An Act relative to CHAMP that will revert back to local residents receiving priority over applicants that have not been screened as emergency applicants

HD 1878 changes Massachusetts' public housing application rules by ending self-certification of emergency status and reinstating priority for local residents over applicants not screened as emergency. Housing authorities must now screen applicants for emergency status instead of allowing self-certification, and local residents will be placed ahead of non-emergency applicants on waitlists. This bill applies to the state's CHAMP system, which manages public housing applications statewide for all local housing authorities. The change reverses a current practice that permitted applicants to self-certify emergency status to gain priority.