Mass. has an on-time(ish) state budget: 3 big things to know about the $61B plan
The Democratic governor gets 10 days to sign the document or kick it back for changes, thus deciding whether the Bay State gets Christmas in July with the budget for the new fiscal year that started at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday.
The spending plan, which does not raise any broad-based taxes, boosts state support for health care, education, and transportation, among other key sectors of state government.
It includes 'investments that better support Massachusetts students and families, that increase access to affordable health care, and that provide for a safer and more reliable public transportation system – all without raising taxes," House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano, D-3rd Norfolk, said in a statement.
With that in mind, here are three, key things to know about the budget now on Healey's desk:
The budget is premised on billions of dollars in federal funding that could well be upended by President Donald Trump's domestic policy mega-bill, which makes deep cuts to Medicaid, food assistance and other parts of the social safety net.
On Monday, as they raced through votes, legislative leaders said they wanted to beat Washington's express train by passing the state's budget before the 'Big Beautiful Bill' goes to Trump for his signature.
"With deep uncertainty on the horizon, both from an economic standpoint and from any actions Washington might take in the near future, we felt it was in the commonwealth's best interest to finish this budget in a quicker manner than has been the case in the past few years,' House Ways and Means Committee Chairperson Aaron Michlewitz, D-3rd Suffolk, said, according to State House News Service.
On the other side of the State House, Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairperson Michael Rodriques, D-1st Bristol/Plymouth, said the state already is feeling the pinch from Washington.
The Republican White House's trade war already has resulted in 'less-than-anticipated state tax revenue,' Rodrigues said, according to the wire service, while cuts to scientific research funding and 'the elimination of these thousands of jobs have caused a decrease in state income tax collections.'
Read more: Mass. 'Millionaire's Tax' is a year old. Where it's helped, hurt | Analysis
All in, the compromise spending plan uses $2.4 billion in 'Millionaire's Tax' revenue to underwrite spending on education and transportation programs — as mandated by state law.
The education-related programs getting a boost from that extra 4% tax on Bay State residents who earn more than $1 million a year include:
$360 million for the state's early education grant program, Commonwealth Cares for Children. Augmented by an extra $115 million from the state's Early Education and Care Operational Grant Fund, the program will see a total investment of $475 million.
$460 million for the state's Student Opportunity Act, which is intended to level the state's educational playing field.
$180 million for universal free school meals.
$120 million for the state's free community college program.
The transportation-related programs getting a boost include:
$470 million in direct support for the MBTA, which includes low-income fare relief, water ferry service and the MBTA Academy. The agency will see a total of $1 billion in state support this year, with the inclusion of $535 million in a recently approved supplemental budget for the Millionaire's Tax.
$120 million for Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) across the state. Together with resources from the General Fund, the bill provides a total of $214 million for the regional transit agencies.
$55 million in operating support for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
The spending plan also includes language that ends unpopular, renter-paid brokers' fees, usually the equivalent of one month's rent.
In Boston, where rental prices hover comfortably around $3,000, that can mean prospective tenants have to cough up as much as $9,000 or $10,000 to rent an apartment.
But to be clear, the fees aren't going away entirely: They're changing form. The language that lawmakers approved this week requires whoever first worked with the broker — whether the landlord or the renter — to cover the cost, The Boston Globe reported.
Tenant advocates have long railed against the fees. And when New York's City Council passed a law last year banning them, the Bay State's reform effort picked up a new head of steam.
Healey, who is running for reelection in 2026, has spoken publicly of her opposition to the fees and included a proposal to end them in the $62 billion budget outline she sent to lawmakers earlier this year.
Mass. senators blast Trump settlement with Paramount: 'Bribery in plain sight'
Trump's antisemitism probe mostly relies on Harvard's own report, Harvard claims
Trump threatens arrest of NYC mayoral candidate during visit to 'Alligator Alcatraz'
Here's how Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene described support for Trump's 'big beautiful bill'
Group behind MCAS ballot question broke campaign finance law, state says
Read the original article on MassLive.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
15 minutes ago
- New York Post
American Eagle ‘almost paralyzed by body positivity' before it launched ‘sultry' Sydney Sweeney ads
American Eagle Outfitters has made a bold, divisive bet on its 'sultry' Sydney Sweeney ads — but only after its commitment to the 'body positivity' movement started to falter, experts told The Post. A decade ago, the mall-based chain's 20-year-old lingerie brand Aerie famously took off as millennials shunned Victoria's Secret and its leggy, angel-winged supermodels in favor of Aerie's ads featuring ordinary women and diverse body types. But recently, American Eagle's flagging sales show that 'inclusive fashion' has its limits — especially after the election of President Trump, experts say. Advertisement 7 Sydney Sweeney's provocative ad for American Eagle Outfitters has created a firestorm that's even drawn in President Trump. American Eagle 7 Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle was ratcheting up the provocative ads before the Sweeney campaign. American Eagle 'They were almost paralyzed by their body positivity movement and were cautious about coming across too sexy,' according to retail analyst Gabriella Santaniello, who heads up A-Line Partners. Advertisement In recent months, the retailer has been pivoting to more provocative looks — even before the Sweeney campaign rocked the internet late last month, Santaniello said. String bikinis and 'cheeky bottoms' that expose more of women's butts, for example, were previously only available on American Eagle's website, but started cropping up in its stores earlier this year, she noted. Susan Scafidi, director of the Fashion Law Institute, has likewise noticed 'edgier' looks and 'more sultry styling. 'This means featuring fewer boxy t-shirts and more cropped camisoles,' she said. 7 American Eagle has been edgier in its marketing even before the Sydney Sweeney campaign, experts told The Post. American Eagle Advertisement What's more — unlike competitors including Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, and the Gap — some pages on American Eagle's website have lately shown models going braless under various tops — and they aren't always subtle about it. 'All of the teen retailers shy away from the nipple,' Santaniello said. 'That's why it's so odd that they're going for it.' 7 Most teen retailers avoid the nipple look, according retail analyst Gabriella Santaniello. American Eagle Then, in late July, came the Sweeney spots. In one video, the 'White Lotus' and 'Euphoria' star tinkers under the hood of a vintage Mustang GT350 before slamming it shut, wiping her hands on the butt of her jeans — and peeling off in a cloud of burning rubber. Advertisement Days later, President Trump gushed that the ads were 'hot' and 'fantastic' after he learned Sweeney was a registered Republican. The company's shares surged 23% on Trump's comment, drawing comparisons to meme stocks. 7 American Eagle has been among the leading voices among retailers on body positivity messaging. Getty Images for Aerie 'They had to do something different,' said Hitha Herzog, a fashion management professor at Parsons School of Design. 'We have a conservative president in office and we are seeing conversations that skew away from body positivity, inclusion and diversity. 'American Eagle has always been good about knowing where the conversations are going,' Herzog added. Traffic to American Eagle's US website soared following the campaign's rollout on July 23, rising more than 60% on July 28 compared to the same day last year, according to data and insights company Consumer Edge. Meanwhile, however, left-wing critics seized upon the campaign's tagline 'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans'. In one clip, Sweeney explains that genes 'often determin[e] traits like hair color, personality and even eye color,' before declaring, 'My jeans are blue.' 7 The Sydney Sweeney American Eagle campaign includes scenes of the star looking under a hood of Mustang. American Eagle An ensuing fracas claimed the ads were promoting Nazi ideology, calling for boycotts of the 48-year-old company. According to a survey this week by Axios and Generation Lab, 39% of young women and 42% of Democrats said the ads made them less likely to buy American Eagle jeans. Advertisement In the week of Aug. 3, foot traffic at American Eagle stores dropped 8.9% on top of a 3.9% decline the previous week — far steeper than drops at rival chains including Abercrombie and the Gap, according to Pass_by. 'When a brand sees momentum stall so sharply, it often reflects a reputational or cultural factor,' said James Ewen, vice president of marketing for Pass_by. 7 Aerie won market share from Victoria Secret's teen brand, Pink. Bloomberg via Getty Images Advertisement American Eagle posted its only message about the ad so far on Aug. 1 on its Instagram account. 'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We'll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone,' the company said.
The Hill
15 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump tax law could trigger about $500B in Medicare cuts over decade without fix: CBO
Recent analysis from the Congressional Budget Office estimated that Medicare spending would see steep cuts over roughly the next decade absent congressional action, following passage of President Trump's major tax law last month. The nonpartisan budget scorekeeper crunched the numbers of potential across-the-board cuts that federal programs could see under the Statutory Pay‑As‑You‑Go Act of 2010 as a result of the enactment of Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' — which it estimates could cost trillions of dollars over the next 10 years. The 2010 law, enacted under the Obama administration, seeks to require Congress to ensure new legislation is budget-neutral and can be enforced with the threat of automatic cuts, also known as 'sequestration,' to counter excess costs. But Congress has often enacted legislation over the years to avoid those cuts under both Republican and Democratic administrations. CBO noted in a June letter that sequestration has never been triggered under the law since its enactment in 2010. However, in its analysis, conducted at the request of Democrats, CBO estimated the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) would be required to issue a 'sequestration order not more than 14 days after the end of the current session of Congress' to cut fiscal 2026 spending by $415 billion, if Congress does not act. The office estimated that reductions in Medicare spending would be limited to about $45 billion for fiscal year 2026 under the 2010 law, leaving '$370 billion to be sequestered from the federal budget's remaining direct spending accounts in that year.' CBO also noted that the law exempts large accounts that fund programs like Social Security, while further estimating that the OMB would 'have roughly $120 billion in budgetary resources available for cancellation in 2026 — less than the remaining amount that would be required to be sequestered.' CBO's analysis included a closer breakdown of how Medicare spending would fare under such circumstances. 'The 4 percent maximum reduction in Medicare spending would continue to apply to sequestration orders for years after 2026,' it said. 'If OMB ordered a sequestration of $415 billion for each year through 2029 and $339 billion each year from 2030 through 2034, the ordered reductions in Medicare spending would increase to $76 billion in 2034 and would total $491 billion over the 2027–2034 period.' When factoring in fiscal 2026, the estimated spending reductions in store for Medicare would total more than $500 billion. 'After accounting for the reduction in Medicare spending, the required reduction in spending for other programs would exceed the estimated amount of resources available to those programs in each year over the 2027–2034 period,' CBO said. It added that, if the OMB 'sequestered all of the funding for those programs, the total amounts would be less than the reductions required by' the 2010 law. The Hill has reached out to OMB for comment. The CBO has estimated Trump's major tax package will add nearly $3.4 trillion to the nation's deficits over roughly the next decade, not factoring in macroeconomic and debt-service effects. However, Republicans have largely downplayed the cost of the tax cuts and argue the overall plan will help boost the economy.
Politico
44 minutes ago
- Politico
5 questions for Alexandra Reeve Givens
Alexandra Reeve Givens, a leading consumer protection advocate, is the CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology, a nonprofit that advocates for digital rights. She previously served as the Senate Judiciary Committee's chief counsel covering technology and consumer protection, and directed Georgetown University's Institute for Technology Law & Policy. She talks to us about the problems with age verification and the importance of federal regulators in the age of artificial intelligence. The following has been edited for length and clarity. What's one big, underrated idea? Remembering that widespread adoption of AI is contingent on people's trust. AI agents that carry out routine tasks will work best if they connect with your email and calendar, know your preferences and routines — but users won't take that leap of faith unless companies are thinking seriously about privacy, security and robust user controls. Smart regulation can ensure the protections people need in our AI future, creating a baseline for consumer trust. What technology right now do you think is overhyped? I'm concerned by the wave of age verification tools being rolled out in response to new laws like the U.K.'s Online Safety Act without serious consideration of the trade-offs. The fact that sites are collecting users' driver's licenses, or images of users' faces, raises serious concerns about privacy, data breaches and people's right to access information anonymously. Many of the privacy-preserving techniques are under-theorized, relying on predictive tools that estimate users' ages from photos, which may not work well for everyone and relies on uncertain guarantees that the photos will be deleted. Or analyzing users' online behavior, which raises major privacy and accuracy questions, too. What do you think the government could be doing now about tech that it isn't? Honestly, I'm more worried about what the federal government is doing with technology right now. The Trump administration has taken extraordinary steps to access and consolidate sensitive data about hundreds of millions of people living in this country. From the Department of Homeland Security gaining access to Internal Revenue Service taxpayer and Medicaid information to target immigrants; to the administration demanding that states hand over personal information about the tens of millions of people who have applied for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits; to the Justice Department seeking the details of voter rolls with personal information and party affiliation from at least 19 states. These demands violate longstanding laws and precedents, are being used to profile and target people. [...] This moment should shock the conscience of people on the right and left. What has surprised you most this year? The political firings at the federal agencies charged with protecting consumers, workers, families and voters surprised me for their brazenness. Agencies like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Election Commission and Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board play an essential role protecting Americans. [...] The rule of law and well-functioning government serves everyone, consumers and businesses alike. The EEOC has been doing important work on the risk of algorithmic discrimination in hiring and management and firing decisions. [...] The FEC was doing important work on how to boost authentic and trusted sources of information in elections, so also navigating this AI era. And then the PCLOB is the main body charged with overseeing the government's surveillance capabilities. What book most shaped your conception of the future? Reading deeply about the Reconstruction era changed the way I view the world. I still remember as a young person facing the sobering reminder that progress isn't linear, that might can indeed overpower right. And that we have extraordinary forebears in history who persisted in the fight for justice anyway. Obviously, CDT is a tech organization, but we are at bottom a human rights organization. And so, when I view what our job is and what our digital future is, it's about what human rights look like in 2025. That's why this period of history is so relevant. Papers, please The Supreme Court refused to pause a Mississippi age verification law, POLITICO's Gabby Miller reports. The justices on Thursday denied an emergency appeal from NetChoice to temporarily block enforcement while its lawsuit challenging the law plays out in district court. Mississippi enacted the law in 2023, which compels platforms with a substantial portion of pornographic content to implement age-gating measures. NetChoice — an industry group that represents Meta, YouTube and X — argues the age verification requirements violate its members' First Amendment rights. MaryAsa Lee, communications director at the Mississippi Attorney General's Office, told POLITICO in a statement that the state is 'grateful' for the decision as 'the case proceeds in a way that permits thoughtful consideration of these important issues.' Yet the decision isn't a slam-dunk for Mississippi. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in a concurrence that NetChoice was likely to prevail in demonstrating the law violates speech rights, but that it was too early to block it. AI bootcamp House and Senate staffers attended the fourth annual Congressional Boot Camp on AI this week at Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered AI, POLITICO's Chase DiFeliciantonio reports. Chase interviewed HAI's Executive Director Russell Wald to see how the three-day training session is helping staffers write more sophisticated laws for their bosses to push in Congress. The program included attendees from the House Intelligence Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is now the director of Stanford's Hoover Institution, also joined to give her thoughts. Wald said there was particular interest in the technological advancement of smaller AI models. These models fulfill narrower tasks like answering patients' health care questions or gathering smart device data, as opposed to larger general-purpose models like ChatGPT. The event also featured a discussion on how the U.S.'s approach to AI differs from China's. The U.S. has traditionally taken a 'brute force approach' by throwing compute power into models, said Wald. U.S. models also tend to be proprietary. China on the other hand has invested more in STEM and public education, and embraced open-source systems, Wald said. post of the day THE FUTURE IN 5 LINKS Stay in touch with the whole team: Aaron Mak (amak@ Mohar Chatterjee (mchatterjee@ Steve Heuser (sheuser@ Nate Robson (nrobson@ and Daniella Cheslow (dcheslow@
