Executive Summary Fiscal Health and Prospects

Building Toward the Future – The Healey-Driscoll Fiscal Year 2025 Budget

There is no better state in the country to live, work and raise a family than Massachusetts. And that is because we lead with our people’s values.

Massachusetts is home to the best schools for our young people, a talented and diverse workforce for employers, and is a leader in upholding a serious commitment to fighting against climate change, and a belief in equal rights and access to medical care for all.

Massachusetts is making communities safer and our justice system fairer, through strategic investments and humane policies. The Governor appointed the first Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities and filed the most comprehensive housing bill in the state’s history to make it easier for first-time homebuyers, renters, seniors, and others to find affordable places to live. She appointed a first-in-the-nation cabinet level Climate Chief and established the Massachusetts Community Climate Bank to focus on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the affordable housing sector. And the Executive Office of Economic Development published a long-term plan that will make it easier for companies of all sizes to do business in Massachusetts and capitalize on the opportunity to grow our workforce in areas like life sciences and climatetech.

An additional area where our administration has chosen to lead is with tax cuts, to make the state more affordable for all. In October, Governor Healey delivered on her promise by signing into law the state’s first tax cuts in 20 years. This spring, families, seniors, renters and more will begin feeling savings from this historic legislation. The tax cuts package also ensures that Massachusetts tax law remains competitive with other states. These reforms will assist Massachusetts in attracting new businesses and investments, as well as helping to retain the homegrown talent, assets, and innovation that are already here. This budget supports the next phase-in of this historic tax package and continues targeted investments that make Massachusetts more affordable, equitable and competitive.

Affordability is at the top of the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s agenda. The costs of housing, child care, and higher education are too often burdensome to Massachusetts residents. That’s why from day one, the administration has been focused on enacting policy that will make life more affordable for people – free school meals, no cost community college for students aged 25 and older, historic financial aid expansions, student loan forgiveness for health care workers, calls to loved ones at no cost to the incarcerated people of the Commonwealth, expanding affordable health care to 45,000 people and more.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration wants business and workers to grow, invest, and bring their best ideas to life in Massachusetts. When companies can’t find workers with the skills they need to invest and expand, or employees cannot find homes or training they want to make the most of their opportunities, we all lose. The Healey-Driscoll Administration’s approach to economic development and employment is a comprehensive one. This budget proposal invests in what works, for workforce skills development, affordable housing, affordable higher education, and a groundbreaking economic development plan that will support talent, skills, infrastructure, innovation, and training to help workers and employers to grow and advance here in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts is a caring state that defines its success in terms of its ability to provide for all of our communities. The Fiscal Year 2025 budget recommendation makes continued progress and substantial investments across state government to address mental health, substance use disorders, disabilities, children's health and nutrition, health care, the needs of seniors, and child care.

This budget proposes $1.3 billion in investments from the Fair Share surtax on annual income above $1 million to improve our public transportation and education systems, including historic investments in quality early education and child care, evidence-based literacy initiatives, and affordable higher education. Fair Share surtax revenue also enables an infusion of capital for long-needed repair and maintenance of public transportation, roads, and bridges throughout the state, as well as higher education campuses.

This budget proposal makes transformative investments in high-quality early education and child care that allows parents, including those on limited incomes and women, to participate in the workforce while offering opportunities for our youngest learners. This funding would support universal pre-K access in all 26 Gateway Cities by the end of 2026, expand child care financial assistance to 4,000 additional low- and moderate-income families, and sustain the Governor’s historic investment in Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grants to support providers. The Healey-Driscoll Administration believes that a great education begins with early education, which is why this budget invests so much in access to high quality early education and literacy initiatives.

This budget proposal maintains a commitment to the partnership between the state and local communities. It fully funds the fourth year of the Student Opportunity Act (SOA). All 351 cities and towns across the state will benefit from supplemental Chapter 90 funding from Fair Share revenues, including rural communities that will receive an additional tranche of investment dedicated to their unique concerns.

Fair Share funding will also help low-income public transportation riders, making mobility options more affordable for commuters and residents served by Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (T or MBTA). The Healey-Driscoll Fiscal Year 2025 budget (House 2) doubles operating support for the MBTA, helping to stabilize its finances. In addition, Fair Share investments will support fare equity initiatives for transit users statewide.

The MBTA will be able to offer a historic low-income fare relief program on modes including subway, bus, paratransit, water transportation, and commuter rail, using state funds from Fair Share revenues.

Fair Share investments will also increase capital capacity to extend upon the successful Rail Enhancement and Accelerated Bridge Programs. These funds will allow the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) to continue investments in critical bridge infrastructure and keep Massachusetts roadway construction crews engaged and on the job. Additional capital borrowing capacity, leveraged from Fair Share revenues, will help the MBTA improve safety, service, and sustainability. Including a Track Improvement Program reversing years and years of disinvestment, eliminating slow zones, giving the public shorter and more reliable travel times, improving their quality of life and supporting economic vitality.

Fiscal Overview – Building a Sustainable Future

House 2 takes a sustainable approach, ensuring a responsible expansion in key policy priorities while managing spending within available revenues, federal funding streams, and reserves. After a series of years with unprecedented one-time revenues in the form of federal funding and tax windfalls, we expect Fiscal Year 2025 to bring a soft landing for the economy and slow growth in revenues.

The Governor’s House 2 budget recommendation totals $56.15 billion, an increase of $1.59 billion, or 2.9 percent, over the Fiscal Year 2024 GAA, excluding spending tied to the income surtax and Medical Assistance Trust Fund. This spending growth is below inflation with the consumer price index currently at 3.4 percent.

Additionally, the recommendation includes $1.3 billion in spending tied to the Fair Share income surtax. In the second full year of surtax availability, House 2 thoughtfully deploys these resources to continue critical programs for our education and transportation sectors, while also advancing innovative new investments.

The administration and Legislature developed a Fiscal Year 2025 consensus revenue estimate that grew by just 2 percent over adjusted Fiscal Year 2024 revenue estimates, not including surtax revenue. This was essentially flat from the projections used to build the Fiscal Year 2024 budget.

In light of flat tax revenues, the House 2 recommendation utilizes a thoughtful combination of funding sources to ensure a responsibly balanced budget. Importantly, this budget does not utilize any funding from the Stabilization Fund, which has grown to a record high of over $8 billion. The consensus revenue estimate assumes $2 billion in total capital gains revenue. A portion of capital gains tax revenues above the statutory threshold, not to exceed $375 million, can be retained as a last resort to balance the budget and sustain essential programs.

The recommendation proposes to continue to use excess capital gains to build the Stabilization Fund balance, address pension and other post-employment benefit liabilities, and create a new Disaster and Resiliency Trust Fund. This proposed fund will help protect our communities and our economy from the risks and disruption posed by climate change and other disasters.

The budget recommendation maintains the state’s commitment to fully fund its pension liability by 2036 with $4.5 billion in Fiscal Year 2025, a $395 million increase over the Fiscal Year 2024 contribution. Projected sales tax revenues will enable a $1.5 billion transfer to support the operations of the MBTA and $1.3 billion will be transferred to the Massachusetts School Building Authority to support school construction across the state. The budget also commits $27 million for the Workforce Training Fund to support the state’s workforce, competitiveness, and engine for growth. These pre-budget transfers of tax revenue total $7.81 billion, leaving $32.39 billion in net tax revenue available for spending, a decrease of $536 million, or 1.6 percent, below the Fiscal Year 2024 GAA assumption.

The House 2 recommendation deals with a challenging fiscal picture with the convergence of flat tax revenue growth and increased spending needs across the state’s top priorities and statutory commitments. The administration addresses these challenges through a reasonable, thoughtful combination of solutions to balance the budget. These recommendations establish a responsible glidepath into future fiscal years, as tax revenues improve and our economy steadily grows.

Key Initiatives

Making Massachusetts Affordable

At a time when the economy is strong and unemployment is relatively low, Massachusetts still faces challenges from inflation and the costs of daily life, from food, to child care and housing. This budget invests in an affordability agenda for Massachusetts to relieve some of these cost burdens and make the state a more affordable place to work, live, and raise a family.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration has already achieved substantial progress in making Massachusetts more affordable in its first year in office:

• Early Education and Care (EEC) – Increased investment in high-quality child care for families and education for our youngest learners, delivered $475 million in stabilization grants to child care and preschool providers with state dollars and signed the most generous universal child and dependent tax credit in the country, all of which are preserved in this budget.
• MassReconnect – Created a new program offering unprecedented access to higher education, so that Massachusetts students, aged 25 or older, can earn a community college degree without having to worry about student debt. This program will be expanded in House 2.
• Housing – Filed historic $4.1 billion Affordable Homes Act created the new Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities to champion affordable housing and create housing opportunities across the state, and through the tax bill, achieved tax relief for renters and seniors, with additional tax credits to support housing production.
• Transit Fare Relief – Advanced and established fare equity programs for riders of the MBTA and RTAs.
• Universal School Meals – Delivered funding to provide universal free school meals for K-12 students across the state.

Historic Tax Relief

By signing into law their historic tax reform legislation in October 2023, the Healey-Driscoll Administration achieved the first major tax cuts in Massachusetts in over 20 years. This legislation delivered on Governor Healey’s promise to pass tax cuts that result in real savings for the people of Massachusetts and much-needed relief for people struggling to keep up with the high cost of living. Tax relief remains a centerpiece of the strategy to make Massachusetts more affordable, and this budget recommendation fully supports the second-year of phased-in tax relief.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration’s Child and Family Tax Credit is the most generous universal child and dependent tax credit in the county. It applies to an estimated 565,000 families with dependent children, disabled adults, and seniors in their households. Under this reform package, the Child and Family Tax Credit more than doubled, increasing from $180 per dependent to $440 in 2024. The tax relief bill also eliminates a two-dependent cap on eligible dependents, recognizing the complex and intergenerational care needs of today’s families. This tax credit alone amounts to a tax cut for taxpayers in connection with over 1 million dependents. Along with an increase in the Massachusetts Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which grew from 30 percent to 40 percent of the federal EITC and a Senior Circuit Breaker Credit for low-income seniors who are burdened with high property taxes or rent, which is estimated to impact 100,000 households, the tax reform package is helping Massachusetts families of all ages and sizes with the high costs of child care, elder care, and the financial pressures of everyday life.

Centering Equity

The Healey-Driscoll Administration applies an equity lens to every policy they propose and every decision they make. Each secretariat considers the effects that policy choices and alternatives may have on communities of color and historically marginalized populations in Massachusetts. This means a disruption to business as usual, as equity requires new languages, new approaches, and new seats at the table.

Through the Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal, the Healey-Driscoll Administration invests in equity across state government, including the following examples:

• Providing summer jobs for at-risk youth between the ages of 14 and 25, and connecting ~3,600 young people with summer employment​​
• Building strong relationships with Indigenous communities and low income and disadvantaged communities and supporting their efforts in mitigating the impacts of climate change
• Translating the commercial drivers’ license permit test into eight languages and extending job opportunities to new candidates
• Advancing a comprehensive on-the-job training initiative with the Massachusetts State Police to introduce the next generation of diverse candidates to the skills, knowledge, and experience needed for a career in law enforcement
• Undertaking data equity initiatives with state agency data
• Extending in-state tuition and state financial aid to undocumented Massachusetts students
• Undertaking a comprehensive review of Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) agencies’ outcomes through the lens of racial and regional equity. This work is informed by outcome specific data by community and region, and engagement with members of the Health Equity Compact and other community leaders throughout the state

This budget also recommends statutory changes that will make it easier for individuals to update their gender identity on marriage licenses and birth certificates. The budget also recommends updated inclusive language when determining parentage for children born through assistive reproductive therapy.

Competitiveness

The Healey-Driscoll Administration is competing every day for federal funds to invest in our infrastructure and to grow the economy in every region of the state. The House 2 budget proposal reflects the commitment to these priorities.

The greatest competitive strength for our state is its workforce. The Healey-Driscoll Administration is investing in Massachusetts’ workforce by supporting Career Technical Institutes (CTIs), which aim to close skills training gaps by expanding access to vocational education​ and investing in MassHire Career Centers to provide regional workforce training and employee placement services across 29 locations​ statewide. To better connect employers with the skilled talent across the state, the administration launched MassTalent in 2023. MassTalent, currently focused on priority sectors including the life sciences, advanced manufacturing, clean energy, and health and human services, aims to create a streamlined user experience for employers to find trained talent and for jobseekers to access career exploration and training.

Tax relief championed by the Healey-Driscoll Administration from the beginning of their first year in office will continue to benefit Massachusetts in the coming years by enhancing our state’s competitiveness:

• Increased Child and Family Tax Credit – affordability for families helps employers attract and retain top talent in Massachusetts
• Short-term capital gains tax - reduced from 12 percent to 5 percent, bringing Massachusetts more in line with other states
• Estate tax reform - for all estates valued at up to $2 million and eliminating the cliff effect, encouraging Massachusetts families to stay in our state

Massachusetts is ready to compete on a broad scale. In the past year, the Healey-Driscoll Administration achieved significant federal investment to boost the state's economic competitiveness, including the following:

• Northeast Microelectronics Hub (via the federal CHIPS and Science Act) ​
• ARPA-H Investor Catalyst Hub​
• Nearly $400 million in federal broadband funding
• Named part of the Ocean Tech Hub by the Biden-Harris Administration, one of 31 EDA tech hubs across the country​
• Awarded $372 million in federal funding to help rebuild the Sagamore Bridge to Cape Cod
• Supported plans for new West-East passenger rail with $108 million in funding.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration’s strategy will position the state to take advantage of historic opportunities to compete for federal dollars, such as the CHIPS and Science Act, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and Inflation Reduction Act.

Fair Share – Investing in High Quality Public Transportation and Education

In November 2022, voters approved a new 4 percent surtax on income above $1 million, a change in the tax code that generates revenue to promote high-quality education, repair and maintain roads and bridges, and improve our public transit system. The fiscal 2024 budget was the first to include Fair Share revenue, establishing a new Education and Transportation Fund to receive all surtax revenues and ensure that the money collected is spent on education and transportation investments with transparency and integrity.

In Fiscal Year 2024, Massachusetts budgeted $1 billion in Fair Share tax revenue, consistent with the consensus revenue agreement reached with House and Senate leaders in January 2022. Some of these capital investments extend beyond one Fiscal Year and the Administration intends to carry those funds forward into Fiscal Year 2025 to ensure these projects are completed.

The fiscal 2025 budget proposes to maintain that commitment to transparency and integrity, while distributing $1.3 billion of critical investment to education and transportation.

Fair share investments are spread across multiple segments of education and transportation, with a focus on achieving meaningful, sustainable, equitable impacts. Fair Share investments are also planned in the context of other, significant investments across the budget to complement policy objectives and initiatives statewide.

Some of the key budget priorities that are enhanced with Fair Share investments include:

Education

• Stabilization of the early education and care mixed-delivery system
• Increased child care slots for income-eligible families
• Support for affordable, high-quality child care options for families
• Investments that will advance the state on a path toward universal Pre-K, with a focus on Gateway Cities
• High-quality literacy programming for young learners and enhanced professional development opportunities for educators
• Expanded access for high school students to high-quality college and career pathways
• More accessible and affordable public higher education through an expansion of higher education scholarship dollars through MassGrant Plus, extending additional financial aid to 25,000 public higher education students, in addition to MassReconnect and tuition equity

Transportation

• Dedication of a portion of Fair Share revenues to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund, to leverage increased borrowing capacity for public transportation, roads, and bridges and enabling a doubling of the MBTA’s operating subsidy
• Supplemental Chapter 90 funding to benefit all 351 cities and towns in the state, as well as an additional first-time investment in road aid specifically dedicated to rural communities
• Investments in safety, service, and sustainability across the state’s transportation system
• Support for the MBTA to implement a historic low-income fare relief program for MBTA riders on all modes, including subway, bus, commuter rail, water transportation, and paratransit
• Fare equity, fare relief and accessibility for RTAs

The table below provides additional detail on projects and programs funded through Fair Share. These investments will be described in more detail in the coming local aid, education and transportation sections.

Local Aid – A Statewide Partnership

The Healey-Driscoll Administration recognizes that the partnership between the state and its cities and towns is pivotal to building the communities in which people want to live, work, play, and stay.

The Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal fully funds the fourth-year implementation of the SOA, dedicating $6.86 billion to Chapter 70 education aid. This is a $271 million, or 4 percent increase, over Fiscal Year 2024. Total Chapter 70 aid has grown by $1.6 billion (+30 percent) since Fiscal Year 2021 through phased-in implementation of the SOA. The Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal also guarantees a minimum aid increase of $30 per pupil.

House 2 proposes to fund Unrestricted General Government Aid at $1.3 billion, a $38 million, or 3 percent, increase over Fiscal Year 2024.

House 2 also proposes to fully fund the Special Education Circuit Breaker at $492.2 million, which combined with $75 million of supplemental funding from the Fiscal Year 2023 close-out budget that will be available across Fiscal Year 2024 and Fiscal Year 2025, makes $567 million in total funding available to meet all projected district claims. This funding level reflects full phase-in of out-of-district transportation cost reimbursement provided for in the SOA.  

This budget also recommends an increase of $2.4 million, or 2 percent over Fiscal Year 2024, for regional school transportation reimbursements.

Overall, Local Aid to cities and towns totals $8.7 billion, a $269.4 million, or 3 percent, increase, over Fiscal Year 2024.

In addition, the Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal provides $100 million of supplemental Chapter 90 plus $24 million specifically dedicated to rural transportation aid from Fair Share, a 62 percent increase over the traditional $200 million Chapter 90 capital program. This investment will assist local governments with needed infrastructure improvements, easing congestion, addressing needs associated with climate change adaptation and resilience, and fixing more of the state’s aging roads and bridges.

Climate Action - Meeting the Moment

Climate change represents one of our state’s greatest challenges, but also presents new opportunities. Meeting the moment requires Massachusetts to take action on climate risks and demonstrate that the state is prepared to adapt and lead. Gov. Healey and Lt. Gov. Driscoll hired the first in the nation cabinet-level climate chief to lead an all-of-government approach to meeting our shared climate goals. Massachusetts is making progress on ambitious carbon emissions reduction requirements, with efforts in transportation and buildings, preserving forests as climate solutions, and expanding its clean energy sector. Massachusetts also created the first green bank dedicated to decarbonizing affordable housing with the Massachusetts Community Climate Bank.

Massachusetts is an established leader in developing innovative technologies and approaches to solve complex problems. The climate crisis is an opportunity to leverage Massachusetts’ unique talents and build a greener, cleaner economy that works for everyone. The state’s strengths in research, investment, and advanced manufacturing, as well as its world-class institutions and talent are expected to create thousands of new sustainable jobs in climate and blue technology, coastal resiliency, clean energy, building decarbonization, construction, manufacturing, and electrification over the coming decades. 

Delivering on a promise, in her Fiscal Year 2024 budget Governor Healey elevated spending for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs for the first time to 1 percent of the overall state operating budget. This budget proposal maintains that historic level of investment. Many of these investments support critical capacity and administrative support to the ambitious Clean Energy and Climate Plan, including Environmental Justice directives.

This budget recommendation sustains a $30 million transfer to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center for programming that advances efficient, clean homes and transportation, support for the climatetech industry, clean energy infrastructure, and significant workforce training. The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center partners with public higher education institutions and trades to increase the amount of training, re-training, and opportunities to work in the clean energy industry. These unique programs will enable Massachusetts to execute the clean energy transition while expanding employment opportunities in high-demand sectors.

Housing & Homelessness

Delivering on a promise, the Healey-Driscoll Administration established a new housing secretariat in 2023 to elevate and focus the state’s energy and resources toward the creation of new and affordable housing, to promote housing stability, prevent evictions, and support the shelter system for unhoused families and individuals in communities across Massachusetts. The new Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (HLC) is leading Massachusetts at a moment of extreme challenge. Massachusetts has a relatively high cost –of living in comparison to other states, an issue exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing interest rates, low vacancies in the rental market, and a surge in international migration. Housing prices have soared while the availability of housing for all types of families at all prices, in almost every community, has become more difficult to find. The cost of housing burdens low-income families, disabled people, and people of color disproportionately. Housing also represents a limiting factor for Massachusetts’ economic growth. Unlocking additional housing production will enable positive, transformational change across policy areas as varied as homelessness and health care, to high tech investment and jobs. All of these converging issues underscore the urgency of meeting this moment with conviction to produce more housing in Massachusetts.

In response to the housing crisis, in separate legislation, Governor Healey has proposed the Affordable Homes Act, a $4 billion plan to jumpstart the production of homes and make housing more affordable across Massachusetts. This legislation represents the largest proposed investment in housing in the state's history, with a transformational approach to the root causes of housing unaffordability while maintaining commitments to equity, accessibility, climate goals, and confronting the racial homeownership gap. It will support the production, preservation and rehabilitation of more than 65,000 homes and provide for the repair, rehabilitation and modernization of the state’s more than 41,000 public housing units. 

House 2 builds upon the historic elevation of Housing and Livable Communities as a secretariat and the focus on this policy area by including $1.14 billion across HLC, a $62 million, or 6 percent, increase above Fiscal Year 2024.

Building on the commitment to public housing in the Affordable Homes Act, House 2 recommends $112 million for Subsidies for Local Housing Authorities, an increase of $5 million to match the federal rate of $25 per unit for tenant organizations. This rate increase makes progress towards the Administration's goals of maintaining affordability and stability for low-income seniors, families, and disabled people across the Commonwealth who reside in state-aided public housing.

The House 2 budget recommendation includes $219 million for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP), a record investment. MRVP supports access to affordable housing opportunities through rental vouchers and offers households funding for security deposits, which often serve as a barrier to renting families. This funding fully supports the Governor’s expansion in the number of vouchers released in Fiscal Year 2024 and implements a payment standard at 110 percent of HUD's published Small Area Fair Market Rates, which provides more flexibility to voucher holders in their housing search.

The budget includes $325 million for Emergency Assistance (EA) for Family Shelters, level with Fiscal Year 2024. The administration has also published a plan to fund the extraordinary pressures being placed on the emergency shelter system and will file supplemental legislation to use one-time resources outside those used for the operating budget.

House 2 includes $57.3 million for HomeBASE, a $20.3 million (+55 percent) increase over Fiscal Year 2024. This investment supports payments of up to $45,000 over 36 months to help rapidly rehouse shelter-eligible families into permanent, stable housing. As the state’s emergency family shelter system remains at capacity at 7,500 families, HomeBASE continues as a key part of this administration’s approach to sheltering efforts as demand trends persist, relieving pressure through shelter diversion and increased shelter exits.

This budget also proposes to fund Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) at $197.4 million, a $7.4 million increase over Fiscal Year 2024. This funding provides a maximum benefit of $7,000 over 12 months that enables the Commonwealth to serve eligible households facing a potential eviction with costs such as rent and utility arrears. These sensible investments help families maintain stable housing at critical points and allow us to interrupt some of the root causes of housing instability. The recommendation helps take pressure off safety net programs, like shelter, by intervening to stop housing instability before it leads to loss of housing, which is a better outcome for families and their communities.

Other housing initiatives include:

• $17.7 million for operations of Homeless Programs, building staff capacity to respond to increased demand for shelter
• $16.5 million for Rental Subsidies for DMH Clients, maintaining new housing opportunities for clients at the Department of Mental Health created last fiscal year
• $8.9 million for Sponsor Based Permanent Supportive Housing, providing housing and supportive services to chronically homeless individuals
• $3 million for Housing Assistance for Re-Entry Transition, providing supporting housing and rental assistance to those exiting incarceration
• Proposes a study to consider a rate setting process for emergency shelter providers similar to that of health and human service providers. This rate review will support workforce retention among providers and pay parity between shelter workers and similar positions in human service areas.​

Early Education and Child Care

Early education and care remains a critical aspect of the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s strategy to making Massachusetts a more affordable place to live, where children can thrive regardless of their socioeconomic background, and employers have access to the workers they need to grow and strengthen the economy.

House 2 recommends funding the Department of Early Education and Care at $1.56 billion, including $311 million from Fair Share investments.

The budget supports subsidized child care for roughly 55,000 eligible children taking advantage of available slots in EEC licensed programs. House 2 recommends $85 million in provider rate increases, an increase of $20 million over the $65 million implemented during the current fiscal year and carried through into this budget. House 2 also expands eligibility for Child Care Financial Assistance to families with incomes up to 85 percent of state median income and includes a $75 million investment to provide affordable access to care for 4,000 of these working families.

House 2 also funds at $38.7 million the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative, which leverages collaborative partnerships between school districts and community child care providers to expand access to high-quality preschool. With the funding proposed in House 2, the state is on track to provide universal preschool access to 4 year-olds in Gateway Cities by 2026. This is a significant step on the path toward achieving more affordable and accessible early childhood education for every family in the Commonwealth.

The budget includes $475 million to fully support the continuation of Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) stabilization grants to child care providers. These grants started as a pilot program funded with federal dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic and were critical in helping to stabilize the child care industry. These operational grants have allowed providers to remain open and provide critical education and care for young children across the state, despite increasing operational costs and challenges in workforce recruitment and retention. Last year, C3 grants contributed to a 7 percent increase in the number of child care programs, adding more than 10,600 child care slots across the state. Parents, many of whom are women, have been able to return to work as a result.

As federal funding sunsets, the continuation of these grants is supported with a combination of state funding sources: $60 million from the General Fund, $265 million from the High Quality Early Education and Care Trust Affordability Fund and $150 million from Fair Share revenues. With the total resources available in this budget, the state will be able to continue C3 grants at their current levels for another year.

K-12 Education

The Healey-Driscoll Administration has maintained a consistent focus on transforming learning quality with historic investments in K-12 education, including investments from Fair Share revenues.

This proposal includes:

• Full funding for the fourth-year phase in of the SOA to close achievement and opportunity gaps and ensure access to high-quality education for Massachusetts learners, a $271 million increase in Chapter 70.
• $30 million for new Literacy Launch initiative promoting adoption of effective, evidence-based student instruction through enhanced funding for professional development and high-quality materials.
• $5 million for student mental health and wellness for the development and implementation of a statewide birth through higher education framework for mental and behavioral health, along with the continuation of universal mental health screeners.
• Sustained $170 million for the Universal Free School Meals program.

Early College and Innovation Pathways

House 2 also invests in reimagining high school to better prepare students with school to career activities and pathways. Early College and Innovation Pathways provide critical access for secondary school students to career and college readiness programming, providing a launching pad for their future academic endeavors and developing the skills and talents to grow and thrive.

House 2 includes $47.8 million for high school pathways programs such as Early College and Innovation Pathways. This includes a $5 million dollar investment in broader pathway program support, allowing the department flexibility in expanding pathways for students.

Early College offers students the opportunity to earn up to 12 college credits for free before graduating from high school. It has a proven record of expanding opportunities and horizons for promising young people across the state, particularly for diverse, first-generation students, and students historically underrepresented in college classrooms. The Innovation Career Pathways program connects high school students with applied, hands-on coursework and work opportunities in high-demand industries, such as clean energy, manufacturing, health care, and information technology.

With the funding proposed in House 2, the administration anticipates enrolling up to 10,000 Early College students and over 8,400 Innovation Career Pathways students in the 2024-2025 school year. We will also continue to expand access to Career and Technical Education Programing, including advancing access to “After-Dark” programming that maximizes access to facilities and other innovative pathways.

Higher Education and College Readiness

The budget funds the Department of Higher Education, the University of Massachusetts system, the State Universities and Community Colleges at $1.99 billion, including investments from Fair Share.

The Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal recommends $279.2 million for higher education scholarships, sustaining $80 million for financial aid expansion including the continuation of MassGrantPlus and tuition equity.

That total includes $24 million for MassReconnect, a $4 million increase over Fiscal Year 2024 to grow a signature achievement of the Healey-Driscoll Administration. MassReconnect covers the cost of tuition and fees, as well as the cost of textbooks and course materials, for Massachusetts residents ages 25 years old and older who have not yet earned a college degree or industry credential but have a high school diploma or equivalency.

MassReconnect provides a fully affordable access point to higher education for thousands of the more than 1.8 million residents over 25 in Massachusetts who do not have a college degree, many of whom are students of color, nontraditional students, workers seeking enhanced skills for advancement, young people who never imagined college attainment, caregivers pursuing their own educational opportunities after a period of attending to family responsibilities, and midcareer change-makers seeking to achieve a credential in a new field.

Major higher education investments include:

• $8.8 million for foster care financial aid and fee waiver programs to support over 1,400 Department of Children and Families eligible students attending private and public campuses.
• ​$14 million for the Community College SUCCESS fund.
• $125 million in Fair Share funding to support capital improvements across campuses, including lab and instructional facilities, infrastructure modernization, decarbonization, and critical repairs, while helping to address the backlog of deferred maintenance across higher education institutions.

Transportation

Massachusetts residents, businesses, and visitors depend upon having an effective transportation infrastructure network of roads, bridges, highways, and public transit. Transportation is what connects people with family, work, health care, education, commerce, recreation, and each other. The safety and reliability of our transportation system enables our communities to grow and thrive.

House 2 recommends transportation funding of $3 billion, an increase of $202 million over Fiscal Year 2024. The MBTA will receive a $1.5 billion transfer from dedicated sales tax revenues. The proposal also includes $550 million of funding from Fair Share revenues for transportation purposes.

Fair Share revenues will enable transformative and lasting improvements in Massachusetts’ transportation system, including the following investments in House 2:

Dedication of a $250 million portion of Fair Share revenues to the CTF will have enormous benefits to the Massachusetts transportation system. House 2 initiatives will do the following:

• $250 million of Transportation Fair Share Revenues will go directly into Commonwealth Transportation Fund (CTF);
  • This deposit will increase debt service coverage of the successful CTF credit, unlocking the capacity to borrow an additional $1.1 billion for capital projects at both MassDOT and the MBTA over the next 5 years;
  • Additional borrowing enabled by dedicated Fair Share will be used in Fiscal Year 2025 to help fund the Track Improvement Plan at MBTA;
  • The dedication of Fair Share transportation revenues will continue to provide additional CTF borrowing capacity for MassDOT and MBTA capital needs in Fiscal Years 2026-2029.
• Also in Fiscal Year 2025, of the $250 million deposit, $63 million will be reserved for debt service on the additional CTF bonds;
• The remaining $187 million will be available after debt service is met to invest in the following:
  • $127 million to double the MBTA’s operating subsidy, and
  • $60 million to support MassDOT operations, including customer service at RMV.

Traffic congestion and decades of deferred maintenance to our roads, bridges, and public transit assets present challenges to the performance of our transportation system. This House 2 budget recommendation makes progress toward addressing these long-standing issues, while advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion and maintaining consistency with our climate goals.

Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT)

House 2 recommends funding MassDOT at $588 million, a $64 million or 12 percent increase above Fiscal Year 2024.

The House 2 recommendation includes $85 million for snow removal and de-icing, which supplements roughly $85 million in MassDOT’s own-source revenue from motor vehicle inspections and departmental, lease and investment income.

Regional Transit and Local Mobility

The Fiscal Year 2025 budget recommendation includes $169 million for operating assistance to the 15 Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) across the state. This investment includes $75 million from Fair Share for RTA and local mobility initiatives, capital needs, innovation grants, service pilots, fare equity programs, and accessibility. With these investments, the Healey-Driscoll Administration is unlocking innovative service strategies and increased rural connectivity for underserved communities. In Fiscal Year 2024, MassDOT was able to expand Community Transit Grant Program to include projects serving low-income riders as well as seniors and people with disabilities, significantly expand grants to rural areas, and purchase 133 fully accessible vehicles for 32 recipients. The House 2 budget proposal will continue these successful programs for new rounds of valuable local transit investments.

MBTA

The House 2 budget recommendation doubles the state’s operating subsidy to the MBTA, from $127 million to $256 million, and adds $60 million for additional capital investment, for a total of $314 million.

This is in addition to the $1.5 billion the MBTA receives from a portion of the state’s sales tax revenue, which is dedicated to the transit agency.

This historic operating revenue will help the MBTA to continue shoring up safety, reliability, and staffing increases to better serve their customers. Funds remaining from Fiscal Year 2023 and Fiscal Year 2024 reserves will additionally support MBTA’s operating and safety requirements in Fiscal Year 2025. The stabilization of the MBTA’s operating budget is both necessary and overdue.

The MBTA's ridership has yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels. Investment in the system is necessary both to enhance the rider experience and improve safety. Using Fair Share revenues to unlock additional CTF borrowing capacity will allow Massachusetts to immediately invest an additional $300 million in capital funding in Fiscal Year 2025 for the T's Track Improvement Plan. The Track Improvement Plan aims to reduce slow zones and improve safety and reliability on all the MBTA's rapid transit lines through a surge in track repair work. Over the next five years, the expanded capacity of the CTF capital program, which is made possible by leveraging $250 million of Fair Share revenues, will continue to pay dividends for safety, service, and sustainability of MBTA’s capital assets.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration’s first budget included $5 million for the MBTA to study and design a new program to extend reduced price fares to low-income riders. As a result of that policy process, the MBTA will consider implementing a Low-Income Fare Relief plan. The House 2 budget proposal includes $45 million to fully support the first year of implementation of a Low-Income Fare Relief program at the MBTA. The program will improve equity and affordability for low-income MBTA customers on all modes: bus, subway, commuter rail, ferry, and paratransit.

Economic Development

In its first year, the Healey-Driscoll Administration completed its Economic Development Plan, culminating in its report: Team Massachusetts: Leading Future Generations. More than 1,300 stakeholders, industry leaders, elected officials, and members of the public participated in its creation. The plan aligns the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s economic development priorities, funding, and legislative initiatives within three main areas of focus: 

• Fundamentals – investing in the fundamentals to enable economic growth.
• Talent – retaining and attracting the world's best talent across all backgrounds.
• Sectors – supporting businesses that power the state's economy. 

As part of the plan’s implementation and execution, the Healey-Driscoll Administration will file economic development legislation in the coming months to further invest in these economic development priorities, including sector-specific investments in life sciences, tourism and culture, climatetech, advanced manufacturing, and robotics, and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) for all key sectors. 

House 2 supports these proposed investments with $140.2 million for economic development programming and initiatives, including:

• $7.5 million for Small Business Technical Assistance
• $7.5 million for Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Program
• $2.5 million for Urban Agenda Grant Program
• Creates a reciprocity ombudsperson unit to assist with those seeking to navigate the occupational licensing process
• Supports a new Entrepreneur in Residence Program at MassVentures

The life sciences industry has been flourishing in Massachusetts for more than a decade, making Massachusetts the global epicenter for the industry. The administration believes it is vital to lengthen our lead with continued investment by providing $10 million for the Massachusetts Life Science Center in House 2 to encourage innovation and drive economic development, including job creation and workforce development in the sector.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration has been committed since day one to addressing climate change. This important work is led across the executive branch by the Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience. As part of this larger effort, House 2 will invest in dedicated climatetech coordination to support becoming a world leader in combating climate crisis through the development and deployment of climate technology, including the encouragement of innovative technological solutions and building resilience in systems and infrastructure.

In House 2, the administration will continue to support economic development programs that have been successful statewide and for local municipalities such as a $1 million investment for Regional Economic Development Organizations, $600,000 for the Massachusetts Downtown Initiative, $2.5 million for the Urban Agenda Grant Program and the continuation of the Community One Stop for Growth, which is EOED’s single application portal for community development grants supported by the annual operating budget and the Capital Improvement Plan. To ensure funding opportunities reach all communities, the director of rural affairs will continue to work as an advocate and key point of contact for rural communities.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration strongly believes that equity should be a center of every program and priority. House 2 continues to invest in programs that focus on awarding funds to community-based coalitions for initiatives aimed at unlocking economic opportunity across the state. House 2 includes $7.5 million for the Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Program, a program committed to developing, strengthening, and investing in community-led efforts to bring positive economic outcomes to communities facing disproportionate challenges to economic growth.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration believes that the heart of Massachusetts’ economic dynamism is its people. House 2 proposes $2.5 million for Advanced Manufacturing Training to develop and support the development of the state’s workforce, particularly unemployed and underemployed individuals. The House 2 budget proposal will also establish a new Entrepreneur in Residence Program to help keep international graduates of Massachusetts colleges and universities in the state upon graduation, so that their talent and innovation can take root and grow in here in Massachusetts.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration is also committed to helping the small business community grow and thrive. House 2 proposes $7.5 million for the Small Business Technical Assistance (SBTA) Program, a $2.5 million increase over Fiscal Year 2024. This effective program allows the state to leverage a robust network of nonprofit organizations to offer technical assistance, education, and access to capital for small businesses, particularly minority-owned businesses.

Labor and Workforce Development

Our workforce drives economic competitiveness and talent development strategies unlock opportunities for meaningful careers and economic stability for Massachusetts families. As part of MassTalent and the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s overall workforce development strategies, the administration is focused on connecting employers to skilled talent and individuals to career exploration and career opportunities across a range of industries.

House 2 proposes to add $4 million for MassHire Career Centers to provide one-stop employment services and continue the role of Market Makers to help employers navigate workforce development resources and needs. A 66 percent increase above the Fiscal Year 2024 GAA, this investment will generate economic opportunities and expand job training services for jobseekers throughout the state.

This budget recommendation also includes $3.8 million for the Registered Apprenticeship program, combining technical and on-the-job training in partnership with employers to prepare talent in construction and the trades plus expansion industries such as healthcare, education, biotechnology, and financial services. Going into Fiscal Year 2025, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development’s Division of Apprenticeship Standards will continue to underscore the importance of diverse talent pipelines and equitable employment opportunities through registered apprenticeship.

This budget recommendation maintains funding for the Healthcare Worker Training and AFL-CIO Workforce Development programs. It also puts $10.4 million from EOLWD and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education into Career Technical Institutes to help close the skills training gaps that exist by expanding access to vocational education.

The budget also provides $15.7 million for Youthworks, subsidizing wages for summer jobs for at-risk youth and facilitating career development for 14- to 25-year-olds. Youthworks anticipates connecting approximately 3,600 youth with employment during the summer and school year.

Health and Human Services

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) maintains and promotes the health, independence, and resilience of almost one out of every three Massachusetts residents. House 2 provides $9.76 billion for EOHHS, excluding MassHealth, a $780.7 million, or a 9 percent increase above the Fiscal Year 2024 GAA.

The House 2 budget reflects the Healey–Driscoll Administration’s commitment to equity across all agencies, regions, and, most importantly, the people of Massachusetts. EOHHS is working across its agencies, with the Executive Offices of Education (EOE) and Labor and Workforce and Development (EOLWD), and with partners throughout the state, to mitigate workforce challenges within health and human services. The House 2 budget proposal is responsive to the state’s fiscal realities while maintaining or expanding support for critical programs and services in the face of increased need, growing caseloads, and record inflation.

In addition, EOHHS has identified five high-value, cross-agency priorities which will improve the health, well-being, and resilience of the people EOHHS serves:

• Supporting youth and adolescents with complex needs
• Investing in economic empowerment and resilience
• Transforming behavioral health
• Preparing for an aging population
• Improving agency front door access

Guided by Governor Healey’s pillars of affordability, equity, and competitiveness, these commitments drive EOHHS’ work to support, uplift and empower Massachusetts residents.

This budget recommendation contains measures to strengthen the nursing and human services workforces; reduce financial burdens for many vulnerable residents; and support children, families, and older adults across Massachusetts. It creates programs to support adolescents with complex needs; funds innovative solutions for food insecurity across the Commonwealth; establishes equity-focused pipelines to greatly expand the pool of qualified American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters; and makes aging in Massachusetts more affordable through investments in senior home care programs.

Across every line item and new investment, the goal remains the same: to improve accessibility, affordability, health, and equity for Massachusetts residents.

MassHealth

MassHealth, the Commonwealth’s Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), provides coverage of health care and related critical services to over 2 million members, including over 40 percent of Massachusetts children and over 60 percent of Massachusetts residents living in nursing facilities. MassHealth maintains affordable, equitable, comprehensive health care coverage for members.

In Fiscal Year 2025, MassHealth will continue to ensure access to high-quality services while managing the loss of ~$1 billion of annual federal revenue during the pandemic and significant health care cost growth over the past two years. House 2 recommends $20.3 billion gross/$8.2 billion net for MassHealth, an increase of $730 million gross/$440 million net above estimated Fiscal Year 2024 spending. These growth figures assume the implementation of substantial savings initiatives, including enhanced program integrity efforts, additional federal revenue streams, and targeted reductions in spending.

Despite these fiscal headwinds, the budget proposal proposes investments that advance MassHealth’s priorities, which are: (1) advancing health equity, (2) simplifying member experience and improving customer service, (3) strengthening behavioral health and primary care, and (4) promoting member independence. Highlighted investments include:

• Supporting complex members in the community with ~$70 million in targeted rate investments that address workforce challenges across community-based nursing and direct care workers. In addition, MassHealth will invest $5 million annually to improve access to wheelchair repair services.
• Sustaining and building on recent investments in behavioral health, primary care, and maternity care, with an additional ~$60 million in rate investments across these critical services.
• $10 million of infrastructure funding for correctional partners in advance of implementing MassHealth coverage 90 days before release from jail or prison settings.

Investing in Our Future by Supporting Children, Youth and Families and Vulnerable Populations

The Healey-Driscoll Administration’s commitment to our future is reflected in the Fiscal Year 2025 investments that provide health and nutrition support for families, keep children safe from abuse and neglect, and steer at-risk youth toward a more successful path.

This budget recommendation would fund the Department of Children and Families (DCF) at $1.53 billion, a $163.5 million (12 percent) increase, to support the well-being of children and to assist families in overcoming challenges. It includes investments with an emphasis on equity, and upstream prevention to stabilize and strengthen families while preventing out-of-home placements wherever possible.

House 2 maintains the Legislature’s significant investments in the department from Fiscal Year 2024 and introduces new financial supports for children involved with DCF, staff, and foster parents. Highlights include:

• An investment of $6.1 million to address projected growth in caseloads across substitute care (foster care, intensive foster care, and congregate care), permanency placements (adoption and guardianship subsidies), and support and stabilization efforts.
• An investment of $3.4 million to raise foster care rates by 3.7 percent. Foster parents are one of the most valuable resources in serving DCF’s mission. The higher foster care rate will better reimburse for the day-to-day costs incurred by foster families who care for children in their homes. It will also help support the recruitment and retention of foster parents and kinship families.
• Supports the establishment of accounts that allow social security benefits to go directly to children leaving foster care when they transition to adulthood to pay for college, housing, and other expenses.

There is a gap in current programming to treat or manage adolescent youth with complex needs who are in emergency departments (EDs) or inpatient units because they cannot safely receive appropriate treatment in existing congregate programs. This budget invests $10 million in the development of intensive residential program models to support these high-need youth, as well as pilot strategies for securing workforce for these intensive residential models.

To further support at-risk Massachusetts youth, House 2 recommends a critical expansion of the Massachusetts Youth Diversion Program (MYDP), an evidence-based program that diverts youth from formal juvenile justice processing and toward community-based alternatives. Currently, the program is located in seven counties across Massachusetts. The House 2 budget includes $2.1 million to support increased demand in established programs and to expand to three additional counties. This is part of the $191.9 million allocation for the Department of Youth Services (DYS) in House 2, a $8.8 million or 5 percent increase over Fiscal Year 2024.

As part of the Administration’s ongoing commitment to supporting survivors of sexual and domestic violence, House 2 recommends more than $150 million across three secretariats for Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence services, a $5 million (3 percent) increase over Fiscal Year 2024.

Additionally, this budget maintains the Fiscal Year 2024 expansion of funding for Office for Refugees and Immigrants (ORI) administrative capacity, which has significantly expanded services over the past year to meet the cultural and linguistic needs of refugees and immigrants in Massachusetts.

Investing in Economic Empowerment and Resilience

To reduce the financial burden on some of Massachusetts’ most vulnerable residents, House 2 recommends funding the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) at $1.16 billion, representing a $88.9 million, or 8 percent, increase. DTA stabilizes one in six residents of the Commonwealth with direct economic assistance (cash benefits) and food assistance (SNAP benefits), as well as workforce training opportunities. This funding is critical, especially for families with children and elders in our state. The proposed budget investments allow DCF to support families living in intergenerational households and reflect anticipated increases in caseload.

To combat food insecurity among Massachusetts residents, this budget recommends $25.1 million in funding for the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP), which rewards healthy food purchases via the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from local vendors and supports our family farmers as well. House 2 also introduces a major investment in the Mobile EBT Payment Pilot. This funding would support the development and adoption of more secure payment technologies for SNAP and cash assistance to protect clients’ benefits, combat stigma, and reduce fraud and abuse.

Transforming Behavioral Health

The Healey-Driscoll Administration is focused on making sure Massachusetts residents have access to the health care and treatment they need. Behavioral health is a critical component of health and the Fiscal Year 2025 House 2 budget contains targeted new investments in mental health care and substance use prevention and treatment.

Department of Public Health in House 2 is funded at $967.3 million, including $200.7 million for the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services. The DPH budget maintains and invests in key programs including the 988 Crisis Lifeline – which offers 24/7 emotional support for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis – and the DPH Suicide Prevention Program, which provides education, training, funding, and support to reduce suicide across Massachusetts.

House 2 also recommends funding the Department of Mental Health at $1.24 billion, a $105.4 million (9 percent) increase over Fiscal Year 2024. This proposal fully supports the historic investment in expanding DMH capacity that began in Fiscal Year 2023 and adds $10.2 million to expand Adult Community Clinical Services (ACCS) placements. This also includes $64.6 million to support direct care staff and provider workforces by annualizing collective bargaining agreement and provider rate increases and a new $3.7 million investment to expand emergency room diversion, inpatient capacity, and respite services. Given high rates of emergency department (ED) boarding throughout the state, particularly among youth and adolescents, the emergency room diversion program is an essential part of connecting individuals to clinically appropriate care while reducing the burden on emergency departments.

Massachusetts’ ED boarding challenges reflect a nationwide increase in youth behavioral health challenges. The most effective and promising intervention for youth behavioral health is to serve children and youth where they are – in schools. This budget maintains historic investments in and expands DPH’s school-based behavioral health program, including developing expertise to work with LGTBQ+ youth. This crucial investment would fund additional behavioral health staffing in educational settings and support efforts to embed behavioral health care into school nursing services and school-based health centers.

In addition to these investments, EOHHS will invest in a redesign of the Children’s Behavioral Health Initiative (CBHI), which began 20 years ago and provides intensive services for children with Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED). EOHHS will engage with families, providers, and advocates to refine the program to better respond to children’s needs, workforce challenges and the promise of telehealth.

Caring for an Aging Massachusetts Population

Senior homeowners and renters received critical tax relief in the 2023 tax reform legislation. This budget recommendation builds on that major investment in senior housing through the elimination of co-pays for over 10,000 low-income Home Care clients. It also includes investments in the Community Transitional Liaison Program (CTLP) and electronic POLST (end of life) programs, both of which enable older adults and people with disabilities to reside in the most independent location based on their needs and health.

House 2 further ensures the Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA) can continue to provide necessary support for older adults through a $768.3 million budget, a $46.3 million, or 6 percent, increase over Fiscal Year 2024. This includes an investment in additional staffing for the Mass Options program, which connects older adults, individuals with disabilities, and their caregivers with the agencies and organizations that can best meet their needs. The Fiscal Year 2024 investment to expand the Council on Aging formula grant is maintained under this budget proposal, ensuring an ongoing rate of $14 per older adult.

Empowering Individuals with Disabilities

The Healey-Driscoll Administration is committed to ensuring equity and accessibility at every level. This budget includes pivotal investments in accessibility measures for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community. To address a shortage of ASL interpreters, House 2 creates a training program and pipeline for interpreters to work with the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MCDHH). The program will include specialized legal and high-profile interpreting trainings, while also increasing outreach to critical areas of need such as medical, mental health, and substance use disorder (SUD) interpreting. This equity-based training program will diversify the pool of interpreters and increase outreach in every community.

House 2 also expands the After-Hours Emergency (AHE) Program, which provides after-hours requests for emergency interpreter services. This investment will allow MCDHH to recruit and increase the number of on-call providers for the AHE program to improve providers’ ability to fill after-hours requests. The proposal further supports a projected increase in demand for ASL and CART interpreter services.

The Massachusetts Commission for the Blind (MCB) is funded at $28.3 million in the House 2 budget proposal, including a new investment in specialized counselors to work within the blind community. This funding will promote regional equity by closing gaps in access for certain communities throughout the state.

As Governor Healey announced in late 2023, the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission is currently in the process of renaming and rebranding to MassAbility, with the goal of better representing the agency’s mission and promoting equity and access for people with disabilities. This measure is currently pending in the Legislature. House 2 supports projected enrollment increases and consumer services utilization, including the MRC Connect service, which streamlines the enrollment process for consumers.

The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) caseload is continuing to rise as its population ages and the needs of the population change. House 2 funds DDS at $2.92 billion, a $126.8 million (5 percent) increase over Fiscal Year 2024. This budget fully funds the annualization of last year’s Turning 22 class, which is the largest class the department has ever seen. Turning 22 supports individuals with disabilities transition from the education system to the adult service system. In recent years, enrollment has increased due to population growth and growing awareness of services available to support neurodiverse adults.

This budget invests in new home and community-based service programs and assistive technology to help individuals with disabilities navigate their lives with greater autonomy. It also invests in essential human services workforce through annualizing collective bargaining agreements and provider rate increases.

Health and Human Service Workforce Investments

Our safety net is staffed by some of the hardest working and caring professionals in the state, but many of these challenging and rewarding jobs have often gone unfilled, leaving Massachusetts residents without the assistance they need. The Healey-Driscoll Administration is investing in the people who make our health and human service system work, its caregivers, with key funding increases in the House 2 budget proposal.

In response to staffing shortages, the House 2 budget invests in critical nursing workforce development initiatives. The budget proposal funds new certificate programs and recruitment bonuses to expand the nursing educator workforce, while also expanding access to Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) licensing by offering the CNA exam in multiple languages and paying for test costs for first time test takers.

House 2 also supports significant investments in our human services workforce, including annualizing crucial Fiscal Year 2024 Chapter 257 human service provider rate investments. The Chapter 257 Reserve is used to support agencies’ efforts to maintain and expand capacity to programs and services that serve our most vulnerable residents.

These critical investments will uplift working families and vulnerable individuals across the state.

Veterans

The Healey-Driscoll Administration is dedicated to the care of veterans and their families and is committed to ensuring that they receive the focus and attention they deserve. In November, Governor Healey filed the HERO Act to increase benefits, modernize services and promote inclusivity for Massachusetts veterans.

The House 2 budget proposal continues the strong support for Massachusetts active service-members, veterans, and their families, with a $194 million investment, a $10 million (5 percent) increase over the prior year. This funding reflects new spending to stand up the new secretariat and supports continued investment in staffing and infrastructure at the Veterans Homes in Chelsea and Holyoke.

The Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal for Veterans Services supports programs that help veterans access affordable housing and reduce homelessness, maintains veteran cemeteries in Agawam and Winchendon, supports programs and resources for women veterans, and implements fiscal aspects of the HERO Act that includes the following:

• Increases annuity payments from $2,000 to $2,250
• Waives veteran license plate fees​

The Healey-Driscoll Administration also supports significant investment in the state's two Veterans Homes located in Chelsea and Holyoke, with new facilities that will suit the needs of Massachusetts veterans and their families today and in the future. In December, Governor Healey unveiled the newly constructed, state-of-the-art Massachusetts Veterans Home at Chelsea. The new facility will foster community among residents, with private rooms organized around shared community and green spaces and a dedicated rehabilitation room. It is also fossil-fuel-free, features geothermal wells and has a rooftop solar array. 

The House 2 budget recommendation will support the operations of the Massachusetts Veterans Home at Chelsea as all residents are moved into the new facility and will continue progress to transform the antiquated Chelsea Domiciliary campus into a modern redevelopment with affordable housing and amenities. The Healey-Driscoll Administration is now undertaking a major construction project to replace the long-term care facility at Holyoke, with a significant federal contribution. The Holyoke Veterans Home broke ground in August 2023, and when completed it will have the capacity to house 234 veterans in a first-class, 350,000 sq. ft facility. These investments will ensure the state is positioned to serve the long-term care, housing, residential and service needs of our service members and their families.

House 2 also provides $765,000 for the Office of the Veteran Advocate. This office was newly created by the Healey-Driscoll Administration to provide an independent voice to ensure veterans in the care of the state are receiving timely, safe, humane, and effective services.

Energy and Environment

The House 2 budget recommendation maintains Governor Healey’s promise to dedicate 1 percent of the operating budget to environmental spending.

New investments in the environment include:

• $2.8 million expansion to establish a dam safety technical assistance program 
• $2.8 million expansion to establish a culvert and small bridges technical assistance program

House 2 also maintains key investments made in Fiscal Year 2024, including:

• $1.6 million to increase PFAS sampling at landfills and water facilities
• $1.5 million to maintain air quality monitoring throughout the state via DEP
• $1.5 million for climate and drought resilience via DEP

Environmental Justice

The Healey-Driscoll Administration centers equity and environmental justice (EJ) efforts at all stages of decision-making. The Fiscal Year 2025 budget recommendation maintains investments to support this practice:

• Invests $4.9 million in the Office of Environmental Justice and Equity, to conduct secretariat-wide EJ training, and to provide translation services and language outreach 
• $2.2 million to provide language outreach and translation services at each EEA agency
• $2 million for a secretariat-wide environmental justice training program for internal and external entities

Environmental Protection and Conservation

Massachusetts’ forests, parks, watersheds, green spaces, coastlines, and agricultural and working lands are precious resources that deserve protection. These lands are also increasingly subject to the stresses and risks of climate change. The fiscal 2025 budget proposal supports stewardship of land and resource conservation.

The Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal includes $159.1 million for the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), a 1 percent increase that will aid DCR's core objectives in preserving natural, cultural, and recreational resources.

The House 2 budget adds $3.9 million to support appropriate seasonal staffing services across the Commonwealth’s parks, pools, waterfront, and reservations. The budget maintains $5 million that was added in the Fiscal Year 24 House 1 budget to continue clearing the backlog of critical repairs to DCR’s physical assets. Additionally, House 2 maintains $4 million to uphold the Summer Nights program, which partners with local youth organizations to offer free recreational, educational, and skill-building activities to at-risk teens and young adults. As a complement to the Summer Nights program, the budget maintains $600,000in targeted investments for other youth-oriented programs, including the Climate Conservation Corps, the Historic Conservation Corps, and the Stewardship Corps.

Through the fall of 2023, DCR has effectively utilized ARPA funding to plant over 40,000 trees through the Greening the Gateway Cities program. In Fiscal Year 2025, DCR expects to plant approximately 5,000 more trees.

House 2 recommends funding the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) at $86.7 million, a 3 percent increase above the Fiscal Year 2024 GAA. This budget will support DEP’s core objectives in PFAS mitigation, capacity building, and good governance.

Food Security and Agriculture

From farm to table, the Healey-Driscoll Administration is recommending investments to ensure Massachusetts residents continue to have access to healthy meals. The House 2 budget includes $25.3 million for Food Security Infrastructure Grants (FSIG) for producers, distributors, and municipalities to provide greater, more equitable access to local food in the state’s food system. This investment marks the second consecutive year in which the Governor’s budget dedicates an operating funding source to FSIG, to produce and distribute food that nourishes our communities, sustains businesses and workers, and supports responsible stewardship of our land and water.

Criminal Justice and Public Safety

The Healey-Driscoll Administration is committed to safe and secure neighborhoods throughout Massachusetts. The Healey-Driscoll Administration’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget demonstrates a commitment to strengthening public safety across Massachusetts by ensuring safer communities, fostering public trust and accountability, investing in emergency management capacity, supporting the successful re-entry of returning citizens, and investing in successful and humane programs for incarcerated people. The $1.6 billion budget for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security represents a $92 million, or 6 percent, increase above Fiscal Year 2024.

Some initiatives include:

• Continued funding for paid internship program to promotes accessible, equitable pathways to a career in safety and security.
• Support for the Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC), which serves police officers across the state through the delivery and enforcement of training standards for municipal, MBTA, and other police officers. Since the implementation of police reform in 2020, MPTC’s role has significantly grown from overseeing 16,000 to 23,000 officers.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration is a strong, collaborative partner in the effort to mitigate risks associated with active attack scenarios. The Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal expands Active Shooter Hostile Event Response (ASHER) training designed to improve integration between law enforcement, fire services, dispatch, and emergency medical services during an active attack event. These partnerships are vital to building safer communities.

House 2 recommends funding of $532.4 million, a 10 percent increase for the Massachusetts State Police. This investment supports collective bargaining increases and overtime pay. The House 2 proposal also maintains a $10.6 million investment to run the 91st Recruit Training Troop (RTT), slated to begin in November 2024. This funding​ will support recruitment efforts to identify the next generation of diverse public safety leaders. The proposal maintains $2 million for the State Police Cadet program, which offers aspiring public safety professionals an equitable pathway to a career in law enforcement. Upon successful completion of the State Police Cadet Program, members will become eligible to join an RTT. The program is a comprehensive on-the-job training initiative to introduce the next generation of diverse candidates to the skills, knowledge, and experience needed for a career in law enforcement. Of the 47 graduates in the first class of State Police Cadets, over half were people of color and over one quarter were women.

House 2 continues funding body-worn cameras (BWCs) for all sworn State Police members and the continued roll-out of the BWCs at the Department of Correction.

House 2 recommends funding for the Department of Correction of $841.9 million, a $34.9 million (4 percent) increase over Fiscal Year 2024, driven primarily by collective bargaining and manager salary increases, health care contract costs, and other administrative costs. The House 2 budget maintains funding to implement reforms to reduce cost burdens on incarcerated people and their families. The budget also increases investments to support costs of tablets used for educational programming.

In the Fiscal Year 2025 budget, EOPSS proposes closing MCI-Concord for operating savings of nearly $16 million. This closure will allow DOC to consolidate existing facilities while retaining and transferring staff, reducing needs for over $100 million of capital projects at the facility over the coming years. Once the safe transfer and closure is complete, the property will be made available for potential redevelopment. After MCI-Concord is closed, sustained operating savings for DOC can be reinvested in programming and educational opportunities. This is a smart choice for DOC and benefits the incarcerated individuals currently in the facility, the staff who can be transferred while retaining their positions, and the surrounding community, which can benefit from redevelopment. Other public safety investments and policy proposals include:

• $7.1 million for reentry and diversion programming
• $4.1 million for the Municipal Police Training Committee to expand training capacity at 10 locations across the state
• $1.2 million for aircraft and Marine Unit equipment maintenance and repair
• Parole Board funding for substance use disorder programming through community pathways and the Reentry Navigator program, a joint effort led by Parole and DPH’s Bureau of Substance Abuse​

Technology and Cybersecurity

Massachusetts maintains significant investments in technology infrastructure, administered by the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS). House 2 directly appropriates $103 million to EOTSS, an $11 million increase over Fiscal Year 2024. In the Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal, EOTSS solidifies the state’s commitment to digital accessibility and equity with funding to launch the Digital Accessibility and Equity Program, led by the Commonwealth’s first-ever Chief IT Accessibility Officer. The program will partner with state agencies and technology vendors to ensure that all the state’s digital services and applications are fully accessible and functional for all Massachusetts residents.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration is investing in Massachusetts residents’ digital experience with their state government. Last year, EOTSS launched a multi-year digital roadmap project with the goal of providing simple and secure digital experiences that can adapt to people’s diverse and changing needs. A successful component of that roadmap is the AskMA chatbot that quickly connects visitors to Mass.gov with the content and services they are seeking, with multilingual capabilities in twenty languages. Ahead of the tax filing season, the AskMA chatbot is now offering graphic animation videos explaining one of the Department of Revenue’s most frequently asked questions. Funding in House 2 will allow the AskMA chatbot to expand interactions with the public.

EOTSS is committed to operational excellence and efficiency through the centralized management of information technology standards, infrastructure, and service delivery. The House 2 budget proposal supports tech modernization and hardware maintenance that enable continuous renewal and improvement in the delivery of state information technology services and solutions. In Fiscal Year 2025, EOTSS will also continue with its consolidation of executive office information and technology services, bringing the benefit of standardization and economy of scale to purchasing and service delivery.

EOTSS remains committed to protecting the state’s technology systems and data and supporting local governments in developing their capabilities in this area. The state continues to mature its cybersecurity mitigation capabilities through the interagency Cybersecurity Incident Response Team and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) council to address cybersecurity risks statewide. The House 2 budget will support ongoing efforts to promote cybersecurity awareness and invest in cybersecurity infrastructure, including matching funds for a federal grant to help municipalities improve their cybersecurity posture.

In the evolving field of artificial intelligence and data analytics, Massachusetts has established a Data Leadership Council to drive data synergy across the executive branch. EOTSS is leading by example with AI initiatives that partner with our robust higher education and innovation-driven economy to widen our lead in the responsible use and development of generative AI technology.

Conclusion

The Healey-Driscoll Administration is proud of the progress it made in Fiscal Year 2024 and looks forward to furthering its goals in Fiscal Year 2025 in complete partnership with its colleagues at the state, local and federal levels. This House 2 budget proposal is a balanced, fiscally responsible and forward-looking budget for Massachusetts that recognizes the challenges we face as a Commonwealth and tackles them head on. We cannot rest on our accomplishments, but we should celebrate them and ask how we can do better. This budget does that, and we look forward to working with our partners in Legislature to develop a final spending plan for Fiscal Year 2025 that delivers on the promise for all our residents.