BOSTON — Gov. Charlie Baker signed a $4 billion spending plan on Monday that will support continued recovery across key priority areas with substantial investments in housing and homeownership, healthcare, workforce development and infrastructure.
The plan will put to work a portion of the $5.286 billion that the Commonwealth received from the federal government through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in May 2021. The Baker-Polito administration first proposed these investments in June.
“The pandemic has had a significant impact on Massachusetts workers, families, communities, and businesses for nearly two years, and today’s signing directs billions of dollars in relief toward those hardest hit across the commonwealth,” said Baker. “While this package falls far short of the investment I called for to address the housing shortage, the important investments included in this bill will help to accelerate Massachusetts’ economic recovery and provide long-lasting benefits to infrastructure, healthcare, education systems, and small businesses.”
The bill authorizes the use of up to $2.55 billion in spending from the ARPA Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Funds. This direct federal aid is intended to support urgent COVID-19 response efforts, replace lost revenue, support immediate economic stabilization for households and businesses, and address unequal public health and economic challenges in Massachusetts cities and towns. After accounting for spending in this bill and previously announced commitments, approximately $2.3 billion of the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Funds will remain to be further appropriated.
“This relief will play a crucial role in the ongoing recovery of our residents and communities, especially those disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, and we are eager to put it to work,” said Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito.
The remaining $1.45 billion out of the approved $4 billion in spending is appropriated from the Transitional Escrow Fund, which was made up of the state surplus funds for the fiscal year 2021. The bill assigns the Secretary of Administration and Finance the responsibility of matching expenditures to the most appropriate funding source.
“The commonwealth has worked diligently over the past two years to deploy billions worth of federal support to strengthen our economic recovery, support those in disproportionately impacted communities, and get people back to work,” said Secretary of Administration and Finance Michael J. Heffernan. “We appreciate the collaboration of our colleagues in the Legislature on this bill to invest in healthcare, housing, and the Massachusetts workforce and look forward to even more critical investments in 2022 with the remaining ARPA funds.”
Examples of the housing-related items in the bill include $150 million to finance the statewide production of housing for various populations, including seniors and veterans; $150 million for public-housing maintenance; and $65 million to support expanded homeownership opportunities, focused on first-time homebuyers who are residents of disproportionately impacted communities.
The Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund will receive a $500 million investment, and another $500 million will be spent on premium pay for low-income essential workers.
Small businesses will receive $75 million worth of grants, including $50 million to businesses reaching underserved markets and minority, women, and veteran owned businesses. Additional $25 million will be distributed to small businesses that did not qualify for prior programs.
Investments into health care provide for, among other areas, $400 million for addiction treatment and related behavioral-health services, workforce, and infrastructure; $260 million for fiscally stressed hospitals in disproportionately impacted municipalities; and $37.5 million for grants to reduce juvenile delinquency, youth homelessness, and summer jobs.
Public school districts will receive $100 million for HVAC systems.
U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) welcomed the action taken by the Massachusetts Legislature and Baker-Polito administration, and expressed the hope that municipal leaders will move swiftly to put the funding to work to improve people’s lives.
“Today’s passage of the COVID-19 Relief Funding Spending Bill is the fulfillment of a promise that Congress and the Biden administration made to our essential workers who have been on the front lines of this pandemic for two years; to families struggling to put food on the table and keep the lights on; to small business owners fighting to survive; and to working- and middle-class families across the Commonwealth desperate to rebuild and move past this crisis,” Moulton said. “We can finally address the growing problem of combined sewer overflow that is threatening state beaches, our children’s health, and the environment. We can treat mental health like the urgent health issue it is by increasing the number of clinicians across our state. We can address housing stability and give families the additional economic leg up they need.”
