Gov. signs $200M FY23 spending bill with $20M for flood relief in western Mass.

Immediately after enacting a state budget bill for fiscal 2024, the Legislature passed a $200 million fiscal 2023 supplemental budget bill with $20 million in mitigation funds for natural disasters, including recent flooding in western Massachusetts.

Gov. Maura Healey quickly signed the bill into law on Aug. 1.

The bill (H. 4034) focused on extending deadlines for horse racing and simulcasting that were set to expire on Aug. 1, along with $180 million for fiscally strained hospitals.

The $20 million reserve for farms damaged by recent flooding will be administered by the Executive Office for Administration and Finance and the Department of Agricultural Resources.

Unlike an earlier version of the bill, the one signed into law did not include funding to address extraordinary cost increases in special education for eligible school districts, relief that was requested following an Operational Services Division decision last fall allowing out-of-district special education private schools to increase tuition by 14% in fiscal 2024.

The law also does not include several municipal finance law changes that were included in a supplemental budget bill that was filed by the governor in March.

The MMA is advocating for both of these priorities to be taken up in the fall as part of a fiscal 2023 closeout supplemental budget.