Latest news with #MatthewGorzkowicz
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Wealth surtax may generate $3 billion
BOSTON (SHNS) – State budget honcho Matthew Gorzkowicz told municipal officials Tuesday that the state is on track to rake in nearly $3 billion from its surtax on household income greater than about $1 million, more than double the estimate used to craft this year's budget. The Department of Revenue reported last month that the state had collected just less than $2.6 billion from the 4% surtax between July 1, 2024 and April 30, 2025, surpassing the $2.46 billion that the surtax generated in fiscal 2024 in just 10 months of fiscal 2025. May and June collections are expected to add to that total, and Gorzkowicz said Tuesday that he now thinks total fiscal 2025 surtax collections 'could be closer to $3 billion.' 'We will have the benefit of being able to spend those dollars on education transportation, as you've seen us do with our January supp as part of our transportation package this past year,' the secretary of administration and finance told the Local Government Advisory Commission, referring to the surtax surplus spending bill that is now in conference committee. 'We'll have another opportunity to do that again.' The Healey administration and legislative Democrats have used conservative collection estimates in the first few years of the surtax, which was approved by voters in 2022. Under the constitution, revenue generated by the surtax can only be used for education or transportation initiatives and the conservative estimating has given lawmakers extra money to dole out separate from the traditional state budget process. When they built the fiscal 2025 budget, the administration and legislative leaders agreed to spend $1.3 billion in surtax revenue this year. If Gorzkowicz's estimate proves correct, the Legislature could have as much as $1.7 billion to spend sometime after DOR certifies the full-year surtax collection amount in the fall. When they agreed on a consensus revenue estimate for fiscal 2026 earlier this year, Gorzkowicz and the Ways and Means Committee chairs mutually estimated the state will collect $2.4 billion from the income surtax in fiscal 2026. But they agreed to spend at most $1.95 billion from that in the annual budget bill, which like the surtax surplus bill is also the subject of conference committee negotiations. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ways and Means to gather budget feedback through April 8
BOSTON (SHNS) – The Joint Committee on Ways and Means will hold seven hearings over the next month on the fiscal year 2026 budget, after kicking off the series of budget hearings earlier this week. Gov. Maura Healey, Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew Gorzkowicz, and constitutional officers offered testimony at the first hearing at the State House on Thursday. The next hearing, Monday in Gloucester, will cover topics related to economic development, housing and labor. The third week in March won't have any hearings. During the last week of the month, committee members will travel to three communities to hear testimony on different areas of the budget. On Monday, March 24th, they'll be in Amherst to hear about education and local aid; the next day lawmakers will be in Worcester to ask questions about health and human services, and on Friday they'll travel to Clinton to hear about public safety and the judiciary. Monday, March 31st's hearing is on the environment, energy and transportation in Barnstable. In Attleboro on Tuesday, April 1st, the committee will hear from the Executive Office of Health and Human Services on more health-related matters. All but the final hearing will feature testimony by invite only and will largely feature elected and appointed officials, according to House Ways and Means. A hearing at which anyone from the public can testify will be held Tuesday, April 8, at the State House. Once that hearing notice is posted on the Legislature's website next week, the committee said, details on how the public can submit written testimony to the committee will become available. The House Ways and Means budget is targeted for release the week of April 14, with budget debate in the House the week of April 28. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
February in the Massachusetts shelter system by the numbers
BOSTON, Mass. (WWLP)–According to a February 10 Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EA) report, 6,141 families are currently being housed in shelters, hotels, or motels in Massachusetts. This most recent estimate comes after the House and Senate approved separate versions of a $425 million budget infusion for the system. Included in the supplemental budget is a set of reforms that looks to lower shelter capacity, increase background checks, and increase eligibility requirements. Senate loads reform bill with shelter reporting requirements Families are sorted into two tracks within the shelter system based on their level of need: Bridge and Rapid track. Bridge track families are considered to have higher or more complex needs, and permitted to stay in traditional shelters for up to six months. 5,894 families are currently in the Bridge track. Rapid track families are determined to have lower support needs, and are permitted to stay in temporary shelter sites for up to 30 days. 247 Rapid track families are currently in the system. Both tracks have the overarching goal of making shelter stays rare, brief, and non-recurring, and aim to give families the resources they need to acquire stable housing and employment. In western Massachusetts, the following towns and cities have families in the Bridge track: Amherst: 5 Chicopee: 59 Greenfield: 18 Holyoke: 168 Northampton: 19 Pittsfield: 26 South Hadley: 5 Springfield: 248 West Springfield: 53 There are currently no Rapid track families at temporary respite centers in western Massachusetts. One report also tracked how much additional funding was needed in school districts to support EA students from September to November of 2024. In western Massachusetts, the following additional funding was required for the September-November 2024 time period: Chicopee: $260,757 Franklin: $405,190 Greenfield: $191,319 Hadley: $28,530 Holyoke: Noted on report, but this time period did not have an estimate. Northampton: $68,598 Pittsfield: Noted on report, but this time period did not have an estimate. West Springfield: $331,767 In total since October 2022, Massachusetts has spent over $57.5 million in supplemental funding for school districts across the state. In fiscal year 2024, the state spent $856.8 million on the system. According to the report, fiscal year 2025's project costs will be around $1.064 billion. These reports are published every two weeks by the Executive Office for Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus and Executive Office for Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew Gorzkowicz. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
