Media on SNAP cuts; DTA Statewide updates, SUN Bucks, New Broker Fees Law

Greetings all on the last day of July 2025. (Note that Vicky is on vacation thru August 5th - just in case you’re trying to reach her, I’m second fiddle).

Wanted to start with a quick reminder on the federal Budget Reconciliation Act. As you read this email, USDA has not issued guidance yet on the immigrant and work rule changes. DTA has retained its posting on this federal updates webpage that NOTHING has changed until further notice. Stay calm, carry on!

Federal SNAP Cuts in the News

Flagging three powerful articles highlighting how mean-spirited the federal SNAP cuts are and the feared impact of worsening food insecurity in Massachusetts. Thank you all for continuing to forcefully against the horrid federal bill highlighting the harm to Massachusetts residents. Keep it up, and let MLRI know if you need any talking points for your convos with reporters.

• WBUR, 7/22/25 Mass. food banks brace for double hit of federal food cuts, benefit changes
• Westford Cat, 7/23/25: Advocates: Federal Cuts Will Hurt People Facing Food Insecurity
• The Shoestring, 7/22/25 Amid staggering demand for food assistance, new federal law is poised to worsen hunger in western Mass

While the Governor’s recently announced Anti-Hunger Task Force has not met yet, we also urge folks to continue to flag the harm for reporters as well as think about recommendations to the Task Force, the Healey Administration and the MA Legislature to minimize the harm.

DTA July/August Statewide Updates

Each month DTA issues program updates to the Advisory Boards. Attached is the July/August update which covers the federal landscape, state budget, SunBucks, skimming replacement, work rule changes, DTA Assistance Line and more. 

DTA Division of Hearings Phone Line Malfunction….

Thanks to the advocacy of Community Legal Aid attorney Devynn Ledgard, DTA has fixed a problem with the DTA Division of Hearings (DOH) phone line - 617-348-5321. We are still not sure of the source or duration - and hope to learn from the Ombuds or DOH. In the meanwhile, if you or a client tried to reach the Division of Hearings to file an appeal (which can be done over the phone) or address some other issue with DOH and were not successful, please follow up with DOH (and let them know you tried earlier if this was the case).

Make Sure Families Get SUN Bucks Card, or Apply

Thank you to DTA for sharing an update on SUN Bucks at last week’s SNAP Coalition meeting. For more information on SUN Bucks - $120 food benefit per eligible school aged child - see Mass.gov/SUNBucks. What to know now:

• If a family heard from DTA about SUN Bucks (got a text or notice) but hasn’t gotten a SUN Bucks card in the mail, please help them request a replacement card!
• If a family hasn’t heard about SUN Bucks (hasn’t gotten any texts, notices, or a card from DTA), encourage them to apply! Visit DTAConnect.com to apply by Sept. 1.
• Any family with school-aged kids 6-16 - or any age if they are enrolled in an NSLP school - who applies for and receives SNAP between now and September 1, 2025 should also be automatically issued SUN Bucks!

New MA law prohibits landlords from requiring tenants to pay broker fees.

Beginning August 1, 2025 - thanks to our housing advocates at MLRI, GBLS and beyond - a new Massachusetts law makes it clear that landlords cannot make tenants pay broker fees. Tenants are free to hire brokers themselves to find rental homes. But landlords and brokers that are already working together cannot require tenants to pay fees like application, background or credit check fees when applying for an apartment. Here’s a google drive with client fliers explaining the new law in English and 9 languages. Please share broadly!