Bill Proposes to Strengthen State’s Financial Reserves; Seeds New Disaster Relief and Resiliency Fund with $11 Million
Press Release from Office of Governor Healey
Link to Bill As Filed -now H. 5049
FY 2024 Fiscal Update & Closeout Supplemental Budget from Mass Taxpayers Foundation - (October 10, 2024)
Update as of September 12, 2024:
(Source: State House News Service) This bill is now in House Ways & Means. Governor Healey filed this supplemental budget that would close the state's financial books on fiscal year 2024 while also overhauling how Massachusetts approves clean energy infrastructure projects, replenishing a "transitional" savings account, redirecting surtax dollars to close a budget gap, and funding collective bargaining agreements.
The bill proposes $714 million in spending, which Healey's office said would carry a net cost of $149 million after accounting for federal reimbursement for the MassHealth program.
But it was a series of policy changes, not appropriations, that raised eyebrows most sharply on Beacon Hill.
Healey included in the closeout supp "several essential and timely provisions" that would streamline the process of siting and permitting clean energy infrastructure, an area that regulators, advocates and industry representatives have all said is in need of reform. She also included language around clean energy procurement.
The permitting and siting changes -- which lawmakers worked with the administration to craft -- anchored bills that both the House and Senate approved. However, Democrat-led negotiators have been unable to agree on whether or how to broaden the scope to include other measures, preventing the bill from getting to Healey.
"While a final bill has not yet reached my desk, these issues remain before a conference committee and I respectfully ask that you consider advancing these items in the coming weeks so that we can capitalize on the potential to grow our clean energy sector and advance our climate goals," the governor wrote to lawmakers.
Both branches loaded their versions of the bill with their own policy priorities, and Senate Democrats have insisted it's necessary to counterbalance the siting and permitting changes with measures that would boost regulations on natural gas and provide some relief to ratepayers.
The Mass Coalition for Sustainable Energy said Healey's move made "clear that the Administration sees the need for siting and permitting reform as the most important priority for climate policy in Massachusetts at the moment."
"We agree. Moving game-changing energy facility siting and permitting reform is critical, and the Commonwealth should not allow important policy with such broad political support to be lost amidst efforts to address other concerns," the collection of trade and business groups said.
Steve Long, director of policy and partnerships for The Nature Conservancy, praised Healey "for strategically selecting pieces from the climate bills on which there is consensus between the House and Senate."
"Siting and permitting reforms provide a more efficient and equitable process that combines site suitability and community voices to help determine where energy facilities go, how they are designed, and how they are operated," Long said.
Fiscal year 2024 tax collections of $40.8 billion beat fiscal 2023's total by $1.636 billion or 4.2 percent and topped the fiscal 2024 benchmark that was revised downward by $1 billion in January by $967 million or 2.4 percent, the Department of Revenue announced last month. But all of that overage and then some came as a result of the state's new high-earner surtax, leaving a budget gap of $233 million.
Healey said Wednesday she wants to "strategically allocate" $225 million of the excess surtax revenue to support education and transportation initiatives as a way to help close the non-surtax budget gap.
Her bill would use that surtax money on programs such as Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) early education grants, universal school meals, Department of Transportation operations and more. Money originally allocated for the programs from the General Fund and Commonwealth Transportation Fund could then be used to close the budget gap.
Update as of September 11, 2024:
This FY2024 Supplemental Budget bill includes language that would streamline the process of siting and permitting clean energy infrastructure, an area that regulators, advocates and industry representatives have all said is in need of reform. This also included language around clean energy procurement.
The permitting and siting changes -- which lawmakers worked with the administration to craft -- anchored bills that both the House and Senate approved. A legislative conference committee have been unable to agree on whether or how to broaden the scope to include other measures, preventing the bill from getting to Governor Healey.
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