Should it survive, it will likely find a more receptive audience in Healey, who said in a January radio appearance that she backs “a real look at this, whether it’s a pilot or something else.” The Legislature previously passed language to create a group to explore ideas such as charging more to travel in and out of Boston at peak times of day, or to drive into a particularly congested part of Boston, as drivers do in central London.īut it repeatedly failed after reaching then-Governor Charlie Baker, who vetoed similar wording in 2021 and, a year later, proposed changing the commission’s structure, but the Legislature did not take up the recommendation. It would also identify a fare structure on the MBTA that would “account for commute patterns and demand.” The commissions’ report would be due on July 1, 2025. The panel would identify “regionally equitable locations” for tolls. The Senate again included language to create a commission to study, among other things, so-called congestion pricing - creating toll rates based on the time of day or volume of traffic. Some of the items the Senate passed were included in the original spending plan introduced by chamber leaders, including free community college for adults over 25, free phone calls in state prisons and county jails, and a pandemic-era renter protection law that would slow down the court process in eviction proceedings in cases where the tenant has applied for rental assistance.Īlso included was language that would require the state’s chief medical examiner to personally review and approve all autopsies of children younger than the age of 2. Once they vote on an agreed-upon version of the spending plan, the Legislature will send the budget to Governor Maura Healey, who can approve, amend, or veto parts of the bill, and return it to the House and Senate for action. The differences will now be ironed out in a private conference committee over the next few months, when lawmakers will negotiate behind closed doors to create a compromise bill that includes some of what both chambers want. And I think Massachusetts offers a very unique brand of competitiveness of a courageous competitiveness where we invest in the fundamentals of our economy, but we do not sacrifice our commitment to our values.”Īnd Senators omitted key pieces championed by House lawmakers, such as permanent free school lunch, funding for rail service between Boston and the western part of the state, and a proposal to make state lottery games available online. “We talk a lot about competitiveness these days. “We will provide tangible benefits for students who may not otherwise attend college, and it will build the state’s workforce by nurturing, harnessing, and growing the talent that we have right here at home,” she said. Spilka, an Ashland Democrat who has made mental health a priority in her term as the chamber’s leader. Those pieces include a proposal to cover tuition costs for community college nursing students, a hallmark item that would make students without legal immigration status eligible for in-state tuition, and a loan repayment program for behavioral health workers - a topic of chief importance to Senate President Karen E. ![]() ![]() The Senate included in its budget some major items that the House did not. The budget comes nearly a month after the House passed its $56.2 billion spending bill with little public debate. ![]() “We have worked collectively to support long-term economic health and move forward on a road towards an inclusive and resilient post-pandemic Commonwealth that benefits all of us,” he said.
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