Senate begins third day of budget debate after making historic increase to per pupil aid and boosting rural school aid on Wednesday

 Senate begins third day of budget debate after making historic increase to per pupil aid and boosting rural school aid on Wednesday 

Chamber’s amendments also increase funds for libraries, red flag law awareness, and civic education 

(BOSTON–5/23/2024) The Senate will begin the third day of debate of the Fiscal Year 2025 budget on Thursday morning. As of the beginning of debate on Thursday, the upper chamber adopted 375 amendments, rejected 281 amendments, and has taken 26 roll call votes.   

“We are returning to the Chamber today proud of how we have strengthened our budget so far, and by extension, the entire Commonwealth,” said Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). “I’m looking forward to continuing that work today, and doing what the Senate does best: investing in our people and our communities.”   

“We continue to swiftly move through the amendment process, and with just over 200 amendments remaining, we’re in the home stretch now. Again, transparency and inclusivity remain at the center of the Senate FY 25 budget process. Through yesterday’s adopted amendments, we strengthened our commitment to educational excellence for all in the Commonwealth,” said Senator Michael J. Rodrigues (D-Westport), Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.    

Since Wednesday afternoon, the Senate has adopted numerous amendments, including:   

Increasing Minimum Per Pupil Aid to $110—Amendment 620

Proposed by Senator Cronin and adopted by a roll call vote of 39-0, the amendment increases the minimum per-pupil aid amount to a historic level of $110 per student, at a cost of $3.1M. This is an increase over the minimum of $104 in per-pupil aid included in the Senate Ways and Means Committee's original budget recommendation, which was already a significant increase from the minimum of $60 in per-pupil aid that was included in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget.   

Increasing Rural School Aid—Amendment 631

⁠Proposed by Senator Paul Mark and adopted by a roll call vote of 39-0, the amendment increases funding allocated specifically for rural school districts by $2.5M, bringing the total amount to $17.5M.  

Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Grant Program—Amendment 170

Proposed by Senator Miranda and adopted by a roll call vote of 39-0, the amendment adds $2.5M to a statewide program to develop, strengthen, and invest in community-led efforts to support communities that are disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system and face historically disproportionate challenges to economic growth. The amendment brings the total amount for this program to $10M.   

Municipal Libraries Local Aid – Amendment 624 

Proposed by Senator Feeney and adopted by a roll call vote of 39-0, the amendment increases funding for municipal libraries by $2.4M, bringing the total amount to $20M.  

Regional Libraries Local Aid—Amendment 612

⁠Proposed by Senator Oliveira and adopted by a roll call vote of 39-0, the amendment increases funding for regional libraries by nearly $2.3M, bringing the total amount to $19M.   

Red Flag Law Public Awareness Campaign—Amendment 934

Proposed by Senator Creem and adopted by the Senate, the amendment dedicates $250K to the creation of a new public awareness campaign about extreme risk protection orders in Massachusetts, in order to prevent unnecessary gun violence.   

Veterans’ Benefits—Amendment 825

Proposed by Senator Rush and adopted by the Senate, the amendment increases the funding level for veterans’ benefits across the Commonwealth by $2.2M, to a level of $70.4M.    

Career and Technical Education—Amendment 611

Proposed by Senator Cronin and adopted by the Senate, the amendment increases the total amount dedicated to grants for school districts looking to improve and expand local technical education pathways by $1M, for a total of $3.5M.   

Addressing Antisemitism—Amendment 803

⁠Proposed by Senator Velis and adopted by a roll call vote of 40-0, the amendment requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to provide schools with resources for combatting antisemitism and discrimination and establishes a commission on combatting antisemitism in the Commonwealth.   

Civics Education Trust Fund—Amendment 621

Proposed by Senator Rausch and adopted by roll call vote of 39-0, the amendment increases the amount dedicated to the Civics Education Trust Fund by $1M, bringing the total amount to $2.5M.

 The Senate anticipates debate continuing through Thursday afternoon.