Massachusetts omnibus bill to expand cash benefit programs, raise wages, create state-run initiatives to help families build wealth

BY SAM DRYSDALE

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, AUG. 20, 2025…..In a state where more than 10% of residents live in poverty, lawmakers are pitching an omnibus bill to expand cash benefit programs, raise wages, and create state-run initiatives to help families build wealth.

The Legislature created a study commission in 2021 to develop recommendations to “significantly reduce poverty over the next 10 years.” After hosting listening sessions around the state, the commission released its final report in June. That roadmap to 2035 offered ideas ranging from a guaranteed income program and expanded registered apprenticeships to broader investments in public transit and affordable housing.

Sen. Sal DiDomenico of Everett and Rep. Marjorie Decker of Cambridge chaired the commission and filed legislation in May (SD 2872/ HD 4622) incorporating many of those recommendations. They are calling it “An Act Significantly Alleviating Poverty,” or the ASAP bill. It was referred to the Rules Committee, a DiDomenico staffer said, because it was a late-file, and has not been sent to a joint committee for review.

At 79 pages, the bill combines some immediately actionable proposals in the report with measures filed in past sessions, DiDomenico said, “so they’ve been vetted a little bit… to try to speed the process along.”

The state is hardly starting from scratch. Massachusetts already spends billions each year supporting its lowest-income residents through a wide range of programs. 

In the fiscal year 2026 budget alone, lawmakers appropriated $22.41 billion for MassHealth, $209 million for Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled and Children (EAEDC), $467 million for Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC), $180 million for universal free school meals, $253.3 million to support 10,000 housing vouchers through the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program, $207 million for rental, mortgage, utility and relocation aid through the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program, and $50.5 million for the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program.

Even with this level of spending, the commission report says families are still struggling in Massachusetts’s high-cost environment, and some families do not qualify for public aid who are still living in poverty. 

Roughly one in ten Massachusetts residents live below the federal poverty line, which is $15,650 for an individual and $32,150 for a family of four this year. But the commission emphasized the federal standard falls short in states like Massachusetts where everything is more expensive.

“So 21% of Latino residents are living in poverty, 18% of Black residents in poverty, even 19% of our Native American friends are also living in poverty,” he said. “So we know the disparities are wide across groups, and are linked to different inequities that exist within the regions, but are also set up in a way where it’s just not a fair system for all folks.”

The bill focuses on three main levers: putting cash in people’s pockets, protecting workers and increasing their pay, and building long-term wealth.

On the first point, ASAP would increase the Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC) cash benefits program for pregnant people, families, and caregivers, and raise Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled and Children (EAEDC) benefits until every eligible person is lifted out of deep poverty. Deep poverty is defined as 50% of the federal poverty line — $7,825 per year for an individual and $16,075 for a family of four in 2025, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

To address barriers in accessing benefits, the bill would require all public-facing state agencies — as well as contractors they rely on — to provide interpretation services and translate vital documents for non-English speakers. Low-income people often qualify for social programs, but don’t know they do, or how to access them, DiDomenico said.

The bill also proposes testing guaranteed income on a statewide scale. Direct cash stipends for the poorest residents have been piloted locally, but Massachusetts has not yet attempted one statewide.

The commission report cited Rise Up Cambridge, a $22 million initiative offering $500 per month for 18 months to income-eligible families with children. It was the first citywide guaranteed income program in the nation. “Research from the program shows that participants have used their funds to meet basic needs, manage debt, and build savings accounts,” the report said.

ASAP would create a five-year pilot providing $1,000 monthly stipends to people between ages 18 and 23 transitioning out of foster care. The idea mirrors a bill filed by Sen. Liz Miranda of Boston (S 161), which has not yet had a hearing this session.

Direct cash programs can be controversial, with critics questioning the costs of implementing and sustaining guaranteed income, as well as arguments that it could create a disincentive to work. 

The bill would also codify clothing and rental allowances in TAFDC and EAEDC, ensuring eligible parents and elderly residents receive $50 per month in rental assistance and annual $500 clothing allowances for children. It would also bar the government from seizing child support payments from low-income parents, while allowing parents to decide against pursuing child support if it could destabilize their household.

The bill also proposes expanding the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child and Family Tax Credit (CFTC). Massachusetts increased both credits in a 2023 tax reform law — raising the EITC from 30 percent to 40 percent of the federal credit and increasing the CFTC from $310 per dependent to $440 in 2024 and beyond. Gov. Maura Healey had sought a $600 credit. ASAP would go further by expanding EITC eligibility to more low-income workers and caretakers, regardless of age or family size.

Asked about pursuing tax relief and increasing spending on benefits during a period of slowing state revenues and gathering fiscal stormclouds, DiDomenico replied: “We have a moral obligation… I have no tolerance for people who say we can’t afford to help people.”

He said it is more expensive for the state to not invest in anti-poverty measures: “If we don’t address the root cause of poverty right now and help people with housing and help them with food and help them pay for medical expenses, help them pay the utility bills and help them get back on their feet in some substantial way, then those individuals will end up needing more services.”

Asked about the bottom-line cost of the bill, DiDomenico’s spokesperson said they did not have one.

“While there will definitely be upfront costs if the bill is passed and implemented, that funding should be seen as a significant investment that will result in massive savings for the state in the future,” spokesperson Eli Fenichel said. “In addition, some of the specific costs are hard to identify because there are so many changing variables, such as caseload size, health care costs, and food prices, that would impact the costs. As a state we are already paying enormous costs by supporting people who live in poverty, which we believe is our duty to do so, but our philosophy is that by injecting a strategic infusion of resources now to lift people out of poverty and provide more people with a stable income, we will see significant savings in the near- and long-term.”

Beyond direct benefits, the bill aims to strengthen workplace protections. It would enhance the attorney general’s authority to hold employers accountable for wage theft and expand remedies available to workers who face retaliation.

The legislation would also raise farmworker wages from the current $8 per hour to at least the state’s $15 minimum wage, a longtime priority for the workers. It would eliminate subminimum wages for people with disabilities, guaranteeing those workers the state minimum wage as well.

Another included proposal is a “baby bonds” program, which would establish trust funds for eligible children that could be used for investments like education, buying a home, or starting a business after they turn 18. Children born into low-income households or the state child welfare system could receive accounts seeded by the state.

Connecticut launched a similar program in 2023, automatically enrolling children covered by Medicaid. A task force convened by Treasurer Deb Goldberg in 2022 found that a $6,500 initial deposit could grow to more than $15,000 by adulthood, and potentially to $28,000 over 30 years if left untouched.

ASAP would also create a state-funded matched savings program. Participants earning below 80 percent of area median income could receive $4 in state funds for every $1 they save, coupled with financial coaching. The money could be used for expenses such as a down payment on a home, tuition, or transportation.

Asked about the challenge of advancing a sweeping new package in the Legislature, DiDomenico was candid. “You hit the nail on the head, especially filing a bill for the first time. There’s always a challenge there,” he said. But he noted that incorporating bills already filed and heard in past sessions may smooth the process.

“I’ve also met with the Senate president, and I told her in the beginning of the session one of my priorities was working to alleviate poverty, and I know she’s very supportive in trying to find ways to do that,” he said.

On Beacon Hill, it has become standard practice for major policy changes to be wrapped into sprawling omnibus bills. In recent years, this approach has been used to push through wide-ranging measures on housing, health care, clean energy and climate change, and economic development. Now, it seems Decker and DiDomenico are hoping anti-poverty policy will get the same mega-bill treatment.

The Everett Democrat added, “I’m optimistic that we’re going to see some action in some form. I don’t know entirely what that would look like at this point. We know how these are filed and how they come out at the end of the process… But this is the start, and we’re committed to making some of these solutions work.”