COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
MASSACHUSETTS SENATE
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON 02133

Senator Joan B. Lovely
State Senator
2nd Essex District

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

July 25, 2019

Legislature Passes Balanced Budget with Targeted Investments in

Education, Housing, and Environment

Prioritizes initiatives to strengthen the economy and support vulnerable residents

Fiscal Year 2020 Budget – Conference Committee Report

July 25, 2019 – BOSTON – The Massachusetts Legislature passed its Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) budget, which invests in programs and services across the Commonwealth. Funded at $43.1 billion, the budget makes major investments in education, housing, substance use disorder services, and health care while projecting a more than $476 million deposit into the Stabilization Fund – bringing the fund’s balance to more than $3 billion to safeguard the future of vital programs and services.

“Education is a top Senate priority, and I am therefore proud of the significant investments we make in K-12 education in the final FY2020 budget,” said Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). “Not only have we voted to advance the largest year-over-year increase in Chapter 70 education funding in the last two decades, we have also made a substantial down payment towards funding the recommendations of the Foundation Budget Review Commission (FBRC). In addition, we fund health and wellness in schools, and provide considerable increases in reimbursement for special education, charter schools, and regional school transportation. Finally, I am very pleased that the conference budget includes $10 million in new funding for mental and behavioral health. These funds will allow the Commonwealth to address the root causes of many of the challenges facing our residents, including substance abuse, homelessness, unemployment and school bullying, among other things. I commend all of the members of the conference committee for their very fine work on this budget.”

“I am proud of this fiscally responsible budget that supports the needs of individuals, families, and communities across the Commonwealth through thoughtful investments that increase local aid, strengthen our health care system and protect the environment,” said House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo (D-Winthrop). “This budget bolsters our ongoing efforts to combat the opioid crisis, invest in high-quality early education and care and makes another significant deposit into the state’s Stabilization Fund. These investments will have a long and lasting positive effect on the residents of Massachusetts. I want to thank Chair Michlewitz for his leadership and my colleagues in the House, especially those on the conference committee, who worked to put this package together.”

“This consensus Fiscal Year 2020 budget strikes a balance between maintaining fiscal responsibility and making targeted investments that benefit our Commonwealth’s economic well-being,” stated Senator Michael J. Rodrigues, Chair of the Senate Ways & Means Committee (D-Westport). “With this agreement, we uphold Senate priorities by significantly investing across the entire K-12 system, including the largest year-over-year increase in the last 20 years for Chapter 70 educational aid, and supporting strong investments in mental health treatment and harm reduction initiatives to provide more resources for families and their loved ones. In addition, this budget also takes a meaningful first step towards containing one of MassHealth’s biggest cost-drivers–high-cost prescription drugs. Thank you to my fellow conferees, Senator Friedman and Senator deMacedo, for their tireless work throughout the process to produce a final budget that prioritizes the diverse needs of our Commonwealth.”

“As a member of the Ways & Means Committee, I am grateful to Chair Rodrigues and the entire Conference Committee for carefully crafting a budget that included spending on many of my local and statewide priorities,” said Senator Joan B. Lovely (D-Salem). “I once again enjoyed productive working partnerships with my colleagues in the House of Representatives who cover 2nd Essex District communities to ensure that we met as many of the needs of our constituents as possible.”

Specific North Shore projects in the final budget include:

  • $200,000 to establish the Frederick E. Berry Institute for Politics and Civic Engagement at Salem State University;
  • $100,000 to support Essex National Heritage Area Future Leaders, a summer youth employment and training program operated in partnership with the National Park Service;
  • $50,000 for LEAP for Education, which provides middle and high school students in Peabody, Salem and Gloucester with academic enrichment and post-secondary and career readiness;
  • $100,000 for the dredging of the Bass River in Beverly;
  • $40,000 for repairs and renovations to the McPherson Youth Center in Beverly;
  • $150,000 for the installation of Computer Aided Dispatch software and training for both the Beverly Police and Fire Departments;
  • $100,000 to address traffic issues and public safety concerns at intersections around the North Beverly train station;
  • $100,000 for accessibility improvements to the Polish Legion of American Veterans Post 55 in Salem;
  • $100,000 for the expansion of the Danvers Rail Trail;
  • $50,000 for enhancements to Hood Pond in Topsfield;
  • $10,000 for a comprehensive traffic study of Lynnfield Street in Peabody;
  • $25,000 to make improvements to the Councilor Robert E. Driscoll Memorial Skating Rink in Peabody;
  • $50,000 for the creation of an outdoor water recreational area in Peabody;
  • $50,000 for a children’s museum in Peabody; and
  • $100,000 for the North Shore Community Health Center

Senator Lovely supported several statewide programs that received funding in the final budget, including:

  • $800,000 for Home Works, which provides summer and after-school programming for children living in emergency assistance housing;
  • $975,000 for child sexual abuse prevention, funds that the Massachusetts Citizens for Children and the Massachusetts Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Task Force will use to continue their work to protect children from sexual abuse;
  • $1,800,000 for YMCA youth-at-risk matching grants to support our most vulnerable youth;
  • $100,000 for the NAN Project to expand its successful peer-to-peer mentoring model to more communities and schools for suicide-prevention programs; and
  • $300,000 for perinatal mental health screening pilot programs in Holyoke, Worcester, Lynn, Jamaica Plain, Fall River and Salem

Senator Lovely also secured a key policy amendment in the final budget to ensure Regional Tourism Councils receive their grant funding by September 1 of each year, allowing RTCs to plan and execute long-term marketing campaigns to support the job-creating tourism industry.

The budget increases Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA) by nearly $30 million and provides $5.17 billion in Chapter 70 education funding as part of a $268 million increase for investments in schools over Fiscal Year 2019.  In addition, the budget includes a $10.5 million reserve for low-income students while the Joint Committee on Education continues its work on this issue. It also addresses the need for integrated student health and wellness supports, providing $2 million to establish the Supporting Health Alliances Reinforcing Education (SHARE) grant program to address non-academic barriers to school success.  The budget expands the role of the Office of the Child Advocate to oversee integrated coordination of education and health programming. Additional education allocations include:

  • $345 million for Special Education reimbursement;
  • $115 million for Charter School Reimbursement; and
  • $75.8 million for Regional School Transportation reimbursement.

The budget builds on the Legislature’s commitment to ensuring children have access to high-quality early education and care (EEC). The budget invests in those who work with children by increasing rates for early education providers by $20 million and supporting continuing education opportunities with community colleges. The conference report provides $7.5 million for the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative to expand access across the Commonwealth. The budget also includes additional investments into Head Start grants and quality improvement measures in core EEC programming.

The budget represents some of the biggest increases seen in a generation when it comes to housing and homelessness funding. Access to safe, adequate, and affordable housing is essential and provides the foundation from which families and individuals can lead successful lives. This year, the budget continues these efforts by providing:

·         $116 million for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP);

·         $72 million for Public Housing Subsidies;

·         $8 million for Alternative Housing Voucher Program; and

·         $53.4 million for Homeless individual shelters.

The budget continues make investments in the Commonwealth’s efforts to fight the opioid epidemic – a public health crisis that has touched nearly every household across the Commonwealth. To help those in need, the budget gives all EMS and ambulance companies access to discounted naloxone, making it more available for use in the field. In addition, the budget includes:

  • $150.2 million for the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, which will help create five new recovery centers across Massachusetts and support substance use disorder workforce initiatives; and
  • $5.5M for a comprehensive statewide strategy for community-based harm reduction services.

The budget includes funding for public safety and the judiciary, including investments to implement last session’s criminal justice reform law. The budget includes:

  • $4.5million for a new community-based re-entry program;
  • $24 million for civil legal aid to provide representation for low-income individuals; and
  • $11 million for Shannon Grants, a competitive grant program to individual municipalities to address heightened levels of gang violence.

The budget calls for more than $283 million in spending for environmental programs. These funding levels will ensure that state keeps up with the needs of its parks and environmental protections programs. These investments include:

·         $47.25 million for State Parks and Recreation;

·         $61 million for the Department of Environmental Protection; and

·         $1.5 million for Watershed Protection.

In labor and economic development, the budget invests in programs that provide job opportunities for residents to participate in the Commonwealth’s thriving economy. These investments include:

  • $90.5 million for Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs);
  • $41 million for Adult Basic Education Services;
  • $7 million for the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund;
  • $2 million to establish a program to promote and support the Massachusetts restaurant industry;
  • $500,000 to establish a specialized prevailing wage and construction investigatory and enforcement unit within the Attorney General’s office;
  • $16 million for summer jobs for at-risk youth; and
  • $4.8 million for the STEM Starter Academy, to support underperforming students at community colleges interested in pursuing STEM subjects.

MassHealth is the single largest investment that the Commonwealth makes in its residents. This program provides health insurance for our most vulnerable populations: the homeless, the recovering, mothers with children, and the working poor. In addition to funding this key safety net program, the budget also ensures funding for crucial health and human services agencies and providers including:

  • $109.8 million to continue reforms that protect children at the Department of Children and Families;
  • $50 million increase in the supplemental rates for nursing homes across the Commonwealth and an emergency task force aimed at helping to bring stability to the industry;
  • $10 million for a new behavioral health trust fund to support mental health worker loan forgiveness, public awareness campaigns and other initiatives;
  • $19 million towards the Councils on Aging to help senior citizens; and
  • Fully funds the Lift the Cap on Kids initiative that removes barriers that prevent families from receiving Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children benefits for certain children.

For the first time in nearly 20 years, the budget will increase the Commonwealth’s contribution into the Community Preservation Act, which will ensure that more than $36 million will be distributed to projects all across the Commonwealth and help raise the state’s match up to 30 percent for investments in open space, affordable housing and historic preservation.

Having been passed by both the House and Senate, the budget now goes to Governor Baker for his signature.

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