Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
At an event in Worcester today, Gov. Maura Healey announced a plan to make historic investments in the state’s roads, bridges and regional transportation systems, including a 50% increase for the Chapter 90 local road and bridge maintenance program.
She said her plan would invest $8 billion over the next 10 years – the largest state transportation investment in more than 20 years.
The plan, announced immediately after the Transportation Funding Task Force released its final report, will be filed as legislation in the coming weeks as part of the governor’s fiscal 2026 state budget proposal, an accompanying supplemental budget, and a transportation bond bill. The plan puts into action many of the recommendations made by the task force, which outlined steps for stabilizing and enhancing transportation while setting the stage for ongoing discussions about how best to finance transformative investments in transportation into the future.
Healey said a key goal of her plan is to put the MBTA on a path of long-term fiscal stability. The plan also dedicates a significant investment to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund, which would help to expand the state’s bonding capacity and increase the state’s ability to address capital needs in a variety of projects.
The proposed investments would be made possible using revenue from the surtax on personal annual incomes over $1 million (also known as the Fair Share amendment), in addition to “other existing resources.”
Healey said her plan “represents smart, forward-thinking fiscal management, and it will have an impact on people in all regions of our state.” She added that the proposal will “deliver better roads, less traffic, safer bridges and a transit system that works in every region.”
The governor said she will file a multi-year transportation bond bill later this month that would increase the funding directed to cities and towns through the Chapter 90 program to $300 million per year for five years. The additional $100 million annual investment represents a 50% increase, representing a historic high for funding directly through the program.
Her plan would supplement this program with $25 million for a Winter Resilience Assistance Program for municipalities and a set-aside for culverts, small bridge repairs and improvements at safety and congestion hot spots.
MMA Executive Director Adam Chapdelaine applauded the plan’s historic investments in local transportation infrastructure, an issue that has long been a priority for the association.
“The governor’s plan is a game-changer for transportation infrastructure in Massachusetts and will make a significant impact in each and every city and town in Massachusetts,” he said. “The MMA and local leaders deeply appreciate the hard work of the task force and the administration to arrive at this creative and comprehensive plan.”
Additional investments
Through the fiscal 2026 state budget, the administration’s plan would:
• More than double support for the MBTA’s operating budget, to $687 million in fiscal 2026, and immediately address the agency’s budget shortfall.
• Dedicate $765 million in Fair Share resources to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund, building on the administration’s strategy to maximize Fair Share revenue through borrowing to yield $5 billion over the next 10 years for capital investment bonds in rail, roads, bridges, regional transit authorities and culverts.
• Invest $110 million in regional transit authorities, including $66 million for formula-based transit improvements, $30 million for Fare Free service, and $10 million to facilitate interconnectivity between RTAs.
• Provide $55 million for MassDOT operations, including workforce investments and enhanced capital project delivery
The surplus Fair Share supplemental budget to be filed by the governor will propose to invest $857 million of the $1.3 billion surplus in transportation initiatives, including:
• $400 million to address workforce and safety initiatives identified as necessary by the Federal Transit Authority
• $300 million to replenish MBTA reserves
• $25 million for the Winter Resilience Assistance Program
• $25 million for RTA workforce recruitment and retention
• $10 million for microtransit
The governor said her plan will result in a 50-50 split between Fair Share resources dedicated to transportation and to education since voters approved the surtax in November 2022, which was a key recommendation included in the Transportation Funding Task Force report. In fiscal 2024, the state collected $2.46 billion from the Fair Share surtax, nearly $1.5 billion above what had been budgeted.
Transportation Funding Task Force
The governor said the financing plan was heavily informed by the work of the Transportation Funding Task Force, which was created by executive order last January. The Task Force spent the past year reviewing current and projected revenue sources, comparing those sources to benchmarks and trends in peer and neighboring states, and exploring financing approaches and alternative pricing mechanisms.
The Task Force, which included Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson representing the MMA, developed a framework focused first on stabilizing the transportation system’s finances and addressing critical infrastructure repair needs.
Additional recommendations looked at how to enhance and transform the system. The 118-page report includes detailed recommendations to support this framework as well as a collection of data and analysis the Task Force undertook throughout the year.
Key task force recommendations include:
• Allocating half of Fair Share revenues to transportation over time
• Expanding capital capacity for transportation by dedicating a significant portion of Fair Share revenue to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund
• Using Fair Share to stabilize public transportation agency operations
• Maintaining predictable and stable funding for investments in Regional Transit Authorities and microtransit providers
• Reviewing revenue and funding opportunities for local governments
• Continuing to aggressively pursue federal funds
• Deploying the recently enacted state matching funds pool to compete for federal funding and reduce transportation debt
• Working with other states and cities to advocate for federal reauthorization, including support for transit, rail, highway, and other transportation priorities
• Increasing investment in the Chapter 90 program by at least 50% to improve local transportation infrastructure conditions
• Creating a strategy for culvert and small bridge infrastructure resilience