Senate Engrosses Bill Allocating Chapter 90 Funding

Yesterday, the Senate engrossed a bill that would allocate Chapter 90 funding for transportation projects, including repairs to roads and bridges, to support the infrastructure of Massachusetts cities and towns. This $300 million appropriaton reflects a $100 million increase over last year’s $200 million appropriation. The increase would be funded by revenue raised and dedicated by a transportation …

FY14 Budget Priorities Letter to Senate Ways and Means

Senator Brownsberger has submitted a letter detailing his budget priorities to the Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. You can access the letter here: Budget Priority Letter- FY14. You can also review the text of the letter below. April 26, 2013 The Honorable Stephen M. Brewer Chair, Senate Committee on Ways and …

New Revenue for Education

There is an active email and call campaign going on in support of the Governor’s revenue package and also a related bill (from “the Campaign for our Communities”) that would also increase the income tax rate. A sample email appears further below. I am personally willing to support any package that will yield funding for …

How will we feel the federal budget sequester?

The federal budget sequestration will strain some visible federal programs — Head Start, air traffic control. It will hurt the poor. But what will the federal budget sequestration do to state and local government budgets? There are enough moving parts that the answer is not clear, but it appears that, overall, most state and local …