Healey Signs $58B State Budget
BOSTON — The state has a $57.78 billion plan for fiscal 2025 that includes more than $1.3 billion in Fair Share monies for education and transportation.
Gov. Maura Healey signed the state budget on Monday, saying it is balanced, responsibly controls spending growth and protects taxpayer dollars.
It includes investments to strengthen Massachusetts' national leadership in education such as Healey's Literacy Launch Initiative to expand access to evidence-based reading instruction for students and provides $475 million to make the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grants for early education and care providers permanent.
Massachusetts is the only state in the nation to continue funding this program at the same level that the federal government did. The budget also makes community college free for all students through the MassEducate program. This builds on the success of MassReconnect, Healey's initiative to make community college free for students aged 25 and older, which drove a 45 percent increase in enrollment for this age group last year. The budget also fully funds the Student Opportunity Act.
Additionally, for the second year in a row, the Healey-Driscoll administration is dedicating 1 percent of the overall budget to energy and the environment. This investment further positions Massachusetts to be a global leader in the burgeoning clean energy economy and strengthens the state's climate resilience, mitigation and adaptation efforts, including boosted funding for dams, culverts, and small bridges. The budget also creates a new Disaster Relief and Resilience Fund to improve the state's ability to respond to natural disasters, such as the catastrophic flooding that impacted municipalities, farms and businesses last year.
"Massachusetts is the leader in innovation and education, the best place to raise your family or grow a business. But we also face challenges, so we aren't resting — we're going on offense," said Healey in a statement. "This budget delivers on our shared priorities and drives our state forward with urgency and purpose. It invests in areas that we are already leading on and makes them better — including our No. 1 ranked schools and our nation-leading child care strategy. We're also tackling our biggest challenges by lowering household costs and improving transportation.
"We're doing all of this responsibly, staying within our means and in line with the rate of inflation. I'm grateful to Senate President Spilka, Speaker Mariano, Chairs Michlewitz and Rodrigues, and all of our partners in the Legislature for their hard work on this transformative budget."
The governor signed 258 of the 261 FY25 budget outside sections. Included in those sections is the Disaster Relief and Resiliency Fund and a provision to allow individuals to amend their marriage licenses and birth certificates to accurately reflect their gender identity.
Healey vetoed approximately $317 million in gross spending, saying it would help ensure that FY25 ends with a balanced budget.
The fiscal 2025 budget:
• Directs the highest levels of funding in 20 years to the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, creating a first-of-its-kind Low-Income Fares Program, and authorizing $250 million for the Commonwealth Transportation Fund (CTF) to unlock an estimated $1.1 billion for transportation capital projects and supports year-round, fare-free service at the state's Regional Transit Authorities.
• Grows unrestricted general government aid by 3 percent for the second year in a row.
• Authorizes the closure and redevelopment of the MCI-Concord prison, saving the state $16 million and unlocking the property for housing and other new uses that will benefit Concord and the nearby region.
• Requires insurance carriers to cover fertility preservation services for individuals with conditions that impair fertility; modernize the examination process for uniformed members of the State Police; and legalize online Lottery games.
• Includes $761.5 million in Fair Share monies for education: $239 million for higher education,$244 million for K-12 education that includes $170 million to guarantee access to free school meals, $278 million for early education and care, and $538.5 million for transportation including $45 million in supplemental Chapter 90 road funding.
• Fully funds the Student Opportunity Act with $6.86 billion for Chapter 70 funding, a 4 percent increase over FY24, translating to $104 increase in per pupil minimum aid
• Provides $326 million in emergency assistance to contribute to the state's ongoing shelter response, $57.3 million for HomeBASE to connect EA-eligible families with more permanent housing opportunities and $219.2 million for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher program for low-income tenants.
• Invests $7.5 million for the Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Grant Program, $7.6 million for the Small Business Technical Assistance program, $3.7 million for the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, and $600,000 for the Massachusetts Downtown Initiative.
• Fully funds the Chapter 257 rate reserve for human service providers at $390 million and provides $5.5 million for Children's Advocacy Centers, a $550 thousand increase over FY24, $124.1 million for the Department of Developmental Services Turning 22 Program and $14.7 million for maternal health services, including a new $1 million investment for a doula certification program at the Department of Public Health.
• Expands Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children and Emergency Aid to the Elderly Disabled and Children through a 10 percent benefit increase to $496 million and $183 million, respectively.
• Funds the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs at $555 million, which includes $10 million for Food Security Infrastructure Grants, $20 million for the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, $8.7 million for environmental justice, $42.3 million for emergency food assistance, $14 million in consolidate net surplus to support new Disaster Relief and Resiliency Fund, and $2.8 million to fund work on small bridges and culverts.
• Provides $15.9 million for Summer Jobs Program for At-Risk Youth (Youthworks) to subsidize wages and facilitate career development for at-risk youth, $9.6 million for Career Technical Institutes and $3.3 million for the Registered Apprenticeship Program.
• Funds the Veterans Services at $193.5 million, an 11 percent increase, supports the Chelsea and Holyoke Soldiers' Homes with a combined $87.4 million.
• Includes $5.3 million for Non-profit Security Grants, $13.3 million for gang prevention grants, codifies the Digital Accessibility and Equity Governance Board, offers $4.2 million for technology modernization and hardware maintenance contracts and $700,000 for advanced threat protection software and other upgrades
Tags: fiscal 2025, state budget,
