Special to the Sun
The Massachusetts Senate passed a supplemental budget closing out Fiscal Year 2024, fulfilling the state’s obligations to critical programs and services used by residents statewide.
The funding supports treatment for substance and alcohol misuse, public health hospital investments, universal school meals, and targets $12 million for fiscally distressed community health centers, among other investments. Boosting funding for health centers will help provide equitable care in cities and towns across the state.
“This supplemental budget delivers critical funding for substance abuse treatment programs, veterans services and distressed health centers,” said Senator Nick Collins.
“As importantly, this budget includes funding for hard earned collective bargaining agreements for the Teamsters Local Union No. 122, Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the Coalition of MassDOT Unions, Service Employees International Union, Local 888, Office of Professional Employees International Union AFL/CIO Local 6, Union of Public Employees/UFPO Local 1000, AFSCME Local 653.”
The bill makes several changes to benefit the state’s veterans, allowing veterans to receive free license plates and clarifying that municipalities can create veteran housing preferences within existing affordable housing frameworks.
It also ratifies several approved collective bargaining agreements.
Housing provisions of the bill will allow the Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP) to fund certified housing development projects that include new construction or substantial rehabilitation of an existing property and allow for the carryover of the $30 million annual HDIP tax credit authorizations if not fully awarded in a given year.
Further changes include clarifying tribal governments as eligible entities for the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program and clarifying the taxable net income of a corporation when the single sales factor is not applicable.
The legislation’s $700 million allocation includes:
• $11 million for tax abatements for veterans, widows, blind persons and the elderly.
• $12.7 million for the Municipal Regionalization and Efficiencies Incentive Reserve.
• $7.6 million for health and human services and MassHealth administration.
• $565.4 million for MassHealth caseload ($0 net cost after federal reimbursements).
• $5 million for public health hospitals.
• $1.3 million for labor and workforce development administration.
• $7.3 million for Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT).
• $8.7 million for universal school meals.
• $690,000 for the Chief Medical Examiner.
• $200,000 for the National Guard.
• $622,000 for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.
• $1 million for the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association.
• $2.5 million for start-up costs for online lottery.
• $14 million for Section 35 treatment for substance and alcohol use disorder.
• $400,000 for mosquito-borne disease prevention.
• $46,000 for the county sheriffs.
• $12 million for fiscally strained community health centers.
The bill makes additional changes to modernize and clarify existing state laws. A previous version of this bill having passed the House of Representatives, the two branches