Haitian immigrants Petterly Jean-Baptiste, left, and his wife Leonne Ysnardin, right, ride aboard a van, in Boston, as they are transported with their children to a shelter in Quincy, Mass., Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of temporary shelters including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges after Massachusetts' emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)Petterly Jean-Baptiste, left, holds a child as he and his wife Leonne Ysnardin, right, both immigrants from Haiti, load into a van in Boston, along with other immigrant families while waiting for transportation to a shelter in Quincy, Mass., Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of temporary shelters including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges after Massachusetts' emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)Peterson Jean-Baptiste, 3, front left, his father Petterly Jean-Baptiste, right, and his mother Leonne Ysnardin, behind center, all immigrants from Haiti, wait Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, at the Immigrant Family Services Institute, in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, for transportation to a shelter, in Quincy, Mass. Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of temporary shelters including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges after Massachusetts' emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)Petterly Jean-Baptiste, right, and his wife Leonne Ysnardin, behind center, both immigrants from Haiti, wait with their two children, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, at the Immigrant Family Services Institute, in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, for transportation to a shelter, in Quincy, Mass. Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of temporary shelters including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges after Massachusetts' emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)Petterly Jean-Baptiste, center, an immigrant from Haiti, registers Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, with the Immigrant Family Services Institute, in Boston, while waiting with his family for transportation to a shelter, in Quincy, Mass. Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of temporary shelters including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges after Massachusetts' emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)Haitian immigrant Rose Juliane, center, holds her daughter Rosie Sarah, as she speaks with Immigrant Family Services Institute Executive Director Geralde Gabeau, left, while waiting at the agency in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston for transportation to a shelter, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of temporary shelters including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges after Massachusetts' emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)Leonne Ysnardin, center, and her husband Petterly Jean-Baptiste, right, both immigrants from Haiti, speak with a van driver, left, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, at the Immigrant Family Services Institute, in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, moments before being transported to a shelter, in Quincy, Mass. Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of temporary shelters including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges after Massachusetts' emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)Peterson Jean-Baptiste, 3, right, reaches to open a door to a van as his mother Leonne Ysnardin, left, looks on, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, outside the Immigrant Family Services Institute, in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston. The family, all immigrants from Haiti, received transportation to a shelter in Quincy, Mass., Thursday. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)Haitian immigrants step out of a van as they arrive at a shelter, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in Quincy, Mass., after receiving transportation from the Immigrant Family Services Institute, in the Mattapan neighborhood, of Boston. Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of temporary shelters including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges after Massachusetts' emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Haitian immigrants Petterly Jean-Baptiste, left, and his wife Leonne Ysnardin, right, ride aboard a van, in Boston, as they are transported with their children to a shelter in Quincy, Mass., Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of temporary shelters including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges after Massachusetts' emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
BOSTON – The Massachusetts Legislature wrapped up its formal session for the year without a deal on a $2.8 billion spending bill that included hundreds of millions of dollars to address the state's emergency shelters that are buckling under a crush of migrant and homeless families.
Both the House and Senate bills would steer $250 million toward the shelter system, but a conference committee was unable to resolve other differences early Thursday.
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Lawmakers embarked for the holiday break with uncertainty clouding the state's response to shelter emergency.
Some groups heaped scorn on lawmakers for failing to act. The Massachusetts Teachers Association said in a statement that it was “shocked, and frankly, disgusted” by lawmakers' inaction on the supplemental budget.
“This is another stain on a Legislature that struggles to meet its obligation to serve the public good,” the union that represents 117,000 members said in a statement.
Across the region, advocates relied on a patchwork of temporary shelters including churches, hospital waiting rooms and even airport lounges after Massachusetts' emergency shelter system hit a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families last week, forcing some homeless people to be put on a waiting list.
The spike in demand is being driven in part by migrant families entering the state. About half of the current shelter caseload are new arrivals to Massachusetts, according to Democratic Gov. Maura Healey’s administration.
The administration is working with groups to find temporary housing but has been reluctant to release some details of its plan, including the location of a clinic it sponsored with the Department of Homeland Security to help migrants obtain work authorizations.
Lawmakers don’t formally convene again for votes until the new year, but they could resolve their differences in informal sessions. However, legislative rules make it easier to derail bills in informal sessions.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
