Administration announces 5-year capital plan

In Barnstable at a regional announcement, Gov. Healey announces a five-year, $14 billion Capital Investment Plan that includes more than $1.5 billion in housing-related spending and a new program to provide incentives for the creation of affordable housing. (Photo courtesy Governor’s Press Office)

On June 22, the Healey-Driscoll administration announced a five-year, $14 billion Capital Investment Plan that includes more than $1.5 billion in housing-related spending and a new program to provide incentives for the creation of affordable housing.

The administration’s first capital plan, covering fiscal 2024 through 2028, includes $97 million per year for a new HousingWorks program, which aims to encourage the production of 200 to 300 units of affordable housing each year. In addition, the spending plan includes $90 million annually for housing acquisition, development and rehabilitation, and $120 million per year to preserve the state’s more than 43,000 units of public housing.

The spending plan also focuses on advancing climate and economic development goals, and administration officials said it will help preserve and modernize the state’s infrastructure, invest in cities and towns, and make government more effective. The plan includes funding for local grant programs, libraries and technology.

The administration said the HousingWorks program will both leverage and consolidate existing programs and inject new funding to create more flexibility for increasing housing production. The creation of the new program would unlock an additional $19 million in capacity for the MassWorks program by shifting housing-focused grants to the HousingWorks program.

The capital plan also reflects efforts to meet the state’s climate goals, with decarbonization and climate-conscious investments. Through fiscal 2028, the plan would invest more than $1.4 billion in the state’s transportation systems to reduce emissions through electrification, create more sustainable modes of transportation, and build resilient infrastructure to withstand climate change. The plan includes more than $1.6 billion to fund more than 40 state building decarbonization projects.

The plan provides a vision for the next five years, but Massachusetts governors release updated capital spending plans each year. The plan’s funding depends on existing authorizations from the Legislature.

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said the capital plan “demonstrates our administration’s commitment to supporting cities and towns with the resources they need to deliver for their residents.” She pointed out that the plan includes climate-focused funding to help communities respond to and plan for the impacts of climate change, while also supporting library construction, cultural facilities, and technological support for municipalities.

The plan’s investments over five years include:
• $1.2 billion in economic development funding, with $163 million for local communities, including grant opportunities through the Community One Stop for Growth application portal
• More than $125 million for municipal climate-focused grants, including almost $24 million in fiscal 2024 for the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness planning and action grant programs
• More than $270 million per year for local transportation programs, including $200 million for the Chapter 90 local road and bridge program
• $134 million for library construction grants for the renovation and expansion of municipal libraries
• $50 million in Cultural Facilities Fund grants
• $74 million in local support for technology investments through capital programs
• The use of $736,000 to unlock $4.1 million in federal funds for ambient air monitoring, as well as support for community-based resilience programs and for parks, trails and open space
• $262 million toward replacement of two bridges over the Cape Cod Canal, ultimately ramping up to a $700 million total long-term commitment
• $10 million for the launch of the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security’s Digital Roadmap, which will improve access to Commonwealth digital services
• Download the capital investment plan (1.2M PDF)