BOSTON (12/04/2023) – Today, the Massachusetts Senate took final action on a supplemental budget designed to close out Fiscal Year 2023. The Senate’s supplemental budget totals $3.1 billion and contains several provisions to support the ongoing operations of programs and services that benefit the residents of the Commonwealth.
To address the ongoing humanitarian emergency shelter crisis, the final bill allocates $250 million to be spent to address costs associated with sheltering eligible families, including by making funding available for temporary emergency shelter sites for families on a waitlist for permanent shelter. The final bill also stipulates that a portion of the $250 million be spent on support services and resources so that individuals and families can address the complex issues and challenges they face, as well as reimbursements to school districts for increased enrollment costs associated with an influx of migrant students.
To ensure oversight of spending on the emergency shelter crisis, the bill requires robust reporting every 14 days. In addition to $250 million for the emergency shelter system, the budget provides $10 million for resettlement agencies to assist immigrants and refugees and authorizes the use of up to $2 million in available funds from the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund to support career centers in their efforts to assist immigrants and refugees in securing federal work authorizations.
“With the passage of the supplemental budget for Fiscal Year 2023, I am proud that the Senate has delivered the hard-earned and long deserved pay raises for state employees – allocating $378 million to fully fund over 90 collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), said State Senator Michael D. Brady (D-Brockton). “I would like to thank all of my colleagues in the Senate, including the prompt action and attention of Senate President Spilka, Senate Ways and Means Chair Rodrigues, and the Senate conference committee conferees.
Other notable items in the closeout supplemental budget include: $378 million to fund collective bargaining increases for state workers; $75 million for school districts impacted by special education tuition rate increases; $15 million for disaster relief for municipalities impacted by storms and natural disasters that occurred in 2023; and a supplemental $100 million pension payment to remove any further increased liability resulting from the 2015 early retirement incentive program. The largest spending item in the bill was related to health care costs provided through MassHealth.
A version of this supplemental budget having passed the House and Senate, it was sent to the Governor on Monday, December 4, 2023, and signed the same day.
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