HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4985 FILED ON: 3/18/2024
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4496
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
STATE HOUSE · BOSTON, MA 02133
(617) 725-4000
MAURA T. HEALEY KIMBERLEY DRISCOLL
GOVERNOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
March 18, 2024
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives,
I am filing for your consideration a bill entitled “An Act Making Appropriations for
Fiscal Year 2024 to Provide for Supplementing Certain Existing Appropriations and for Certain
Other Activities and Projects.”
This legislation directs targeted resources at our most time-sensitive deficiencies, using
available federal reimbursements and other resources to minimize the net cost to the state and to
manage Fiscal Year 2024 effectively. The Administration continues to manage spending to
ensure a fiscally responsible, balanced budget amid continued revenue declines and future
revenue uncertainty.
The bill appropriates $534.7 million gross ($88.5 million net cost to the state) to ensure
the continuation of critical state programs, pay for our obligations in a timely manner, and
maintain our commitments to key priorities.
I am recommending in this bill $61.1 million ($45.8 million net) for a Critical Health and
Human Services Workforce Reserve to cover projected deficiencies in Fiscal Year 2024 related
to our continued need for direct care staffing to respond to health needs in our nursing homes,
group care settings, state hospitals, and Soldiers’ Homes, as well as other patient health and
safety supports.
This budget also includes $228 million (no net cost to the state) in investments supported
fully by federal Home and Community-Based Services resources from the American Rescue
Plan Act (ARPA) to promote innovative services that enhance the quality of life and
independence of people in their home and community.
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 I am additionally proposing $29.7 million for early education and care subsidies to ensure
that providers are able to maintain access for families in need of child care. This bill also
includes $20 million from repurposed federal ARPA resources to stabilize critical victim service
programs throughout Massachusetts and ensure continued access to trauma-informed services. I
am also recommending $5.1 million to address increased demand for the Healthy Incentives
Program, which provides fresh, healthy food options and supports our local growers.
Other key appropriations include:
• $175.5 million for supplemental payments to safety net hospitals through the
Medical Assistance Trust Fund, which are wholly offset by federal reimbursements
• $5.6 million to reimburse municipalities for tax abatements associated with
veterans, widows, persons who are blind, and seniors
• $2.1 million for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition services to fully
support the current caseload of recipients
Additionally, notable outside sections include:
• Allowing the Operational Services Division (OSD) to jointly procure electric
vehicles and charging stations, which will further empower OSD to assist in the state’s efforts to
electrify fleets at the state and municipal level.
• Permitting the Department of Conservation and Recreation to enter into new long-
term leases, up to 30 years, for the operations of ice rinks that are presently under long-term
leases with upcoming expiration dates.
• Providing technical updates to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s
statutes to ensure alignment with best practices and conform with recent federal audits of our
commercial driver license process.
• Making several clarifying technical updates to streamline the implementation of
existing statutes.
• Amending several ARPA-supported programs to repurpose $19.4 M in unspent
funds – largely from completed programs that came in under budget – and to ensure the state has
sufficient flexibility to obligate ARPA funds before federal deadlines.
I want to reiterate my support for this legislation and the funding recommendations
contained within. Sufficient revenues are available to finance the appropriations and other
proposed measures, and I urge you to consider and enact this legislation in the weeks ahead.
Respectfully submitted,
Maura T. Healey,
Governor
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 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4496
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2024 to provide for supplementing certain
existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects.
Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purposes, which are
to make supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2024 and to make certain changes in law,
each of which is immediately necessary to carry out those appropriations or to accomplish other
important public purposes, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for
the immediate preservation of the public convenience.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. To provide for supplementing certain items in the general appropriation act
2 and other appropriation acts for fiscal year 2024, the sums set forth in section 2 are hereby
3 appropriated from the General Fund, the Transitional Escrow Fund established in section 16 of
4 chapter 76 of the acts of 2021, as amended by section 4 of chapter 98 of the acts of 2022, or the
5 federal COVID-19 response fund established in section 2JJJJJ of chapter 29 of the General Laws
6 unless specifically designated otherwise in this act or in those appropriation acts, for the several
7 purposes and subject to the conditions specified in this act or in those appropriation acts, and
8 subject to the laws regulating the disbursement of public funds for the fiscal year ending June 30,
9 2024. These sums shall be in addition to any amounts previously appropriated and made
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10 available for the purposes of those items. These sums shall be made available through the fiscal
11 year ending June 30, 2024.
12 SECTION 2.
13 TREASURER AND RECEIVER-GENERAL
14 Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission
15 0610-0050 Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission ……………… $ 232,499
16 OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER
17 1595-1068 Medical Assistance Trust Fund ………………………...$ 175,548,050
18 EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
19 Department of Revenue
20 1233-2000 Tax Abatements for Veterans, Widows, Blind Persons, and the Elderly
21 ………………………………………………………………………………$5,570,381
22 Reserves
23 1599-0793 Critical Health and Human Services Workforce Reserve ….$61,077,257
24 1599-6073 VOCA Bridge ………………………………………….. $20,000,000
25 1599-9817 ARPA HCBS Reserve …………………………………. $228,000,000
26 Operational Services Division
27 1775-0700 Reprographic Services Retained Revenue ………………… $400,000
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28 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF EDUCATION
29 Department of Early Education and Care
30 3000-4060 Income-Eligible Child Care……………………………….. $29,672,801
31 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
32 Department of Transitional Assistance
33 4400-1004 Healthy Incentives Program ……………………………… $5,100,000
34 Department of Public Health
35 4513-1002 Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Services ………….$2,130,571
36 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
37 State Police
38 8100-0102 Troop F Retained Revenue ……………………………… $7,000,000
39 SECTION 3. Chapter 6 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is
40 hereby amended by striking out section 39B and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
41 Section 39B. Each state agency shall furnish the state library one copy of its publications,
42 provided in the format in which it was created, such as print or electronic, no later than 5
43 working days after creation. The state library shall make copies available for public consultation
44 and for permanent historic preservation. Digitized publications shall be made available to the
45 Library of Congress and to each of the state’s regional public libraries through the state library’s
46 digital collections.
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47 SECTION 4. Chapter 7 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is
48 hereby amended by adding the following section:-
49 Section 22P. Notwithstanding section 39M of chapter 30 or any general or special law to
50 the contrary, governmental bodies may procure electric vehicles and the installation of charging
51 stations for said electric vehicles, under this chapter. The electric vehicles and the installation of
52 charging stations may be procured separately or in one procurement. For the purposes of this
53 section, electric vehicles shall be considered supplies and charging stations and their installation
54 shall be considered services.
55 A contract under this section shall only be awarded to a bidder: (1) possessing the skill,
56 ability and integrity necessary for the faithful performance of the work; (2) who shall certify that
57 it is able to furnish labor that can work in harmony with all other elements of labor employed or
58 to be employed in the work; (3) who shall certify that all employees to be employed at the
59 worksite will have successfully completed a course in construction safety and health approved by
60 the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration that is at least 10 hours in
61 duration at the time the employee begins work and who shall furnish documentation of
62 successful completion of said course with the first certified payroll report for each employee; and
63 (4) who obtains within 10 days of the notification of contract award the security by bond
64 required under section 29 of chapter 149; provided that for the purposes of this section the term
65 “security by bond” shall mean the bond of a surety company qualified to do business under the
66 laws of the commonwealth and satisfactory to the awarding authority; provided further, that if
67 there is more than 1 surety company, the surety companies shall be jointly and severally liable.
68 Sections 26 through 27D of chapter 149 shall apply to any contract entered into under this
69 section.
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70 SECTION 5. Section 1 of chapter 7C of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022
71 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the definition for “Capital Facility” and
72 inserting in place thereof the following definition:-
73 “Capital facility”, a public improvement such as a building or other structure; a utility,
74 fire protection, and other major system and facility; a power plant facility and appurtenances; a
75 heating, ventilating, air conditioning or other system; initial equipment and furnishings for a new
76 building or building added to or remodeled for some other use; a public parking facility; an
77 airport or port facility; a recreational improvement such as a facility or development in a park or
78 other recreational facility; or any other facility which, by statute or under standards as they may
79 be prescribed from time to time by the commissioner of capital asset management and
80 maintenance, according to the provisions of this section, may be defined as such, provided
81 however that a highway improvement such as a highway, bridge or tunnel or other structure or
82 building integral to the operation of the state highway system; a transportation improvement such
83 as a mass transportation or other public transit facility, shall not be considered a capital facility
84 as defined herein; provided further that an improvement in information technology shall not be a
85 capital facility to the extent it does not result in the creation or expansion of tangible property.
86 SECTION 6. Section 11E of chapter 12 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
87 amended by striking out, in line 22, the words “section 3 of chapter 24A” and inserting in place
88 thereof the following words:- section 18B of chapter 25 and section 10 of chapter 25C.
89 SECTION 7. Section 6 of chapter 21J of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
90 amended by striking out, in line 4, the words “state fire marshal” and inserting in place thereof
91 the following words:- commissioner of revenue.
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 92 SECTION 8. Section 2 of chapter 22D of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
93 amended by striking out, in lines 6 to 9, inclusive, the words “a division of underground storage
94 tanks, including the Underground Storage Tank Petroleum Product Cleanup Fund Administrative
95 Review Board as established by chapter twenty-one J;”.
96 SECTION 9. Section 14 of chapter 23N of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
97 amended by striking out subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
98 (a) An excise is hereby imposed upon a sports wagering operator or a person or entity
99 that offers fantasy contests, as defined in section 11M½ of chapter 12, in the commonwealth at
100 the rate of: (i) 15 per cent of the sports wagering operator's adjusted gross sports wagering
101 receipts from the operation of in-person sports wagering; (ii) 20 per cent of the sports wagering
102 operator's adjusted gross sports wagering receipts from the operation of sports wagering through
103 mobile applications and other digital platforms approved by the commission; and (iii) 15 per cent
104 of the adjusted gross fantasy wagering receipts of the person or entity that offers such fantasy
105 contests. The accrual method of accounting shall be used for the purposes of calculating the
106 amount of the tax owed under this section. The excise shall be paid to the commission at the time
107 provided for filing the return pursuant to subsection (b).
108 SECTION 10. Said section 14 of said chapter 23N, as so appearing, is hereby further
109 amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
110 (c) The excise on adjusted gross sports wagering receipts and adjusted fantasy wagering
111 receipts imposed by this section shall be in lieu of all other state and local taxes and fees imposed
112 on the operation of, or the proceeds from operation of, sports wagering or fantasy contests.
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113 SECTION 11. Section 14 of chapter 25A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
114 amended by adding the following subsection:-
115 (e) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the division of capital asset management and
116 maintenance may contract for energy conservation projects that have a total project cost of
117 $500,000 or less, directly and without further solicitation, with electric and gas utilities, their
118 subcontractors and other providers of such energy conservation projects authorized under section
119 11G of this chapter and sections 19 and 21 of chapter 25.
120 SECTION 12. Chapter 24A of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out
121 sections 3 and 4.
122 SECTION 13. Chapter 25 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
123 section 18A the following section:-
124 Section 18B. The department is hereby authorized to make an annual assessment against
125 each electric, water and gas company doing business in the commonwealth and subject to the
126 supervision of the department, based upon intrastate operating revenues of each of such
127 companies derived from the sales of electric, water or gas services, respectively, as shown on the
128 annual report or annual statement of each such company filed with the department. The
129 combined total of the assessment under this section and the assessment under section 10 of
130 chapter 25C shall be in such amount as determined and certified annually by the department and
131 the department of telecommunications and cable to be sufficient to produce $2,910,218 in
132 revenue to the commonwealth and shall be assessed proportionately against each company
133 subject to the assessment under this section and the assessment under said section 10 of said
134 chapter 25C on the basis of such intrastate operating revenues of each such company.
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135 In addition to such assessment amount, the assessment shall include am