Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
A House-Senate conference committee yesterday released a compromise $1.3 billion supplemental budget bill to allocate surplus Fair Share surtax revenue from fiscal 2024 for investments in education and transportation.
The bill includes investments in cities, towns and school districts, as well as the MBTA and regional transit authorities. Highlights for cities and towns include supplemental funding for the Chapter 90 local road and bridge maintenance program, the Special Education Circuit Breaker, and regional school transportation.
Funds from the Fair Share surtax on annual incomes over $1 million can only be used for education and transportation programs. The conference bill (H. 4227), which reconciles differences between House and Senate versions, proposes $593 million for education investments and $716 million for transportation.
The conference committee bill now goes to the House and Senate for approval — expected this week — before being sent to the governor for her signature.
Allocations include the following:
Municipal infrastructure
• Approximately $103.5 million for road and bridge improvements for cities and towns, including:
– $80 million for supplemental funding for Chapter 90, with half distributed through the current formula, and half distributed based on road miles
– Nearly $16.5 million for municipally owned small bridges and culverts
– $7 million for a pilot program to provide grants to municipalities for the repair and maintenance of unpaved roads
The bill would prohibit supplemental Chapter 90 funding to communities deemed to be out of compliance with the MBTA Communities Act. Proposed grants for culverts and small bridges would require compliance with the MBTA Communities Act and would prioritize communities that are “taking meaningful steps to produce new housing or have adopted best practices to promote sustainable housing development as determined by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.”
Education
• $248 million for Special Education Circuit Breaker reimbursements ($190 million to complement funding in the fiscal 2026 state budget and $58 million for needs in the current fiscal year, using funds from the Student Opportunity Act Trust Fund)
• $8.1 million to support regional school transportation costs
• $10 million for the Green School Works program
• $25.6 million for an early literacy tutoring initiative
Public transportation
• $535 million to support infrastructure and operational needs at the MBTA
• $25 million for regional transit authority workforce recruitment and retention
• $25 million for equipment and facilities needs for regional transit authorities
• $13 million for ferry infrastructure improvements
• $10 million for micro-transit shuttles and “last mile” grants to support a multi-modal transit system
The bill includes a provision directing the Office of the Inspector General to publish a report on best practices for providing transportation services, including procurement of those services. The report would be due in February.
Gov. Maura Healey filed her version of the surplus surtax supplemental budget in January as a key vehicle for her transportation funding plan, informed by recommendations from the Transportation Funding Task Force.