The spending would be paid for with a combination of $2.5 billion in ARPA funds and up to $1.45 billion of surplus tax revenue. Spending proposed in the bill falls short of these caps by $282 million — cash a Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation report said will likely “increase bottom-line spending…

The ongoing legislative process for ARPA legislation continued today with the release of a $3.7 billion spending plan from the Senate Committee on Ways and Means (SWM).  As with the House plan finalized last week, the SWM proposal mixes federal Fiscal Recovery Fund and fiscal year 2021 surplus…

The minutiae of the proposals will also need reconciliation. The House, for example, added $173 million to its original $3.65 billion, the bulk of which — $154 million — was intended to backstop hundreds of proposed earmarks. The largest, according to an analysis done by the business-backed…

Last week, the House engrossed a $3.8 billion pandemic recovery spending plan that combines federal Fiscal Recovery Funds (FRF) and the state’s fiscal year (FY) 2021 surplus.  Over two days of debate, House members added $173.6 million in spending to the initial House Ways and Means proposal…

During some six weeks of public hearings, legislators received requests totaling about $30 billion, according to Representative Dan Hunt, who chaired some of those hearings. In the 24 hours House members were given to file amendments to the House leadership’s proposed $3.65 billion federal spending…

State representatives then proposed 1,128 amendments seeking another $5.8 billion, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

Baker split his proposal to use $2.9 billion of state government’s ARPA funds and its surplus tax revenue into separate bills. In an analysis published Monday afternoon, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation said the House Ways and Means Committee’s proposal landed about $518 million lower than…

Baker split his proposal to use $2.9 billion of state government’s ARPA funds and its surplus tax revenue into separate bills. In an analysis published Monday afternoon, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation said the House Ways and Means Committee’s proposal landed about $518 million lower than…

Earlier today, the House Committee on Ways & Means (HWM) released their plan to spend $3.65 billion in federal Fiscal Recovery Funds (FRF) and fiscal year (FY) 2021 surplus dollars on a variety of programs and policies intended to spur the Commonwealth’s ongoing recovery. The $3.65 billion in…

Prior to the end of formal sessions in calendar year 2021, the Legislature has two major public finance tasks before it: Determine how to use the fiscal year (FY) 2021 budget surplus; and Appropriate Fiscal Recovery Funds (FRF), provided through the American Rescue Plan, to sustain and…