BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey proposed a series of major changes to state-run emergency shelters Wednesday that attempt to cordon off the maxed-out system from individuals who are not Massachusetts residents, including by implementing a three-month residency requirement.

A day before Healey is scheduled to offer her yearly State of the Commonwealth speech, the first-term Democrat called on top lawmakers to approve some of the most significant reforms to the decades-old statute created to house homeless pregnant women and families with children.

A steady stream of migrants arriving in Massachusetts over the past year and a half have stressed the shelter system and turned it into a costly burden for taxpayers — something Healey noted in a letter to legislative leaders on Beacon Hill.

“In the face of continued inaction by Congress and no assistance from the federal government, I believe these changes are appropriate and needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the state shelter system in a way that aligns with the original intent of the law,” Healey said in the letter.

Healey, who has not yet said whether she plans to run for reelection in 2026, asked Democrats in the House and Senate to dramatically rewrite a $425 million emergency shelter spending bill she filed nine days ago to include the policy changes, a move one top Republican said shows she is in “damage control.”

House Minority Leader Brad Jones said the proposals were a “stark change” from the spending bill Healey first filed just over a week ago, which only included the monetary request and language cutting down shelter stays from nine to six months.

“This is a 101 class in damage control, full retreat, and from one standpoint a welcome development because this hopefully moves the Legislature to actually do some things statutorily as opposed to, ‘hey, we’ve just got to rely on the administration to do these things,’” the North Reading Republican told the Herald.

The policies were released after the chief budget writer in the House called on Healey to provide more information about alleged crimes in shelters and create a plan to boost security in the system following multiple serious incidents and publication of a trove of records detailing disturbing offenses.

In one notable policy shift, Healey asked legislators to sign off on a requirement that all members of a household looking to gain access to the emergency assistance program show an “intent to remain in Massachusetts.”

“(Intent to remain) … may be shown either through independent documentary verification of an intent to remain in Massachusetts, or through three months of physical presence in the state,” Healey wrote in the letter.

A spokesperson for Healey did not immediately respond to a Herald inquiry seeking more information on how an emergency shelter applicant could prove their “intent to remain” in Massachusetts.

Republicans have long championed putting in place a residency requirement for the emergency assistance program — including during an event Tuesday at the State House — but have repeatedly faced resistance from Democrats who questioned whether such a policy is constitutional.

Healey left the door open to the idea last week after she confirmed that her administration was not conducting widespread criminal background checks on all shelter residents. The admission came after an illegal immigrant was arrested at a Revere shelter with an AR-15 and an alleged stash of fentanyl worth $1 million.

In a statement released shortly after the governor put forward her reforms, House Speaker Ron Mariano did not explicitly offer his support but said the House would “remain focused on instituting further reforms centered around fiscal responsibility and safety.”

“From the outset of the shelter system crisis, the House has consistently led the effort to ensure that the commonwealth’s emergency assistance program could remain financially viable in the long-term, resulting in reforms that capped the maximum length of stay, and that required job training for individuals in the shelter system,” the Quincy Democrat said.

A spokesperson for Senate President Karen Spilka did not immediately respond to a Herald inquiry.

The policy changes Healey floated Wednesday are sweeping and come as the state is expected to shell out more than $1 billion for the emergency shelter system in fiscal year 2025.

In one area, the governor wants to require all individuals in a household seeking state-funded shelter to demonstrate they are United States citizens, lawful permanent residents, or are here “under the color of law,” with the exception of households that include children who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.

Under current state regulations, only one individual in a household seeking shelter must show they are a citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or are here under the color of law.

The illegal immigrant arrested at a state-run shelter in Revere, Leonardo Andujar Sanchez, entered the country unlawfully and was staying with his pregnant girlfriend, according to federal immigration officials and court documents.

In an apparent response to criticism she faced this past week over criminal background checks, Healey proposed requiring that adult shelter applicants disclose criminal convictions in Massachusetts and elsewhere and be subject to background checks against the Massachusetts criminal offender record information system.

Families may be eligible for access to taxpayer-funded shelter if they experience several types of no-fault evictions, according to the Healey administration. But Healey asked Democrats to require that evictions must occur inside the state to support eligibility in another change that would limit non-Massachusetts residents from using the system.

“This would eliminate the scenario where a Rhode Island eviction leads to an individual coming to Massachusetts to seek (emergency assistance) shelter benefits,” Healey wrote in the letter to lawmakers.

Massachusetts Republican Party spokesman Logan Trupiano said the reforms Healey should have been in place at the onset of the influx of migrants and the introduction of the “intent to remain in Massachusetts” rule is another “absurd new policy.”

“It should be the complete opposite. We need to ensure that emergency shelters are reserved for long-term Massachusetts residents—not individuals from other states or countries seeking to take advantage of our broken system,” he said.

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