BOSTON (WPRI) — Massachusetts lawmakers are one step closer to imposing time limits on the state’s “right to shelter” law. On Thursday, the state Senate passed a supplemental budget package that would put $850 million into the emergency shelter system, but would also cap the length of a homeless family’s stay in one of those shelters at nine months.

Kevin Connor, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, told Target 12 that the average stay for families is about 16 months. However, there is no limit in place for the roughly 7,500 families in the state’s care.

The restrictions, passed by the Senate in a 32-8 vote, would also include 90-day extensions for veterans, pregnant women, and people who are employed or going through a job training program.

Read more at wpri.com.