Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
At the heart of the transportation bond bill Gov. Maura Healey filed on Jan. 24 is a historic investment in municipal roads and bridges — $300 million per year for the Chapter 90 program for a period of five years.
The bill’s $1.5 billion total authorization for Chapter 90 — a 50% increase over the typical authorization — would boost municipal apportionments by leveraging two formulas: $200 million distributed through the traditional Chapter 90 formula, which considers population, employment, and road miles, and $100 million distributed based solely on road miles.
With this formula combination, 85% of municipalities would receive at least a 45% increase over the regular apportionment they’ve seen over the past dozen or so years.
The governor’s bond bill also includes the following authorizations:
• $200 million for culverts and small bridges
• $500 million for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s road and bridge lifecycle asset management
• $185 million for MassDOT safety and congestion initiatives
The Chapter 90 program has been funded at $200 million per year since 2012, except for a one-time increase in 2015 and some supplemental funding from Fair Share surtax revenues in fiscal 2023, 2024 and 2025 (forthcoming).
The governor’s proposal was informed by advocacy from the MMA and the work of a Chapter 90 Advisory Group led by officials from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and Executive Office for Administrative and Finance, and composed of municipal leaders and public works officials from communities of all sizes across the Commonwealth. The group set out to review the Chapter 90 program and offer recommendations for reforms.
Topping the advisory group’s list of recommendations was a call to increase investment in Chapter 90. The group’s January report notes that annual authorizations of $404.6 million would be needed to fully adjust for inflation since 2012. The report also recommended changing the distribution formula to make Chapter 90 distributions more equitable statewide, and using multi-year bond authorizations to help communities better plan for strategic investments and make full use of the construction season.
MassDOT has published calculations of proposed apportionments for individual cities and towns based on the governor’s bond bill. Municipal officials are encouraged to review the funding proposed for their community and urge their legislators to support this vital investment in municipal infrastructure.
The MMA has identified an increase in Chapter 90 funding as a priority for a number of years, and will be strongly advocating for the governor’s bill as it moves through the legislative process, including a hearing, this spring.