Gov. Maura Healey will push for major spending increases for roadways and public transit, propose a new literacy program for schools, and campaign for a multi-year investment to make Massachusetts a global hub for climate and clean energy technologies.
Settling into her second year in office, Healey used her State of the Commonwealth address Wednesday to claim victory on a host of matters and outline a slew of new priorities for 2024 and beyond.
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Healey's first year in office has come with several challenges, including the migrant crisis, high cost of housing, the MBTA and, most recently, emergency budget cuts.
Many of her most eye-catching proposals will involve significant spending at a time when lagging revenues and unexpected costs are ramping up the pressure on the state's financial outlook and limiting new investment opportunities following years of large surpluses.
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Healey, who said "we need to be smart with how we spend our money," pledged to fully fund another year of the Student Opportunity Act, an education reform law that requires the state to invest $1.5 billion more into K-12 schools over six years.
She also took aim at making Massachusetts "first in literacy" among its peers, noting that a majority of third-graders did not achieve the "Meeting Expectations" level in last year's English Language Arts MCAS exams. Healey will press for a five-year "Literacy Launch" campaign to improve reading instruction for students between three years old and third grade, starting with $30 million in the fiscal year 2025 budget proposal due next week.
The governor took a victory lap on the roughly $1 billion per year tax relief package she signed last year, saying it will "save money for everyone in our state." She did not describe any new major tax code changes, either additional cuts or hikes to generate more revenue, that she plans to pursue this year.
Healey signaled that her fiscal 2025 budget bill will "increase funding for local roads and bridges to record levels, with special investments dedicated to rural communities," according to a copy of her remarks provided by the governor's office.
Regarding public transit, where riders have endured years of unreliable service fueled by staffing and budget problems, Healey said she will propose to "double our support for MBTA operations" and tackle a massive backlog of deferred maintenance at the agency. She said she will move to establish a "permanent, reduced fare for low-income T riders," an idea that policymakers have long studied without putting into effect.
Healey did not signal how much her fiscal 2025 budget bill will total, but tax collections have stalled out, lagging so far behind that Healey last week slashed $375 million in fiscal 2024 spending and her deputies forecast little if any tax revenue growth through June 2025.
One factor contributing to the strain has been an explosion in demand for emergency shelter services. Massachusetts, which is the only state in the country that guarantees certain families shelter placement under state law, has faced an unprecedented number of applications over the past year partly due to thousands of migrant families that are pouring into the state.
The administration estimates the crisis will cost nearly $1 billion annually this year and next year, and it plans to propose using an entire $700 million state savings account to cover the unexpected costs.
Healey on Wednesday described the situation as "a hard issue with no easy answers" while also praising her administration's work with the federal government to connect thousands of migrants with work authorization.
"And I want to be clear: Massachusetts did not create this problem," Healey said. "We will continue to demand Congress take action to fix the border and get us funding to cover our costs."
Following in the footsteps of her two immediate predecessors, Healey said she will renew state investments that support the life sciences sector in Massachusetts with an eye toward "a new era of innovation."
She'll also launch a similar effort for another industry: climate and clean energy technology.
"We're going to go out and win another world-changing industry. We will make Massachusetts the climate innovation lab for the world," Healey said. "We'll help Climate Tech companies not only start, but scale in Massachusetts -- creating good jobs in the Climate Corridor we are building across our state."
