Governor Maura Healey said the right-to-shelter laws' “original intent” was not to cover the “waves and waves of people,” including migrant families, who have come into the state in recent years.

BOSTON - The heavily scrutinized right-to-shelter law in Massachusetts would change significantly under a new proposal shared by Gov. Maura Healey Wednesday. The policy that became law in 1983 guarantees emergency housing to homeless families and pregnant women.

The "changes are appropriate and needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the state shelter system," Gov. Maura Healey said Wednesday.

"I believe these changes are appropriate and needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the state shelter system," she said.

The Bay State will spend upwards of $8 billion over the next ten years improving its roads, bridges and regional transportation services if a proposal announced by the governor Tuesday is passed by the legislature.

As the migrant crisis intensifies in Massachusetts, Governor Maura Healey is calling for a closer look--and potential overhaul--of the right-to-shelter law.