Bill to enable access to basic services by removing financial and documentation barriers

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed An Act to provide identification to youth and adults experiencing homelessness, to establish a process allowing an adult or youth experiencing homelessness to apply for a free Massachusetts identification card. Identification cards enable access to basic services in the Commonwealth that are often unreachable for those without identification. 

“I am proud to support this bill because it provides crucial support to people experiencing incredibly challenging circumstances and it will work to address our housing crisis,” said Senator Sal DiDomenico, Assistant Majority Leader of the Massachusetts Senate. “All Massachusetts residents deserve access to food, healthcare, and housing, and providing proper identification will take a step toward expanding that right to every person. I want to thank Senate President Spilka, Senator Robyn Kennedy, and all my colleagues for fighting for people experiencing homelessness, and I hope to see this bill signed into law soon.”

People experiencing homelessness currently face prohibitive fees and documentation requirements that can be barriers to acquiring identification. This legislation removes those barriers by eliminating fees and only requiring that applicants present documentation showing that they are currently receiving services provided by the Commonwealth, a homeless service provider, or another service provider.

Having a state identification is a prerequisite for accessing many basic services, including applying for a job, enrolling in school, interacting with law enforcement, accessing government buildings, and opening bank accounts, among others. The struggles of homelessness are compounded by an inability to access these basic services, and often contribute to a cycle of poverty.

This is the fourth consecutive session during which the Senate has adopted similar legislation.

The bill now heads to the Massachusetts House of Representatives for consideration.

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BOSTON – Senator Sal DiDomenico testified alongside labor unions, advocates, and workers in support of his wage theft legislation which would protect workers' rights and hold companies that steal from their employees accountable for their actions. DiDomenico’s proposal would allow Attorney General Andrea Campbell to file a civil action seeking relief for damages, lost wages, and other benefits for workers. Campbell would also have the authority to investigate wage theft complaints and issue stop-work orders against employers who are violating wage theft laws.

Governor Maura Healey and Attorney General Andrea Campbell testified in support of this bill which would provide the Attorney General and workers with additional tools for holding violators accountable. Companies are stealing almost $1 billion in wages each year from workers across Massachusetts and this bill will go a long way towards preventing wage theft and helping employees reclaim their hard-earned money.

“It is indefensible that we allow businesses and contractors to prey on hard working residents year after year, and it is past time that we pass this bill to hold law breaking employers accountable and protect workers’ rights and wages,” said Sen. Sal DiDomenico, lead sponsor of the Senate bill. “When I first filed this bill in 2015, Massachusetts workers were losing $300 million per year in stolen wages and now that number has skyrocketed to almost $1 billion. We cannot wait another session to pass this commonsense proposal. I want to thank Governor Maura Healey, Attorney General Andrea Campbell, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, my cosponsor, State Rep. Daniel Donahue, and all the advocates who are supporting my bill and standing up for workers in our state.”

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BOSTON – Senator Sal DiDomenico testified alongside Lift our Kids Coalition members and allies before the Legislature’s Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities Committee in support of his proposal to raise cash assistance grants for families in “Deep Poverty.”

The Act to Lift Kids Out of Deep Poverty, S.75 and H.144 (sponsored by Sen. DiDomenico and Rep. Decker with 115 co-sponsors), sets a floor for cash assistance at 50% of the federal poverty level (FPL).  Families living below this level are officially in “Deep Poverty.” Once grant amounts reach half of the federal poverty level, the bills would require grants to be adjusted annually for inflation, so they don’t lose their value over time.

The Committee favorably reported prior versions of these bills in two previous legislative sessions.  Those favorable reports laid the groundwork for the Legislature’s inclusion – after decades of frozen funding – of four grant increases in General Appropriations Acts, with the first increase effective January 2021 and the most recent increase effective April 2024. 

However, even when the fourth increase goes into effect next April, the maximum grant for a family of three with no income will be only $861 a month, still well below the projected 2024 Deep Poverty level of $1,076 a month for a three-person family.

“It is unconscionable that children in Massachusetts go to bed hungry, without basic necessities, because grant amounts are so low,” said Sen. Sal DiDomenico, lead sponsor of the Senate bill. “I am grateful to Legislative leaders for recognizing our moral imperative to raise cash assistance grants,” he said.  “But whether and how much to raise grants should not be left to the annual budget process.  We need to make an ongoing commitment to the Commonwealth’s neediest children.”  

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