policy

Gov. Maura Healey said Friday the state will conduct comprehensive criminal background checks on all shelter residents, saying she requested a more thorough check months ago however the checks never took place.

Briefing from reportersHealey said she issued an order last spring to require Massachusetts criminal record checks (CORI checks) on all residents within the state's shelter system. However, she said her team recently informed her “that this has not happened at all locations, and that is completely unacceptable.”

Healey added: “We will get to the bottom of why that didn’t happen.”

Her government's handling of the protection system is under scrutiny, particularly after two high-profile incidents last yr. In March, a person was accused of raping a 15-year-old girl at a Rockland migrant shelter. And last month, an undocumented immigrant was allegedly found with an assault rifle and fentanyl at a shelter in Revere.

reported Thursday that despite assurances from the Healey administration of a radical vetting process, the state has not conducted full criminal background checks on all shelter residents. Noah Bombard, a spokesman for the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, told Boston.com that the state has at all times conducted background checks on applicants for its emergency housing program and conducted monthly warrant checks.

Healey clarified Friday that the state is conducting CORI checks on residents of so-called overflow sites, where many newcomers to Massachusetts have been sent. She also noted that as well as to go looking warrants, all residents of the house were also subject to a Sex Offender Registry Information (SORI) check.

Earlier this week, Healey called for a full inspection of all shelters after Leonardo Andujar Sanchez was arrested on drug and weapons violations on the shelter in Revere. She said Friday that the state has accomplished inspections of hotels used as lodging facilities and expects to finish work on the remaining sites “very soon.”

Healey said she has asked former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis to steer an independent, external review of the protective system and report on any additional security measures needed.

“I also plan to work with the Legislature to review any changes and make changes to better ensure that the Right to Housing Act is actually consistent with its original intent,” Healey said, referring to the law that requires the state to supply shelter to homeless families and pregnant women.

She argued the Right to Housing Act was not designed to cover the “waves and waves of people” who’ve arrived in Massachusetts in recent times.

“We will continue to work on it and get it right,” Healey promised. “It’s important to me as governor and it’s important to the safety and well-being of communities across Massachusetts.”

STATEN ISLAND, NY – Ahead of her upcoming 2025 State of the State address on January 14, Gov. Kathy Hochul is touting several initiatives to deal with the price of living crisis in New York City and across the state.

“It’s a new year in New York, and this year means new money in your pockets,” the governor said Friday. “Today we stand together to continue the fight for your families that I began when I first became governor three years ago. Our fight is for your families, but also to make New York more affordable for all of our hard-working families.”

The governor is proposing New York State's first inflation refund checks, which might deliver about $3 billion in direct payments to about 8.6 million New York taxpayers this yr.

The income limits are so high that many hard-working Staten Islanders are likely eligible for refunds. Single taxpayers earning as much as $150,000 per yr would receive $300 and joint taxpayers earning as much as $300,000 per yr would gain $500 under the governor's affordability agenda.

“Middle-class families who have worked hard all their lives are just feeling the pressure, and it’s not their own fault,” Hochul said. “They weren’t asking for inflation to drive everything up.”

The governor noted that starting this month, the minimum wage for staff was raised statewide, expectant moms were the primary within the country to receive paid maternity leave, and there was a ban on insulin co-pays for state-regulated insurance policy.

The inflation rebate plan could be funded by the $3 billion in excess sales tax revenue resulting from rising costs of food and other essentials because the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You know about the $500, right?” said the governor. “You've all heard about our novel plan to put $500 back into the pockets of families of people making more than $300,000 or less. We meet a lot of people with this.

“Because in our opinion, money should never have been taken out of your pocket. That’s because inflation has made you pay more for everything you’ve bought over the past three years.”

The governor must work with the state legislature to achieve support for her proposed budget.

According to the state Department of Labor, New York's minimum wage increased last Wednesday to $16.50 an hour in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County and to $15.50 an hour in all other parts of the state.

There shall be one other 50 cent increase on January 1, 2026, bringing the minimum wage to $17 or $16, depending on where you’re employed within the state. Future increases shall be tied to inflation.

“So here’s the deal: If inflation goes up, your wages go up,” Hochul said. “Think about it. You don't have to go back to the collective bargaining table, you don't have to go back to your employer. Your wages will automatically increase if inflation rises.”

New York is the primary state within the country to require pregnant women to have paid break day for prenatal care and pregnancy-related medical care. Pregnant staff in New York are entitled to a further 20 hours of paid sick leave for pregnancy-related medical appointments along with their existing sick pay.

“Starting this week,” Hochul said Friday, “tens of thousands of New Yorkers, from home health aides to hourly restaurant workers and countless others who have no salary to count on, will no longer have to do the impossible.” They have the selection between losing their pay and receiving prenatal take care of their babies.”

Eliminating insulin copays typically saves diabetics about $1,200, the governor said.

“If you need insulin to survive — I guarantee you, we all have a family member who understands what it's about — you shouldn't have to break your budget to get treatment,” the governor said.

The State of the State address is scheduled for January 14 at 1 p.m. within the Hart Theater at The Egg, Empire State Plaza in Albany.

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Originally published: January 4, 2025 at 4:56 pm PST