State Budget Update: November 2020
While the national election grinds on this fall, MAPC's Government Affairs team has largely focused on state-level priorities, including the FY21 budget.
The Massachusetts government has been operating under temporary budget since the fiscal year began in July 2020. The Governor signed a third interim budget into law on Oct. 26, authorizing $5.4 billion to maintain services after the previous interim budget expired on Oct. 31. The interim budget will expire when the FY21 General Appropriations Act passes.
There is movement toward a final budget: in October, the Governor filed a revised FY21 budget proposal and legislators held a hearing to review it. The bill goes next to the Legislature for consideration.
MAPC submitted testimony to the Joint Ways and Means Committee regarding the revised budget, urging that they support District Local Technical Assistance (DLTA) funding and the Shannon Grant program, both of which were level-funded in the Governor's proposal.
MAPC also urged the legislature to:
- support renters, landlords, and homeowners who are risk during the financial fallout from COVID-19
- support local public health departments that have been the backbone of Massachusetts' response to the pandemic
- work with our federal delegation to extend deadlines for spending CARES Act funding
While much of MAPC's focus is on FY21, the state is also still wrapping up the FY20 budget and beginning to gear up for FY22. The Governor filed a bill to close out FY20 at the beginning of October, which is currently under review by the House Ways and Means Committee. The process will begin all over again in January, when we anticipate a FY22 budget filing from the Governor.
Want to learn more about MAPC's legislative priorities? Click here.