The Fair Share Amendment to our Constitution has generated billions for our education and transportation needs.
Each year, our annual state budget is bolstered by billions of dollars in Fair Share (millionaire surtax) revenue.
This year, Fair Share revenue exceeded expectations, triggering a supplemental budget to fund education needs, transportation programs, and more.
I helped shape the Senate’s version of a supplemental budget. Here’s a video I made when it passed the Senate.
I remained in the work as a member of the Conference Committee that reconciled the differences between the House and Senate-passed supplemental budgets.
Here’s a snapshot of what’s in the final bill:
- $100 million for cities and towns for post-winter road maintenance and repair; with $80 million distributed using a road miles-based formula which is best for our region;
- $27.5 million to support rural and regional school districts, implementing part of the Rural Schools bill (S.314) which I have filed since 2023 with former Representative Natalie Blais;
- $5 million for microtransit and last mile transportation;
- $3.75 million for unpaved roads; and,
- $1 million to help school districts transition to be cell phone-free. (I’m particularly grateful to advocates from Northampton who called me to support the Senate’s cell phone-free bill. I worried about the cost of implementing the bill, so I worked to get some additional funds.)
Additionally, the supplemental budget finalizes and funds nearly a dozen public employee collective bargaining agreements. (I have long supported separating public employee collective bargaining agreements from larger spending bills so that they can move more quickly.)
It also delays the implementation of the One Big Brutal Bill (OB3) tax cuts that threaten state revenue.
The final bill also included:
- $41.7 million for the Department of Transitional Assistance to implement recent federal eligibility changes;
- $25 million for grants to school districts for clean energy infrastructure improvements and upgrades;
- $20 million for Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) home energy fuel assistance benefits (supplemental funding is needed this year to backfill federal cuts);
- $12.3 million for Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) court costs, including expert witness and vendor services tied to elevated caseloads;
- $10 million for scholarships and loan forgiveness initiatives to encourage students to teach in Massachusetts public schools; and,
- $10 million for a program to provide financial assistance to students at the UMass Chan Medical School and grow the workforce of primary care physicians in the Commonwealth;
- Funding for gender affirming and immigrant legal defense work.
Finally, my team and I secured a handful of local wins:
This supplemental budget is now on the Governor’s desk waiting to be signed into law.
You can read a full summary of the Fair Share supplemental budget here.
