The House offered their version of a state spending plan, here is some of what lawmakers are suggesting for $56.2 billion in spending:
The bill would spend a full $19.8 billion funding MassHealth programs, which includes a plan to cover hundreds of thousands of Bay State residents who may find themselves ineligible for federal healthcare subsidies following the end of COVID era eligibility rules.
About $4.1 billion would go into the state’s pension fund, with another nearly $3 billion split between the MBTA and the state’s School Building Authority, and about $500 million added to the Rainy Day Fund bringing it to a record over $9 billion.
The House, much like Gov. Maura Healey, predicts the state’s new Fair Share Amendment will generate about $1 billion. Half of that would go to education and the other toward transportation initiatives. A sizable portion, more than half according to either the governor’s of the house plan, would be offset by tax cuts.
From what is left, $161 million will cover the cost of school lunches, $250 million will pay for MBTA capital investments and $100 million spent on both bridge preservations and “green” school improvements.
The plan also calls for spending $20 million to cover the costs of phone calls made by and to people in state custody and another $20 million paying for residents over 25 to return to college.
The proposal would allow the Massachusetts lottery to begin online sales, generating an estimated $200 million in revenue that will be put into the Commonwealth Cares for Children program, in addition to another $250 million from the general fund and $40 million from the Fair Share Amendment.
Over $1.3 billion would be invested in the state’s universities, community colleges, and the UMass system, which includes $175 million in scholarship funding.
The plan would continue the COVID era rules around evictions, preventing renters from being made homeless while they pursue rental assistance through the state or a nonprofit organization, and invest over half-a-billion in “affordable and accessible housing” programs.
The House will vote on the plan at the end of April.