misleading or incomplete information regarding residency, disability status, housing, household composition or their eligibility criteria shall be subject to the termination of services within thirty days after receiving written notice from the Department. Subsection D, a member or members of an eligible household may be subject to immediate termination of services as necessary for the safety of others if the member or members are engaged in Something doesn't sound right there. Agaged in.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Was that? Know. Just got a list afterwards.

[Brenda Steady (Member)]: Oh, that's why I didn't see the list. I'm going, something's missing. Oh, that's why I didn't go under the next page.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Criminal activity or supervision to misconduct that is not related to a disability or victimization related to abuse, sexual assault, or stalking. We have

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: a question about that. So again, the green and number two is related to requests from the network. So for instance, if somebody is being attacked and they're acting in self defense, that's what that's intended to capture.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: And that's not precisely my question. This was also restructured in very helpful way in terms of except I'm a little concerned because this is tying into immediate, you know, immediate termination. And I'm a little concerned about criminal activity. Well, maybe it's in corporate. I guess I have to reread it. Are one and two, notwithstanding the definition of misconduct, do they have to be safety related for emergency termination? For the safety of others, yes. So despite the fact that misconduct is defined as other things than safety of others, would still not be included as immediate termination. The same with criminal activity that has no overlap with safety of others. I mean, it could be something really minor that wouldn't really be valid for termination. Whether that clause on safety of others controls one and two for immediate termination. I'm having trouble finding it. Termination. My cursor isn't working. Termination. Uh-huh.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: So you have to say, remember if remembers. So the reason I put it into a list is because we wanted and I just changed the list if you were watching. I made a list of three items instead of two. Because disability was meant to relate to misconduct. Once we got this big list, I felt like it was getting lost. No, thought it

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: was something to divide it that way.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Yeah, now I see the problem. We need safety to be a qualifier for all three.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: That's what the intent is. Well,

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: other than that victimization, well, automatically that's not that wouldn't be necessary for safety of others. So that wouldn't subject it immediate.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: We do a lead in

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: if something about if safety. Before you move on to that, I see Will you flip up a little bit? You can't just do the or there because it's relational to the fact that what we're saying members are engaged in

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: It's meant to be misconduct that is not related to victimization as

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: well as It is related to the definition of misconduct.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Right. Right.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: So you're saying this has to be?

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: I think it needs to be up there because otherwise it doesn't make sense. Yep.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Or unless it repeated misconduct that is not related to victimization. If you wanted to.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Yes. Guess we're in alignment. That was scary.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: But now we have this problem. A member member has

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: been eligible for maybe such an immediate termination. And I wanna point out,

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: it says may. It doesn't say shall. Right. If the member member The safety codes.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Copy that. I mean, it works to do the one, three, just repeating the not related to, but, but miss Condon

[Brenda Steady (Member)]: Well, I I think I think it does work.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: It does work because it has to

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: be safety related for immediate termination. Right. And it's relating to those three things.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Long it doesn't mean you can't terminate under the non immediate system. It doesn't. Right. For other misconduct.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Alright. We've decided it's okay, Katie.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Okay. Other than fixing the 123 there.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: And now it's 12 again.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Oh, I want yeah. Put it back to 12.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Okay. But wasn't that confusing from the start because

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: no?

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: I think it makes sense. So

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: it was a legal activity that we didn't want to work To to victimization. That's what needs to

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: a disability or

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Not related to a disability or to victimization. Then we're alright.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Two little It's funny how, like, a

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: little There she go.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Okay. I'll actually put two letters in. We're back to where we started.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Okay. Prioritization is twenty two eleven. Subdivision six was the constructive eviction, And that has changed a bit to, let me go back, becoming homeless or have a member who is under for ordered eviction or constructive eviction due circumstances over which the household has no control.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: And that, just so people know, this is the exact language that we currently have in the budget.

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: What would be a circumstance of court ordered eviction over which the household has no control?

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Go ahead.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Yeah. No. An eviction because because this happened to somebody I need. Spousal abuse. Spouse left was thrown out of the home. Other spouse, disability and taking care of the kids, couldn't pay rent anymore. So they were legitimately evicted for nonpayment of rent, but they didn't have any control over the fact that the wage earner who paid the rent was being abusive Thank and was thrown

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: you.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Okay, keep going.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Case Management Services, 2,213, page 24. Household may request a specific case manager or a change in case manager. Page 25, needs assessment. The office and community partners shall provide advice and consultation to the Department of Housing and Community Development in its completion of a needs assessment that identifies gaps in services for households that are homeless in the state and includes recommendations to ensure the provision of equitable services throughout the state. That's just as a reminder for folks,

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: we had the department doing that, and the department doesn't really do it that. So we had we've switched it to them consulting and providing information to DCHD DHCD. Me. Alphabets.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: And A-two 15 is a fair hearing, subdivision A-two. Notice shall include effective date of the action, which in the case of termination, reduction or suspension of services shall not be sooner than thirty days after the date of which written notice after the date of the written notice, sorry, in the household's preferred method of communication. Okay. Page 26, subsection C. An applicant or household shall file a request for a fair hearing with the Human Services Board within sixty days after the date of the written notice. D, if a household files a request for a fair hearing within fourteen days after receiving notice pursuant to A.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: The

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: program shall continue to provide services under the program interruption until a decision is issued by the board unless a household or household's members' continued receipt of services poses a risk to others.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: I know. Awkward.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: That's what I was trying to avoid in the first iteration. But this is like a double possessive households. The member of the households, the members continued receipt of services.

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: So do you have to the first possessive?

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Editors tell me yes.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Okay. Yeah. Because

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: Could be a household or a member of the households or a member of

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Or members of the household. Yes.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: That's what I had, and I was asked to change it.

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: Oh, it's not good there.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: It read well either. Yeah.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Well, I had to re figure the apostrophes, and they're right if you're writing it this way, but Yes.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Households. Not

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: worth it. Keep going. Think

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: we're going to move on. If we can come up with a better structure in the Senate, then we can do that. Everybody knows what it means. Right. Household or a member of the household. Yep. But that's not what it's that's not what it said before, Katie. When I read it when I read the previous version.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: I tried to write it in a way to avoid this. The first time.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Or a member of the households. No. No. We had that's words.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Didn't we originally have members?

[Eric Maguire (Member)]: Household members are members.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Yeah. Yeah. What was that?

[Eric Maguire (Member)]: Household members or members.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Oh, yeah.

[Eric Maguire (Member)]: The s three s and then

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: One without it. One with

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: You'll have time to fix it in the senate. Yeah.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: They'll say, what the heck does that mean? These

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: are the things that will keep me up at night, though. Page 28, we have a comma after brief.

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: Oh gosh. Let's not go with that.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Still on page 28 reporting. Annually, as part of the office's budget presentation, the office shall provide a status report addressing each level of the continuum. Minimally, the status report shall address that had been a written report.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Yeah. I think I I don't I think that's not the

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: one I meant to change.

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: May I ask just a little bit?

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Yeah. Go ahead and ask a question while I'm here.

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: My question is just I don't know what a status report is. If it's not written, what is it?

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: It's a sort of a presentation that they come in and they'll update how the program is going.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: That's not what I said to do the presentation, is that?

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: I thought that was the change, but maybe it's not what you intended.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: First off, it's not going be the office. That would be the department, because the departments present budgets.

[Eric Maguire (Member)]: Believe you were asking for a recall when they did the budget presentation. Correct?

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: This is B. B. Does that so

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: B does that, and I thought We had discussed putting making that also part of the Yeah. B.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Okay. That's not what I insist. This from yesterday, so that isn't what I'm thinking about, Katie. So okay. Okay.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: But okay.

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: Oh, I remember this was supposed to be I think this was supposed to be

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: you wanted the monthly reports. You were gonna try to I'm coming into that. Is further down.

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: Oh, it is? Okay. Yeah.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: So this is the stuff that Eric worked on in terms of the elements of what we want them to report on each year. Because this essentially, are we making any progress on what we're doing? This

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: is just some little bit of accountability. Are you on track?

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Are we on track? I I you know? Yes. I think we're good, Katie. So the c is new.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: This is the monthly reports. And I tried to just pull as much language from the budget the SHER's budget to reference back so we're having some continuity as to what this reporting is. So on or before the last day of each month, the office or other relevant agency or department Which page are we Oh, I'm sorry. I'm on page 30. Top of page 30. Thank you. Yep. Shall post on its website a substantially similar report to that due pursuant to twenty twenty three acts and resolves number eighty one six b, which is what is in the budget now, including the office's monthly expenditure on the program by level. So the expenditure is in the budget now, obviously not about the program or by level. It's just expenditures about GA emergency housing. Okay. Okay. Continuums, no change. Grant requirements, no change. Is there no change? There was a change. But you already went over it. Okay. Transition, we fixed the dates on the transition period. Adoption of rules, we flip flopped it, which you've already

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: been over. Section nine, status report. The Department for Children and Families, OEO shall present to the committees. This was a report, and I wanted it to be more of a dialogue and testimony. And so it'll be a presentation as opposed to a report.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Thank you. Can we change that to an implementation status report? Because up above, we have kind of like a status report on the whole program where they're kind of reporting on how it's going. And this is more about like, what is the status of the implementation of this whole program? Yeah, in other words, where it already says implementation process, but it's implementation status.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: I think this might not be reading correctly. But DCF

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: It could be process and status. Okay.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: They have to present something. We're missing a noun. Shall Shall present on page 16. Yeah. Listen for a second. DCS shall present to the policy committees describing the offices. There needs to be something before An

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: update shall present The office implementation. What was that? Right. Well, you have described in the office's implementation. And and it's not really process, the the progress in implement progress in implementing the program. Oh, just get rid of describing, you're saying? Office represented the House Committee a progress report on the office's implementation of the program. That's good. Wait a minute, just second. Laurie, are we having any issues with? It just Okay. It blinked. No.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: That happens.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: The owl up on top there went,

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Oh, wee. Big red caution pop up there.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: So shall present to the policy committees the office's implementation of the program. Progress, shall present progress report on the implementation of the program.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: And I

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: just want progress report. A progress report on Right here.

[Eric Maguire (Member)]: Oh, sorry.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: I'm not seeing up there.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Yeah. You go to present a progress report to the committees. Yeah.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: On the office's implementation of the program. Yeah. That's fine. Okay. The office's presentation shall include an initial draft of rules.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Should we say permanent? And you do say permanent. Yep, yeah.

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: We were talking a moment ago about differentiating between a report and an update. Are we giving any mixed signals in this section about, we've mentioned presentation, we mentioned report, present the progress report. Oh,

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: present. I

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: think it's okay. Okay.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Page 33. This section, this is the DV section. This had been a lot I should say a lot longer. We've struck a few sentences and that's where the period is highlighted to just show where you removed a few sentences from the sections.

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: So

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: previously, we had taken the section from h 91 and pasted it into this bill. And, of course, the construct in '91 was all very different. And there was a couple of sentences in there, which you can see in version 6.1 that referred to what the department's oversight responsibilities are. This is the because of its special nature, this is the only place where we actually are talking about a particular provider. And so I felt that it would be inconsistent to put that in statute. It's covered in their grant agreements Because we're not doing that for any of the other providers, because all the other providers are not mentioned by name. So

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: that's the reason that I agreed to take that out.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Any questions about that? Okay,

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: thank you, Katie. The Bridge program, if there are any changes. This heading is changing from appropriations to expenditures, and we can hold on that conversation till I get down to that section. The payment rate structure has a few changes. So the department in collaboration with AHS and relevant community partners shall establish payment rate structure, including periodic rate reviews for all shelter services required by this act. The structure shall include a base rate and potential for supplemental payment to the base, if necessary, as appropriate. On or before 04/01/2027, the Department shall submit a report to the House Committee on Human Services and to the Senate Health and Welfare regarding the implementation of the payment rate structure and the department's proposed timeline for implementation.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: That's the first time you're seeing it. Okay. New section

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: capping room specific to room rates specific to this fiscal year. In fiscal year twenty seven, DCF shall not pay a hotel or motel establishment providing emergency housing more than the hotel's lowest advertised room rate and not more than $80 per day per room to shelter a household participating in the program. The department may shelter a household in more than one hotel or motel room, depending on the household size and composition. That's pulled from the SHARE's budget. Yeah.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: So here, I think we should say, well, it is actually the department that does it, or community partner. This is community partner. Yeah, because the, and does this say in FY '27? Yeah. So this is in session law. Yeah.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Or community partners. Right. Every place where you have a department, it needs to say or community partner.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Okay. So let me just explain the next section before we get Okay, so section 14. This is where in the previous draft, saw a whole bunch of things listed out, and it said base and one time essentially lining up with the service categories that we have in the continuum. Really, because we're running out of time, and I wanna make sure it's done right. So I don't want to I would rather have an amendment that we do that puts that into the bill than have an amendment that says, oh, I want to change this dollar amount to this dollar amount. So I opted to remove that whole list for right now. That's why the bill is one page shorter. And so the procedure would be that we will have an amendment. Hopefully, will be a full committee amendment. We'll propose an I want to confirm, just because I keep being asked the question, this is the dollar amount that coincides with the governor's proposed budget. And so we will have an amendment that will list out those things. Honestly, I simply ran out of time to do it the right way and to delineate base and one time and to make sure Something in the middle of the

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: room there keeps catching

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Oh, they're moving now. Okay. They heard us talking about them. I appreciate the fact that you took care of it because it's been bugging me for the last half hour.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Oh, yeah.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Yeah, I wasn't smart enough to intend the pun. Okay, so that's one thing. So we will do over the next few days, we'll work with JFO and we will do an amendment, JFO and the department, to make sure that we get things in the right place. I'd rather do that than have people start reacting to that wasn't where this was supposed to be, and that wasn't supposed to be this dollar amount. So this just is clear about what the total dollar is. And then the other thing that is different is that in the bill, the 6.1, it says appropriates. And so we are not going to actually appropriate the money in this. But this is probably inside baseball or whatever they call that phrase. We're not going to actually appropriate it in the bill. It'll be appropriated in the budget. But we will list the expenditures here. So this is like the T bill is done, where if the money is carried in the budget, there's a separate bill that enumerates all where the money will be spent. So directing that's

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: being spent.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: We're directing where it's being spent. So we're still directing where it's being spent. We're just not appropriating it in the bill. The bill. Yeah. It'll be appropriated in the big budget. Everybody understand that?

[Brenda Steady (Member)]: Yep. What was the page you sent us with the hop? Is that out of risk money?

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: That's that's all related.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: That's all out of Yeah.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: That was background information for you guys. That's what I was curious about.

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: Prior to guidance.

[Jubilee McGill (Member)]: Was wondering. Easily distracted.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: And the That's

[Jubilee McGill (Member)]: hotel rooms. We never know when we would go into the house. We didn't talk about that. Just clarifying that those seventy days in a twelve month rolling period. We haven't gotten to that section.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: No, no, we skipped it because it

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: has nothing.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Oh, skipped it. Yeah,

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: we're all the way

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Okay. All right. So let's can you bring us back there, Katie? What page is that?

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Oh, it's before appeals. There we go, it's page 23. Time limits.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Got it.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Okay. So at the bottom of page 23, it's referencing the seventy days per rolling twelve month period, and then it received continual services. Okay. So the request is to make it clear like it is today that there that the time between April and November does not I mean, the time between December and March does not count towards the April Right. And That's current practice. Yeah. Is that alright? Okay. There's language in the budget that says it, if you want to recreate it.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Would that go under B? Use those Use of

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: don't know. We'll let Katie figure out where it goes. Alright, thank you for bringing us back there, Jubilee. I was like, yeah, we're done. We'll get to it when we see it.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: When we see it.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Have a seat at your desk.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Intentionally. Yes. No. Okay,

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: presentation. I'll finish. I'll go

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: down to the end if you wanna just look at this new language, and then I'll turn off my screen and make these changes.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Okay. Yeah. So what page are you back on, Katie? 35.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: The new languages that this act provides for the fiscal year twenty seven expenditure of 82,600,000.0 for the provision of services. And you still have the same scene B, sorry, B and C. And then you're just renumbered sections. Let me make these changes. Is everyone okay if I remove all the highlighting from the document at this point and just the two new changes that you've identified? Can

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: I ask a question, Madam Chair? With respect to the unspent funds and carried forward, is that clear to the departments that it's not to offset, it's not to reduce the 82,000,000, correct? And that would be understood. That's generally a Standard.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: If they don't use if they end up not needing to use it all.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Yep. It's it was the money appropriated in '26 for this for similar purposes Right. We're saying use for similar purposes in '27 and keep it in this. Yeah. It'll be it'll be considered, quote, unquote, onetime money.

[Brenda Steady (Member)]: So out of the $82,000,000 how much is state funded?

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: The bulk of that is state funding, but not all. But that's part of why I gave you that information that came from the department that outlined what the federal funds were and the state I wrote it down. Yeah. So so you have it.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Oh, the bulk of it is state fund. K.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: The memo the the the thing I forwarded to the committee earlier today, that broke it that broke out the state, federal, and other federal.

[Brenda Steady (Member)]: So only a million is federal?

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: It's it's it's bulk of state funds. Yeah. Yeah. I don't have that. I don't have that memo right here. I just wanna sit down.

[Eric Maguire (Member)]: G c.

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: The what she's saying is that the memo tells you where the I state

[Brenda Steady (Member)]: wrote it down. Federal is 1,000,100

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: No. Federal is more than 1,000,000.

[Brenda Steady (Member)]: I got GF 21,183,809. That's what I got.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: One time. On

[Brenda Steady (Member)]: the sheet that came on my email

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: from HOP. Okay, well, you will see a fiscal note on this bill. Will see a fiscal

[Brenda Steady (Member)]: Here's note on this the breakdown of funding. One time GF 21,000,183.09, base GF 56,681,803. Yep. Federal funds $1,000,145.40 with GC. We'll commit that. I will commit my name there.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: That's federal fund. And

[Brenda Steady (Member)]: then the total is 82,000,000.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: That's federal fund. GC is federal funds, a combination of federal and state funds. Okay. Okay. And I'm just double checking on the effective dates. What does it mean this section and section? Effective date section.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: That has to be the

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: first thing that takes effect. That's what it says. Okay.

[Brenda Steady (Member)]: What was the appropriation for this year in comparison?

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: You have that also in charts that I sent you back several weeks ago. I know. The budget

[Brenda Steady (Member)]: now is at the top of the year. No, it's okay.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: No, hold on a second. I get it to you here in a minute. I've got it. Go back to emails. The FY '26 appropriation, $77,043,996. Except that didn't include some of

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: the things that were added into the new one, right? Like the corrections, free inflows.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: No, this is just I said, just give me the DCF stuff. Okay.

[Brenda Steady (Member)]: Okay. Alright. That gives me an idea. So 5,000,000 more.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: That's according to the governor's budget.

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: Governor's recommendation for the amount.

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: Yep. Crazy from 2019.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: So, Laurie, let's take a brief break. Before we do that, are there any questions? Because what Katie's gonna be sending back to us, we're just gonna have some final, any comments that anybody wants to make, and then we're gonna vote. Dan's got the vote. She ready?

[Daniel Noyes (Clerk)]: I'm just waiting for the draft number. Draft number.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: I was hoping we could get to 10.1. I like double digits, but What

[Anne B. Donahue (Ranking Member)]: is it gonna be?

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: I should do

[Katie McLean, Office of Legislative Counsel]: 13 in freight.

[Theresa Wood (Chair)]: Know. Oh, yes. We can go offline for a