Continuing to fund a record level of emergency shelter services “becomes harder and harder to support” while tax collections lag expectations, the top House Democrat said Wednesday while suggesting he’s out of the loop on the governor’s spending plans.
Associated Industries of Massachusetts cited “strong signals” of more moderate inflation, and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s suggestion last month that interest rate increases appear to be over for now and that there may be rate reductions in 2024.
The revenue underpinnings supporting Gov. Maura Healey’s first annual budget began to erode before she signed the $56 billion spending plan last summer, and it’s forcing the new governor to reevaluate what’s affordable.
After years of deliberations, negotiations and regulatory rollout – and some well-publicized “agita” in the corner office – a septet of Massachusetts cities and towns can now significantly limit the use of fossil fuels in building projects.
Lawmakers are on the eve of kicking off the traditionally busier second year of their two-year session, and the top House Democrat suggested a need for “fiscal prudence” that could color debate on a host of policy priorities during this election year.
Healey’s bill, which she filed Oct. 18, proposes about $4.1 billion of borrowing over five years to invest in public housing capital improvements, converting state land to plots ready for housing, and constructing much-needed new units.
Construction costs have escalated so quickly over the last two fiscal years that the purchasing power of the state’s capital investment plan has been “significantly eroded,” a panel of state finance experts said as it recommended the largest increase in borrowing for capital spending in at least a decade.
The quasi-public Massachusetts Clean Energy Center is on the verge of purchasing the 37-acre port property from Florida-based shipping company Crowley, according to a company official.
With more frequent and intense storms battering Massachusetts’ shores, the state’s Department of Environmental Protection released new draft regulations on Friday to “protect both communities and infrastructure from the impacts of climate change.”
The Massachusetts unemployment rate inched upwards in November, but remained under 3 percent for the seventh straight month.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren gave a strong endorsement Gov. Maura Healey’s housing plan, and said the federal government will need to “step up” to help the state address its housing affordability and availability crisis.
The financial and policy analysts at the Mass. Taxpayers Foundation have mapped out how “the path to a safe and reliable transit system just got a lot longer” thanks to a ballooning price tag for bringing the MBTA’s infrastructure into a state of good repair.
Emergency shelter costs will approach $1 billion annually this fiscal year and next fiscal year, according to the Healey administration, which plans to drain a $700 million state escrow account to cover a portion of the unanticipated expenses.
Massachusetts has netted a significant federal grant to put towards the daunting cost of replacing the narrow and sometimes dangerous Sagamore Bridge.
Healey came into office with the MBTA in disarray. And while she’s overseen a hiring blitz and new plans to fix tracks in disrepair, she’s raised eyebrows in recent weeks with comments that suggest an interest in reopening debate on how the state funds transportation.
Contractors responsible for fixing narrow rails on the MBTA’s newest stretch of tracks requested a second extension for their project that could push its endpoint into the new year, the agency’s top boss said Wednesday.
The sweeping economic development plan that Gov. Maura Healey signed off on Tuesday calls for an ambitious slate of workforce development initiatives, plus investments in key sectors like the life sciences. But the governor declined to put a price tag on the package that will be put before lawmakers as an economic development bill in the new year.
The MBTA Board in January plans to start formally considering potential fare changes, including low-cost fares that could benefit tens of thousands of riders.
Pledging to take enforcement “very seriously,” Gov. Maura Healey said Thursday that her team will not hesitate to block some state funding for cities and towns that fail to comply with mandatory zoning reforms.
Talks are already underway between Gov. Maura Healey, state lawmakers and unnamed “stakeholders” about what kinds of taxes and fees are necessary to address a massive list of infrastructure needs at the MBTA, Healey said Thursday.
