BOSTON (WPRI) — A nine-month cap on families entering Massachusetts’ emergency shelter system will soon go into effect, after the state reported an influx in migrants over the last year.

On Wednesday, Gov. Maura Healey announced 90-day notices will start going out to families in the shelter system in July. The administration plans to limit the number of notices to 150 families a week.

Massachusetts is the only state in the country that has a right to shelter law, which was established in the 1980s to offer shelter to families and pregnant women.

But over the last year, the Healey administration said it has seen an increase in migrants, many from Haiti who are fleeing violence. Hotels, airports, and even a prison have all been identified as temporary housing for migrants entering the state.

In the fall of 2023, Healey announced a cap on the number of families in the emergency shelter system, at 7,500.

Still, families remained on the waiting list, leading to a push for a cap that reached the State House. In April the General Assembly passed a nine-month limit on families in the shelter system.

On Wednesday, the Healey administration laid out the the policy affecting all families within the emergency shelter system, about half of whom are homeless Massachusetts families, according to the governor’s office.

“This policy is a responsible measure to address the capacity and fiscal constraints of our state’s emergency assistance system,” Healey wrote in a statement Wednesday.

Families will be able to apply for up to two 90-day extensions, which can be granted for reasons ranging from having a baby to being in a job-training program. People can also apply for a hardship waiver.

Wednesday’s announcement also gave insight into how many migrants have received work authorizations, a challenge Healey has repeatedly called on the federal government to address.

According to the press release, 3,716 immigrants have applied for work authorizations since November and “it is expected the vast majority have been approved.”

The administration also announced progress in helping people exit the shelter system. According to data provided by the state, the number of families leaving Massachusetts went from 168 in November to 331 in May.

The nine-month policy is expected to remain in effect until the number of families in the shelter system gets below 7,500.

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) – A motion hearing for a Massachusetts man convicted of murdering a man in Bangor held Wednesday morning.

F Daly was found guilty last July of fatally shooting 51-year-old Israel Lewis.

Lewis was killed in his apartment on Second Street in January of 2018.

Daly was sentenced to 42 years behind bars.

Wednesday’s hearing was to address the motion filed by the State to dismiss post-conviction review.

They are asking that counts be dismissed or clarified because they were too vague and not grounds for review.

Daly’s attorney says there was misconduct by the prosecution including ineffective assistance of council, and an issue of one witness being called to testify for the Grand Jury, but not during the trial.

After hearing further description of these points, the Judge requested follow-up documents from Daly his attorney for more specific details.

And the court is reviewing dates for a future hearing.

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MASSACHUSETTS — State health officials say Massachusetts saw its biggest year-over-year drop in opioid overdose deaths in two decades last year, although more than 2,100 residents still died due to an overdose in 2023.

Massachusetts opioid overdose deaths increased every year between 2019 and 2022, reaching an all-time high of 2,357 in 2022. An estimated 2,125 died in 2023, and deaths over the first three months of 2024 were trending lower than in previous years, the state Department of Public Health said Wednesday.

State officials attributed the reduction to increased investments in treatment programs and housing, the distribution of nearly 200,000 naloxone overdose kits and increasing access to medications to treat opioid-use disorder. The state has focused its efforts especially on people living in rural areas and in communities of color.

The reduction in deaths comes amid the ongoing surge of fentanyl use, and the combination of fentanyl with xylazine — a tranquilizer whose sedating effects can’t be reversed by anti-overdose medications like naloxone.

According to state data, many large communities like Pittsfield, Brockton, Cambridge, Lynn and Lawrence saw big reductions in overdose deaths. Worcester, the state’s second-largest city, saw a decrease between 2022 and 2023, but the number of deaths in 2023 was still the second-highest on record dating back to 2016. Boston’s overdose deaths rose from 353 in 2022 to 377 in 2023, according to state data.

RIZE Massachusetts, a Boston-based nonprofit working to reduce overdose deaths, said the reduction is a positive step, but that more work needs to be done to further reduce deaths.

“Any decrease in fatal overdoses is positive, but we are still losing far too many people — with persistently alarming rates among people of color and in our rural communities — given the knowledge and resources we have at our disposal to save lives,” the nonprofit said in a news release. “In partnership with the state, we are broadening our efforts to address the overdose crisis and increasing access to opioid settlement funds. We must continue to champion effective, equitable interventions and advocate for new measures to achieve a sustained downward trend in the crisis.”