House Passes Balanced FY17 Budget with Focus on
Local Aid, Fiscal Responsibility
Prioritizes initiatives to
benefit the Commonwealth’s children and most vulnerable residents
BOSTON
- The Massachusetts House of Representatives today passed its FY17 budget which
aims to provide opportunities for all residents through investments in multiple
areas including local aid, enhanced support for early education and care (EEC),
and programs to help those battling addiction and homelessness.
The
spending bill, approximately $39.5 billion, highlights the House’s ongoing commitment
to balancing fiscal prudence with targeted social service investments, a
practice that has resulted in Massachusetts retaining its AA+ bond rating, the
highest in the state’s history. The budget includes no new taxes or fees and
reduces the Commonwealth’s reliance on one-time revenue sources. For the second
year in a row, it does not withdraw any funds from the stabilization fund.
“Through fiscally responsibility and thoughtful,
forward-looking investments this budget supports citizens of all backgrounds,
particularly the most vulnerable among us,” said House Speaker Robert A.
DeLeo (D-Winthrop). “I am particularly proud of our investments in early
education and care, elder affairs and substance addiction programs. I thank
Chairman Dempsey, the House Ways & Means Committee and the members of the
House for their outstanding work on this budget.”
"This
budget reflects the shared priorities and values of the Members and the
constituents they represent,” said Representative Brian S. Dempsey, Chair of the
Joint Committee on Ways & Means (D-Haverhill). “We are able to balance fiscally
responsible decision making while making unprecedented investments in education
and local aid. This budget ensures that we maintain the high quality services
and programs that help our neediest citizens and continues to prioritize
necessary funding increases to meet the challenges of substance abuse and
homelessness."
“The House of Representatives has
crafted a balanced and responsible state budget that invests in our communities
by increasing education and local aid accounts which benefit each of our cities
and towns,” said Representative Stephen
Kulik, Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on Ways & Means (D-Worthington).
Again this year, we have focused attention on programs that address the opioid
crisis in our communities through innovative approaches to treatment and
education. I am grateful for the input and collaboration from all House
members who continue to prioritize fiscal stability and building economic
growth and opportunity throughout our Commonwealth.”
The
budget extends the House’s longstanding reputation as a champion of
municipalities. With increases in both local education funding and Unrestricted
General Government Aid (UGGA), this budget raises local aid by $159 million
from FY16. It provides $55 in per-pupil-aid, more than doubling last year’s expenditure,
and fully funds Special Education Circuit Breaker.
Recognizing
the immense impact that high-quality EEC has on the lives of our residents –
both children and adults – the budget makes targeted investments to support the
EEC workforce while expanding access to high-quality programming. EEC
investments include a $15 million rate reserve, continued support for expanding
pre-kindergarten opportunities, and $2M to ensure access to quality EEC
programming.
The budget
also provides $18.6 million for Kindergarten Expansion Grants.
For
the fifth year in a row, this budget increases funding for community colleges,
state universities and UMass. It also provides:
-
$96.6 million for a
state scholarship program which benefits Massachusetts residents attending both
private and public colleges;
-
$4.75 million for the
STEM Starter Academy, a House-created initiative for community college students
which has shown notable early success;
-
$1.7M to support
inclusive higher education learning opportunities for students with
disabilities between the ages of 18 and 22 years.
Recognizing
that education and economic development are intrinsically paired, the budget
enhances the House’s focus on bolstering job opportunities for residents of all
skillsets in diverse regions of the Commonwealth through programs including:
- Invests $2 million in the Big Data
Innovation and Workforce Fund, to promote the big data and analytics
industries, provide tools for related career development and explore how
analytics can help address problems of public concern;
- MassCAN: $1.7 million to establish and enhance
widespread, progressive computer science curriculum in public school through a
public-private matching program;
- Provides $2 million for technical grants for small
business;
- Provides $3 million in grants for an urban
competitive grant program;
- Talent Pipeline: $1.5 million to encourage young
innovators to get a head start on their futures by matching stipends for
interns at innovation start-ups, and to provide mentoring opportunities for new
entrepreneurs;
- Continues to fund the Massachusetts Manufacturing
Partnership, a program that continues to show results in closing the skills
gap, and provides $1.5 million for the precision manufacturing workforce
development fund.
Since
FY12, the Legislature has increased funding for substance addiction services by
more than 65% and passed two landmark bills to help address this public health
epidemic. This year’s budget makes notable investments for behavioral health,
including new funding of more than $28 million for the Bureau of Substance
Addiction Services and $13 million for the Department of Mental Health. These
investments include:
- $2 million for 46 new transitional support
services beds, boosting the state’s capacity by more than 13 percent;
- $2 million for new supportive case management
services that will benefit 500 families;
- Funding for 45 substance addiction treatment beds
at Taunton State Hospital;
- $1.5 million to expand district attorney
trafficking and heroin diversion programs;
- A $3 million pilot for Medication Assisted Therapy
in emergency rooms.
In
additional to behavioral health and substance addiction initiatives, the
House’s budget features numerous provisions to support Massachusetts’ most
vulnerable citizens including:
- Increases the Department of Children &
Families’ budget by more than $23 million. A portion of this funding will
support new and recently hired employees;
- Increases the Department of Developmental
Services’ budget by $45 million;
- Boosts funding for Family Respite Services to
assist an addition 3,000;
- Provides more than $30 million for domestic
violence and sexual assault prevention and treatment programs;
- Increases the Councils on Aging formula grant to
$10 per individual, per year.
The
House has a longstanding history of enacting effective programs to combat
homelessness. As of March 31, 2016, Massachusetts’ shelter population fell
below 4,000 for the first time since August of 2013; and the number of families
in hotels and motels has dropped by more than 1,500. This year the House
continues to enhance its efforts by:
- Providing more than $155 million for the Emergency
Assistance Family Shelter Program;
- Since FY10 funding for the Massachusetts Rental
Voucher Program (MRVP) has increased by more than 300%. This year MRVP is
funded at $100 million which will result in 375 new vouchers;
- Funding the HomeBASE program at $31.9 million.
MassHealth
remains the largest expense in the Commonwealth’s budget. Notably, this
legislation contains MassHealth spending growth to 5 percent from FY16 while
maintaining member benefits and eligibility. It provides the Health Safety Net
with a $15 million transfer and institutes a five-year Delivery System Reform
Incentive Program to maximize federal funding as the state moves toward an
accountable-care-organization model of health care delivery.
The
budget will now go to the Senate.
