Gov. files closeout budget with funds for emergency shelter crisis

Looking to close the books on fiscal 2023, Gov. Maura Healey filed a final supplemental budget bill on Sept. 13 that would allocate additional funding for several key priorities.

The bulk of the $2.15 billion spending plan would be dedicated to MassHealth, to continue a payment strategy that allows the state to spread the impact of decreased COVID-19 reimbursements across several fiscal years.

The governor also proposes using $250 million from the state’s transitional escrow fund, which was generated in part from the state’s considerable surplus in fiscal 2022, to address ongoing emergency shelter needs. The one-time funds would allow the administration to continue to provide services and shelter to more than 6,000 families who are experiencing homelessness.

The budget bill includes an outside section that would allow municipalities impacted by natural disasters such as flooding this past July to pay back the cost of addressing these emergencies over multiple years.

The governor’s letter to the Legislature accompanying the bill reiterates her support for prior proposals to address extraordinary cost increases in special education and proposed changes to municipal finance law, including improved accounting for opioid settlement funds, though the provisions are not included in the latest bill.

The supplemental budget bill will be taken up by the House Ways and Means Committee.

• Link to the governor’s press release about the supplemental budget