Healey, Driscoll announce Ch. 90 bill, Community One Stop, Municipal Empowerment

Speaking at the MMA’s Connect 351 conference, Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said they would be filing a $300 million per year Chapter 90 bond bill today and plan to file a new Municipal Empowerment Act next week.

Addressing more than 1,000 local leaders from across Massachusetts just two days after filing their state budget plan for fiscal 2026 and 10 days after announcing an $8 billion transportation investment plan, Healey and Driscoll highlighted their ongoing support for cities and towns.

“We know that local communities are really the foundation of civic life, of democracy,” Healey said. “As state leaders, we respect the prerogative, the leadership, the autonomy, the responsibility of our local governments and those who lead them. So, you’ll always have champions in us.”

The pair highlighted their proposed $100 million increase in the Chapter 90 reimbursement program, which helps every city and town with the maintenance of local roads and bridges, as well as key elements of their budget bill, particularly the proposed $420 million increase in Chapter 70 school aid and the increase of the “minimum education aid” figure to $75 per student.

Healey also mentioned a budget provision that would allow cities and towns, at local option, to augment their traffic safety enforcement by using cameras — an option that has been requested by a number of local officials.

“We can’t have a cop on every corner,” she said, adding that the objective is “about keeping roads safe, impacting the quality of neighborhoods.”

Healey reflected on major achievements of the past two years — a $5 billion housing bond bill, a $4 billion economic development bond bill, and $9 billion in federal funding flowing to the Commonwealth and its communities — while pointing out the benefits at the local level.

Driscoll announced the opening of the Community One Stop for Growth portal for fiscal 2026. The portal provides access to a dozen local grant and technical assistance programs related to housing, infrastructure and economic development, including MassWorks and HousingWorks.

“We were 500% oversubscribed in terms of applications and money requests [last year] — and that’s a good thing,” she said. “That means all of you have plans and opportunities to partner with private investment, growing a healthy economy, helping meet our housing needs in places.”

Driscoll said Community One Stop has two new programs: one to help reopen vacant storefronts, and a Transformative Development Initiative for gateway cities.

Driscoll and Healey frequently mentioned their attention to smaller, rural communities, such as with “special carve outs” in One Stop.

Since 2021, Community One Stop has resulted in 1,200 awards totaling $564 million in 284 communities, Driscoll said.

Healey and Driscoll said their “Municipal Empowerment Act 2.0” would resemble last year’s package and would again target reforms that would increase efficiency in local government. This includes provisions to address doubled-up utility poles, to make pandemic-era provisions for remote and hybrid public meetings permanent, to provide more flexibility in procurement, and to allow new property tax exemptions.

Healey and Driscoll closed by urging local leaders to join them in advocating for the Municipal Empowerment Act, Chapter 90 funding, and key state budget accounts.

“I invite you not only to continue the policy formulation, but to continue now with some advocacy,” Healey said, “because to make this stuff happen — how we wish we could wave a wand — there is a process. … There will be a need for you to message and explain and tell your story about the acuity of the crises you’re facing in your cities and towns. Costs have gone up for everything, and that money from the federal government, that was enjoyed a few years ago, is long gone. So it’s important for everybody to understand what it is you’re really confronted with.”