LYNN — State Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) announced Friday that the state Senate has passed a $1.65 billion supplemental budget for fiscal year 2022.
The budget amendment allocates funding toward COVID-19 mitigation, tenant housing protections, private education, and health care.
“I was proud to support and vote for this funding that will help tackle some of the most pressing issues that Massachusetts residents are facing,” said Crighton in a statement. “It makes key investments in the state’s long-term COVID-19 response, education, housing, energy assistance and health care.”
The bill allocates $700 million towards mitigating the spread of COVID-19 and ensuring robust preparation in the event of a future variant outbreak.
This bill also extends several pandemic-related provisions, including the requirement that a court grant a continuance in a non-payment eviction case when the tenant has a pending rental-assistance application, outdoor dining services and alcohol to-go and bonuses for members of the Massachusetts National Guard.
The bill allocates $140 million to fill immediate staffing needs for private special education schools operating under Chapter 766, which is a Massachusetts law that guarantees the rights of all young people with special needs to an educational program best suited to their needs.
Home and Community-Based Services resources will receive $346 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to ensure that eligible Medicaid users throughout the commonwealth can receive health care and medical services in their own homes or local communities.
Additionally, the bill appropriates $55 million in state resources to support reimbursement rates for human and social-service providers that have also been doing crucial work during the pandemic.
The state’s Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program would receive $100 million, $20 million would be allocated to the state’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and $2.8 million would be directed towards rates at shelters for homeless individuals.
The bill would allocate $100 million towards a new Winter Road Recovery Assistance Program for cities and towns to repair potholes, and roads and bridges worn down by adverse weather conditions. Another $1.7 million would be spent on state park investments, including water safety initiatives.
The bill also dedicates $10 million to suicide-prevention and intervention services, focused on staffing and other resources at crisis centers, and the establishment of a statewide 988 suicide-prevention hotline.
Another $5 million would go to the Department of Mental Health to expand clientele-housing support, and $24 million of the state’s ARPA funds would be set aside specifically for the creation of new behavioral-health and substance-use disorder treatment beds.
Other allocations in this bill include $10 million for Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled and Children (EAEDC), $8.4 million for the Department of Children and Families foster family rates, $8 million for Early Intervention staff stabilization supports and $20 million to Victim of Crime Act (VOCA) programs which support no-cost counseling, advocacy and intervention services to victims of crime.
Additionally, the bill requires the state’s Pension Reserves Investment Management (PRIM) Board to divest any holdings from companies officially sanctioned by the Biden administration or incorporated in Russia. The requirement to divest is a response to the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine.
The budget also allocates $10 million for the Office of Immigrants and Refugees to support the resettlement of international evacuees, including Ukrainian evacuees, and sets aside $1.8 million for mental-health services for international evacuees resettled in Massachusetts.
The House of Representatives passed a similar budget bill on March 9. The two chambers will have to compromise on a bill they can both agree on before sending it to Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk for approval.
