Current:Home > StocksMassachusetts House launches budget debate, including proposed spending on shelters, public transit -文件: temp/data/webname/news/nam2.txt
Massachusetts House launches budget debate, including proposed spending on shelters, public transit
View
Date:2025-04-18 05:21:28
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts House leaders began debate Wednesday on a proposed $57.9 billion state budget for the 2025 fiscal year that would include $500 million for the state’s emergency shelter system and what lawmakers say is a record investment of $555 million for the beleaguered Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
The $500 million for emergency shelters is about half of what Democratic Gov. Maura Healey said is likely needed for the program, which is straining in part because of an influx of migrants seeking shelter.
Democratic House Speaker Ronald Mariano has said the $555 million investment in the MBTA — and another $184 million for regional transit authorities across the state — is key to the state’s economy.
Mariano said the proposed funding would represent a 41% increase in transportation funding from the current fiscal year.
The proposed investment relies in part on funds generated by the so-called “millionaire tax” ballot initiative that voters approved in November 2022, which established a 4% surtax on annual income above $1 million, according to Mariano.
The proposed budget also includes $20 million for reduced MBTA fares for riders with lower incomes.
Budget writers said they were able to create a balanced spending plan without dipping into the state’s rainy day fund. Under the plan, the fund is on track to top $9 billion, one of the biggest state rainy day funds in the country.
Healey released her version of the state budget in January. Healey’s $58 billion plan included several proposals she previewed during her State of the Commonwealth address, including lowering the staggering cost of housing and childcare and making Massachusetts “the climate innovation lab for the world.”
Healey said her proposal doesn’t rely on any new broad-based taxes and wouldn’t require a withdrawal from the state’s rainy day fund.
It would spend a then-anticipated $1.3 billion raised from the voter-approved “millionaire tax” on transportation and education, including a universal school meals program and a low-income fare relief program for greater Boston’s public transit system.
After the House votes on its budget proposal, the debate heads to the Senate, which will draft and vote on its own state budget plan.
It will then be up to a six-member conference committee of House and Senate members to hammer out a single budget proposal to send back to each chamber for a final vote before shipping it to Healey’s desk.
veryGood! (415)
Related
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- U.S. wrestler Alan Vera dies at 33 after suffering cardiac arrest during soccer game
- Spotted: Katie Holmes With a $35 Tote & Rocking the Barn Jacket Trend (Plus Affordable Picks Under $100)
- Hot Diggity Dog! Disney & Columbia Just Dropped the Cutest Fall Collab, With Styles for the Whole Family
- Elon Musk’s Daughter Vivian Calls Him “Absolutely Pathetic” and a “Serial Adulterer”
- Las Vegas Aces, New York Liberty advance, will meet in semifinals of 2024 WNBA playoffs
- Love Is Blind’s Sarah Ann Bick Reveals She and Jeramey Lutinski Broke Up
- Horoscopes Today, September 24, 2024
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- OpenAI exec Mira Murati says she’s leaving artificial intelligence company
Ranking
- What polling shows about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ new running mate
- Former Detroit-area mayor pleads guilty in scheme to cash in on land deal
- Rapper Fatman Scoop died of heart disease, medical examiner says
- Overseas voters are the latest target in Trump’s false narrative on election fraud
- Police remove gator from pool in North Carolina town: Watch video of 'arrest'
- Senate approves criminal contempt resolution against Steward Health Care CEO
- Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Star Eduardo Xol Dead at 58 After Stabbing Attack
- NFL Week 3 overreactions: Commanders are back, Vikings Super Bowl bound
Recommendation
NCAA hits former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh with suspension, show-cause for recruiting violations
'Rather than advising them, she was abusing them': LA school counselor accused of sex crime
Harris plans to campaign on Arizona’s border with Mexico to show strength on immigration
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez says New York City mayor should resign
Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
Bridgerton Ball in Detroit Compared to Willy's Chocolate Experience Over Scam Fan Event
Artem Chigvintsev's Lawyer Gives Update on Nikki Garcia Divorce
Keith Urban and Jimmy Fallon Reveal Hilarious Prank They Played on Nicole Kidman at the Met Gala