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Report Sections
- Active Military and Veterans
- Animal Welfare
- Appropriations and Funding
- Children, Families & Persons with Disabilities
- Climate Change and Environmental Protection
- Consumer Protection
- Cradle to Career Public Education
- Economic Development, Job Creation and Workers Rights
- Equity, Access to Justice and Civil Rights
- Housing
- Mental Health, Public Health and Health Care
- Public Safety
- Tax Relief
- Transportation
Fiscal Year 2025 Budget
Status
Signed Into Law
Public Higher Education, K-12, and Early Education and Care
Highlights
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Creates MassEducate & Expands Public Higher Education Opportunities
- Invests nearly $118 million to create MassEducate, universal free community college and cover tuition and fees
- Provides $80 million to expand financial aid programs for residents attending state universities through MASSGrant Plus and funds scholarships for residents at nearly $176 million
- Invests $14 million to state universities to provide wraparound services
- Provides $5 million to implement the Massachusetts Inclusive Concurrent Higher Education law
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Maintains Public K-12 Commitment
- Provides Chapter 70 funding at $6.9 billion and ups minimum aid to $104 per student
- Funds universal school meals at $170 million
- Provides nearly $494 million for special education, nearly $100 million for regional transportation costs, and $16 million for rural school aid assistance
- Invests $6 million in social-emotional and mental health support, $3 million in genocide education, and $1 million in hate crime prevention
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Expands Access to Quality Child Care
- Invests a total of $475 million in Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grants and makes the C3 grant program permanent
- Provides $18.5 million for Head Start, $65 million to increase salaries for early educators, and $20 million for early literacy initiatives
- Invests a total of $22.5 million to support the expansion of universal pre-kindergarten, including in Gateway Cities
Community Support and Local Aid
Highlights
- Provides $1.3 billion in funding for Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA) to support additional resources for cities and towns
- Invests $204 million in Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) to support regional public transportation systems that connect all regions of the Commonwealth, including $110 million from Fair Share funds
- Funds payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) for state-owned land at $53 millio
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Provides more than $52 million in libraries, including:
- $19 million for regional library local aid
- $20 million for municipal libraries
- And more than $6 million for technology and automated resource networks
- Supports the local creative economy by investing nearly $27 million in the Massachusetts Cultural Council for local arts, culture, and creative initiatives
Expanding and Protecting Economic Opportunities
Highlights
- Invests nearly $680 million to continue efforts to lift families out of deep poverty
- Provides nearly $60 million for adult basic education services to improve workforce skills and $10 million to the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund to connect under-and unemployed workers with higher paying jobs
- Addresses food insecurity with a more than $42 million investment in the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program and a $15 million investment in Healthy Incentives Programs (HIP) to maintain access to healthy food options for households in need
- Provides more than $10 million for Career Technical Institutes to provide residents access to to career technical training and grow the workforce pipeline
- Funds a community empowerment and reinvestment grant program at $10 million to provide economic support to communities disproportionately impacted by the criminal legal system
- Invests $5.4 million in the Innovation Pathways program to continue to connect students to training and post-secondary opportunities in STEM fields
Health, Mental Health and Family Care
Highlights
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Expands Access to Quality Health Care
- Provides more than $20 billion for MassHealth
- Invests $625 million in nursing facility Medicaid rates, including $40 million to pay nurses competitive wages
- Funds Chapter 257 rates at $390 million to support direct care providers across the continuum of care
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Supports family and adolescent health at nearly $28 million, including:
- More than $9 million for comprehensive family planning services
- And $6.7 million to enhance federal Title X family planning funding
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Invests nearly $15 million in maternal and child health, including
- More than $10 million for pediatric palliative care services
- And a policy change that allows terminally ill children up to age 22 to receive pediatric palliative care services
- Provides $2 million for reproductive health access, infrastructure and safety
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Supports Vulnerable Residents
- For the first time, residents are allowed to identify as non-binary on birth certificates, along with codifying the right to do so on drivers licenses
- Supports those with intellectual and developmental disabilities at nearly $3 billion
- Invests nearly $213 million in a complete range of substance use disorder treatment and intervention services
- Provides nearly $31 million for Early Intervention (EI) services for children with developmental delays and disabilities
- Provides nearly $30 million for local Councils on Aging
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Invests in Mental Health for Everyone
- Provides more than $622 million for adult support services and more than $131 million for children’s mental health services
- Invests nearly $34 million in Family Resource Centers for community-based services
- Continues the important work of the Behavioral Health, Access, Outreach and Support Trust Fund with $20 million
- Invests $5 million in Children Advocacy Centers
Transportation
Highlights
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Provides $250 million for the Commonwealth Transportation Fund (CTF) to increase transportation infrastructure investments by $1.1 billion over the next five years, including:
- $127 million to double operating support for the MBTA
- $63 million in debt service to leverage additional borrowing capacity
- And $60 million in operating support for MassDOT
- Funds capital investments in the MBTA by at $60 million, including $10 million for resilient rail services, and provides $36 million for the MBTA workforce safety reserve, $20 million to support implementation of low-income fare relief, and $10 million for the MBTA Academy
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Supports regional transit funding at a total investment of $204 million, including $110 million to support the work of Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) that serve the entire Commonwealth. Fair Share funding includes:
- $66 million in direct operating support for Regional Transit Authorities
- $30 million for systemwide implementation of fare-free transit service
- $10 million to incentivize connections between regional transit routes
- $4 million to support expanded mobility options
- Funds supplemental aid for cities and towns for roads and bridges at $45 million
- Invests $7.5 million in water transportation ferry services
Housing
Highlights
- Ends the practive of home equity theft
- Prioritizes relief for families and individuals who face financial instability, including more thant $326 million for Emergency Assistance family shelters, nearly $198 million for Residential Assitance for Families in Transition (RAFT), nearly $232 million for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP), more than $57 million for HomeBASE and $27 million for the Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP)
- Provides $113 million to local housing authorities and invests nearly $111 million in assistance for individuals experiencing homelessness
- Provides $10.5 million for Housign Consumer Education Center, $10.5 million for unaccompanied homeless youth, $8.9 million for supportive permanent housing and $8.9 million for Home and Healthy for Good services to support homeless LGBTQ+ youth