5 days ago
Mass. lawmakers reach deal to seed MBTA with $535 million from ‘millionaires' surtax spending package
The bill also would set aside $248 million to help cover
The bill largely spends surplus revenue that the state collected from the surtax on annual income exceeding roughly $1 million. The revenue is constitutionally mandated to go toward transportation and education initiatives, though the agreement released Monday tips more toward transportation ($716 million in funding) than education ($593.5 million), according to lawmakers.
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Legislators could shuttle the bill to Governor Maura Healey's desk as early as Wednesday, when both chambers have formal sessions scheduled.
In a joint statement, state Representative Aaron Michlewitz and state Senator Michael Rodrigues, the chambers' respective budget chiefs, said the agreement 'makes critically important investments in education and transportation in the face of continued uncertainty.'
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The MBTA's own spending plans already lean heavily on state largesse. The agency's board of directors last week
The T's approved budget calls for hiring more than 1,000 positions to increase the agency's headcount to 8,030 employees. The T is also seeking some cost-cutting measures, such as reducing overtime costs,
The MBTA has faced long-standing
The T has also struggled with drawing back riders. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, fare revenue covered about
To address this, the Legislature offered vastly different visions. The surtax spending bill the Senate passed last month would have dedicated $370 million to the MBTA, including $200 million to replenish the agency's budget reserve. The House, on other hand, sought far more, setting aside nearly $800 million for the T, most of which — $700 million — was tabbed for the agency's reserve and deficiency funds.
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The bill released Monday falls in the middle. It would dedicate $300 million for the T's spending reserve, plus offer $175 million for workforce and safety funding. Another $40 million would go toward infrastructure upgrades, and $20 million would help fund the MBTA's low-income fare program.
The gap between the chamber's plans for the T was even wider when combined with their annual state budget proposals, with the House seeking about $1.4 billion for the T between the two bills and the Senate $820 million.
How Monday's deal would affect what the agency receives in the annual state budget plan is unclear. The chamber's leaders are still negotiating the details of that roughly $61.5 billion bill, which is designed to cover the fiscal year that starts July 1.
Both chambers also included an array of earmarks in their surtax spending bills, ranging from
Legislators had yet to release the full text of the final version Monday afternoon.
The surplus surtax bill is, by design, supplemental, offering lawmakers a huge windfall to fund priorities that they perhaps wouldn't have been able to otherwise through the regular budget process.
Still, the Legislature is likely to find itself in a similar position next year, too. Entering May, the voter-approved surtax had already
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That type of financial cushion is welcome. President Trump has withheld or cut
Companies have also
Matt Stout can be reached at
