Draft bill would create statewide regional shelter program, advisory panel and transition funds

Legislative counsel on Monday walked lawmakers through a draft bill to create a statewide program to coordinate emergency, temporary and transitional shelter services under the Agency of Human Services.

The draft — described by counsel as a framework rather than a finished product — would establish a new statutory chapter that designates regional resource organizations (RROs) to provide temporary emergency shelter and transitional shelter, creates an extreme‑weather congregate shelter grant run through a statewide municipal organization, and sets up a time‑limited advisory committee to guide implementation.

“Regional resource organization” in the draft means an entity designated by the department to lead its assigned region’s response to unsheltered homelessness. RROs would be responsible for operating or arranging shelter using community‑based shelters, leased buildings, motel or hotel blocks, or master lease arrangements; providing case management; and preparing regional needs assessments to guide funding allocations.

Eligibility for the temporary emergency and transitional shelter components would be limited to households who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence and who meet at least one priority criterion in the draft. That list includes households with a member age 65 or older, a child 19 or younger, a documented disability (with acceptable documentation methods listed in the draft), persons fleeing domestic violence, households facing court‑ordered eviction, or those displaced by a natural disaster.

The bill text directs the department to designate one RRO per service area, review designations every three years, and distribute funding using an allocation developed in consultation with the RROs that may account for local homeless rates, rental vacancy rates and other indicators. If the department and RROs agree, the department could make a lump sum allocation and allow RROs to decide among themselves how to divide it.

The draft also contemplates operational standards: RROs must have staffing and administrative capacity, meet reporting and grant‑management requirements, and demonstrate community connections to coordinated‑entry, mental health, substance‑use and older‑adult services. The department would adopt guidance for the statewide municipal grant that operates extreme‑weather congregate shelters and maintain a public website listing shelter locations. If hotels or motels are used, the draft requires compliance with lodging, fire and building codes and directs the department to propose per‑room rates for legislative approval as part of the budget process.

The draft includes a one‑time transition appropriation of $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2026: $5,000,000 for distribution to RROs, $500,000 for contracting and system‑transition assistance, and $4,500,000 for developing need‑specific housing such as recovery housing, housing for people with disabilities, family housing and transitional housing for people exiting correctional custody. Counsel said the bill intends to use existing fiscal‑year 2025 resources for the base funding in later years, subject to legislative appropriation.

Committee members raised implementation questions during the walkthrough, chiefly about minimum service expectations for RROs, the role of coordinated entry in eligibility and referrals, how reporting and accountability will be structured, and whether municipalities or RROs should run the extreme‑weather shelters. Several members urged that case management expectations and minimum performance measures be spelled out so services are consistent across regions.

Legislative counsel said the draft draws definitions and eligibility concepts from prior bills and budget language and that further drafting will include more specific reporting requirements and implementation timelines. The advisory committee in the draft would include people with lived experience of homelessness, representatives of coordinated‑entry agencies, regional organizations, cabinet‑level designees and other stakeholders; the committee would expire in 2029 unless extended.

Lawmakers said they want to see clearer standards for regional needs assessments, a concrete list of minimum services RROs must provide (including case management specifics), and clearer guidance on how funds will be distributed and how much should be reserved for short‑term extreme‑weather response versus ongoing shelter operations. The committee scheduled additional work on the draft and asked staff to return with refinements.