Governor Healey’s Budget Recommendations & Transportation Plans
March 9, 2023
Written by Tom Ryan, Senior Advisor on Policy, Government & Community Affairs, & Isabella Gambill, Assistant Director of Climate, Energy & Resilience
Last week, Governor Healey released her budget recommendations for state government in fiscal year 2024. The administration’s proposal includes substantial new investments in transportation, environment, and clean energy programs. Many of these specific plans are consistent with A Better City’s priorities and ideas presented in our State Government Transition Report.
Also part of this budget plan, the governor released a substantial tax reform plan that is designed to improve affordability, competitiveness, and equity in the Commonwealth.
Through this link you can find the Governor’s full Budget and supporting documents.
Here is a link to the Governor’s Tax Reform Plan.
Transportation Budget Priorities
Governor Healey’s transportation budget includes funding to advance design work on the MBTA’s Red-Blue Connector project, begin a means-tested fare discounts for MBTA riders, establish a new state task force to pursue federal infrastructure grants, and increase funding for roads and bridge maintenance.
This is also the first time Massachusetts can spend money from the Fair Share Amendment ballot question, which created a four percent surcharge on income earned above $1 million. Governor Healey recommends spending $1 billion generated from this new surcharge, with $490 million directed to new transportation initiatives. The fact that Governor Healey is proposing essentially an even distribution of this money between transportation and education programs is welcome news and should set a good precedent for future years. A Better City will now work with the legislature to support this balanced approach.
The proposal for the Fair Share transportation funds includes:
- $100 million for municipal infrastructure projects, including bike share infrastructure
- $50 million for matching funds to leverage federal infrastructure grants
- $100 million for highway bridge preservation
- $14 million for roadside maintenance & beautification, such as removal of graffiti and curbside litter
- $181 million for the MBTA, including $100 million for MBTA bridge repairs, $70 million for transit station accessibility improvements, and $11 million for the design phase of the Red-Blue Connector
- $25 million for regional transit authorities
- $5 million for the creating of a means-tested fare program at the MBTA
- $12.5 million for commuter rail station improvements in Pittsfield and Palmer to help advance the East-West Rail Project
- $2.5 million for Water Transportation grants
Energy & Environment Priorities
After a significant advocacy push asking the State to commit at least 1% of the overall budget towards energy and environment funding, the Healey-Driscoll administration fulfilled the historic commitment by including an additional $105M (an increase of approximately 24%) to the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ (EEA) budget. In total, the EEA budget is just over half a billion dollars for FY24.
Some of the relevant energy and environmental budget commitments include:
- Incorporating MassCEC into the operational budget for the first time, with an initial $35M to help establish the Clean Energy Investment Fund to help support emissions reduction efforts in the energy, buildings, and transportation sectors.
- Over $10M to climate adaptation and preparedness within the EEA Secretary’s Office.
- Over $8M to implement an Environmental Justice Strategy to work across all agencies.
- $21M to help support information technology costs within EEA required for the implementation of climate strategies.
- $7M to the Department of Energy Resources, with over $5M dedicated to DOER’s operational budget.
- $22M to the Department of Public Utilities, including a $600K line item for a Transportation Oversight Division and $2M for Transportation Network Company Oversight.
In addition to potential funding for equitable workforce development through MassCEC’s Clean Energy Investment Fund, we are also tracking commitments within the Office of Labor and Workforce Development, which include over $15M of support for Career Technical Institutes that support workforce training in partnership with vocational schools, community colleges, and technical institutions.
Next Steps
Over the next few months, the House of Representatives and Senate will consider these ideas as part of their own budge recommendations. This will lead to a final legislative budget plan that takes effect on July 1, 2023. A Better City will continue to engage in this legislative process by focusing on these items and the overall state government priorities that will impact this region and our economy.
