Wednesday, July 24, 2019

“This consensus Fiscal Year 2020 budget strikes a balance"

Representative Jeffrey Roy (D-Franklin) along with his colleagues in the Massachusetts Legislature passed its Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) budget, which invests in programs and services across the Commonwealth. Funded at $43.1 billion, the budget makes major investments in education, housing, substance use disorder services, health care, and other areas while projecting a more than $476 million deposit into the Stabilization Fund – bringing the fund’s balance to more than $3 billion to safeguard the future of vital programs and services.

“I am proud of this fiscally responsible budget that supports the needs of individuals, families, and communities across the Commonwealth through thoughtful investments that increase local aid, strengthen our health care system and protect the environment,” said House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo (D-Winthrop). “This budget bolsters our ongoing efforts to combat the opioid crisis, invest in high-quality early education and care and makes another significant deposit into the state’s Stabilization Fund. These investments will have a long and lasting positive effect on the residents of Massachusetts. I want to thank Chair Michlewitz for his leadership and my colleagues in the House, especially those on the conference committee, who worked to put this package together.”

“This budget reaffirms our commitment to local aid and our communities and includes funds for important projects in Franklin and Medway,” said Representative Roy. “The House and Senate were successful at including significant local and regional money throughout the Commonwealth in this coming fiscal year’s budget. Additionally, Massachusetts is dealing with several important societal issues, like the opioid epidemic, public safety, aging infrastructure, and an aging population. The Legislature has struck a balance that takes on these challenges and maintains our commitment to our communities, our children, our seasoned citizens, and the disabled as well as advancing economic development and the arts.”

“Education is a top Senate priority, and I am therefore proud of the significant investments we make in K-12 education in the final FY2020 budget,” said Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). “Not only have we voted to advance the largest year-over-year increase in Chapter 70 education funding in the last two decades, we have also made a substantial down payment towards funding the recommendations of the Foundation Budget Review Commission (FBRC). In addition, we fund health and wellness in schools, and provide considerable increases in reimbursement for special education, charter schools, and regional school transportation. Finally, I am very pleased that the conference budget includes $10 million in new funding for mental and behavioral health. These funds will allow the Commonwealth to address the root causes of many of the challenges facing our residents, including substance abuse, homelessness, unemployment and school bullying, among other things. I commend all of the members of the conference committee for their very fine work on this budget.”

Continue reading Representative Jeff Roy's press release in the full text:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YwGHEVtd4C_iqVdeSvMRoa4GJHinXWAw/view?usp=sharing
 
The web page has been updated with the Conference Report.
https://malegislature.gov/Budget/ConferenceCommittee
 

https://malegislature.gov/Budget/ConferenceCommittee
https://malegislature.gov/Budget/ConferenceCommittee

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