Healey-Driscoll Administration Files $714 Million Supplemental Budget to Close Fiscal Year 2024
Bill Proposes to Strengthen State’s Financial Reserves;
Seeds New Disaster Relief and Resiliency Fund with $11 Million
BOSTON – Today, Governor Maura Healey filed
a supplemental budget to balance the state's Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) budget
and close critical funding gaps for public health, substance use treatment and
education, while also building key reserves.
The bill allocates $714 million in gross spending, at
a net cost to the state of $149 million after offsets, to pay for
time-sensitive FY24 budget deficiencies. It also invests $590 million in
the state’s future stability by making deposits in reserve accounts and
streamlines policy implementation through technical improvements to existing
statutes.
“The supplemental budget will further our efforts to make
life more affordable for people in Massachusetts – from child care to school
meals to rent – while also advancing our clean energy economy, supporting
public health hospitals, and improving our communities’ ability to respond to
disasters,” said Governor Maura Healey. “We’re grateful for the
Legislature’s partnership to lower costs, grow our economic competitiveness,
and ensure a balanced and responsible budget.”
“With this budget bill, our administration continues to
ensure that every dollar we invest yields benefits for the people of
Massachusetts,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “As we continue
transitioning to the Fiscal Year 2025 budget we crafted with our partners in
the Legislature, this bill ensures that we’re starting with a responsible and
sustainable balance sheet.”
In FY24, the voter-approved Fair Share surtax generated $1.2
billion in excess revenues beyond what was budget by the administration and
Legislature, while all other revenue came in $233 million below revised
projections. With this bill, the administration proposes to strategically
allocate $225 million of that surtax excess to support education and
transportation initiatives such as Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grants,
universal school meals and MassDOT operations. This will help close the non-surtax
revenue gap and is in line with how the administration and Legislature have
chosen to use surtax revenues in Fiscal Year 2025.
This bill also proposes a limited amount of new spending
critical to protecting public health and advancing the state’s climate and
clean energy goals. This includes an additional $10 million for the
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, $400,000 for mosquito spraying and $11
million to seed the new Disaster Relief and Resiliency Fund. The deposit in the
disaster relief fund would ensure immediate access to funding in Fiscal Year
2025, if necessary, and supplement the $14 million earmarked through consolidated
net surplus at the end of the year. The bill also includes critical and time
sensitive provisions related to clean energy siting, permitting and
procurement.
“By closing Fiscal Year 2024 in balance, with spending
carefully managed and aligned with inflation, and with additional resources at
our disposal, Massachusetts is well-insulated against the fiscal risks we’re
facing,” said Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew J. Gorzkowicz.
“We are grateful to Legislative leadership for their ongoing collaboration, and
we ask that they pass this supplemental budget bill to keep Massachusetts in
good financial health.”
Additionally, this budget bill would pay for all newly
ratified collective bargaining agreements, provide $2.5 million for iLottery
start-up costs and put $10 million toward the Massachusetts Life Sciences
Center.
The largest cost covered by the supplement budget would pay
for services provided over the past fiscal year by MassHealth. The bill directs
$565.4 million gross to MassHealth at a net zero cost to the state as a result
of available federal reimbursement.
The administration is also proposing to replenish the
Transitional Escrow Account, which has proven to be a critical tool to
relieving pressures on the budget over the course of a fiscal year. This bill
would direct $265 million in excess capital gains to the Transitional Escrow
Fund, while still allowing for a $265 million deposit in the Stabilization Fund
that will push the balance to approximately $8.8 billion.
This bill also allocates:
- $46
million for a reserve to cover costs accrued by sheriffs
- $14
million to support treatment for substance and alcohol use disorder
- $8.7
million for Universal School Meals
- $7.3
million for Residential Assistance to Families in Transition
(RAFT)
- $5.1
million for support to public health hospitals
- $1.3
million for Department of Unemployment Assistance
caseload
- $690,000
for the Chief Medical Examiner
- $622,000
for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency for state match to flood
victims
- $200,000
for National Guard death gratuity benefits and support for military
suicide prevention programming
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