By Bob Katzen
Senate 40-0, approved a $1.3 billion supplemental budget that uses funds generated from the recent surtax imposed on taxpayers’ earnings of more than $1 million annually, to fund $617 million for education-related projects and $670 million for transportation-related ones. The House has already approved its own version of the budget and a House-Senate conference committee will hammer out a compromise version that will be sent to Gov. Maura Healey.
The surtax was created by voters in November 2022 when they voted for a constitutional amendment, dubbed by supporters as the “Fair Share Amendment,” that allows a graduated income tax in Massachusetts and imposes an additional 4 percent income tax, in addition to the flat 5 percent one, on taxpayers’ earnings of more than $1 million annually. Language in the constitutional amendment requires that “subject to appropriation, the revenue will go to fund quality public education, affordable public colleges and universities, and for the repair and maintenance of roads, bridges and public transportation.”
A total of $370 million of the $670 million for transportation will be used for various MBTA projects.
The $617 million for education includes $248 million for special education; $190 million for higher education; $50 million for local school construction; $25 million for literacy growth; $100 million for Career Technical Education Capital Grants; and $10 million for English Language Learning Programs.
Senators had filed 317 amendments to the budget but there were no roll call votes on any of the individual amendments. Instead, the Senate approved or rejected some individual amendments, some with debate and some without debate, on unrecorded voice votes which do not allow the public to see how individual senators voted.
To move things along even faster, the Senate also did its usual “bundling” of many amendments. Instead of acting on each amendment one at a time, dozens of the proposed amendments are bundled and put into two piles—one pile that will be approved and the other that will be rejected, without a roll call, on voice votes where it is impossible to tell which way a senator votes.
Senate President Karen Spilka, or the senator who is filling in for her at the podium, orchestrates the approval and rejection of the bundled amendments with a simple: “All those in favor say ‘Aye,’ those opposed say ‘No.’ The Ayes have it and the amendments are approved.” Or: “All those in favor say ‘Aye,’ those opposed say ‘No.’ The No’s have it and the amendments are rejected.”
Senators don’t actually vote Yes or No, and, in fact, they don’t say a word. The outcome was predetermined earlier behind closed doors.
“This bill answers the clear message that our residents sent us in 2022—to invest these dollars across the state to continue building the high-quality education and transportation systems Massachusetts deserves,” said Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland). “At a time of economic uncertainty, we are committed to supporting our schools and making sure that residents can travel safely, and these Fair Share funds allow us to do that.”
Although no senators voted against the budget, there was opposition to it from outside the Senate.
“The Senate’s $1.3 billion supplemental budget is yet another example of Beacon Hill’s addiction to unchecked spending,” said Paul Craney, executive director of the Mass Fiscal Alliance. “Instead of showing restraint or using this opportunity to reform broken systems like the MBTA, lawmakers are rushing to shovel taxpayer money into a badly mismanaged MBTA that is riddled with inefficiency. Voters were told surtax revenue would be used responsibly—this bloated bill proves otherwise. Massachusetts taxpayers deserve accountability, not another blank check for Beacon Hill’s failures.”
“I’m pleased the Senate has passed this Fair Share supplemental budget, prioritizing regional equity while also maintaining fiscal integrity during these highly uncertain times,” said Sen. Mike Rodrigues, (D-Westport) Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. “By utilizing almost $1.3 billion in one-time surplus surtax revenues, the proposal strengthens the commonwealth’s economic foundation by making meaningful investments in education and transportation. This budget plan reaffirms the Senate’s strong commitment to educational excellence, provides significant resources for special education and makes substantial investments in our transportation infrastructure. It goes above and beyond to give everyone a ‘fair share.'”
“Amid waves of uncertainty at the national level and devastating federal cuts, the Massachusetts Senate answered the call of residents to use surplus Fair Share Amendment funds to invest equitably in education and transportation across the commonwealth,” said Senate Ways and Means Vice Chair Jo Comerford (D-Northampton). “The Senate bill passed today will provide transportation solutions for small, rural towns, will begin addressing the debilitating backlog of deferred maintenance on public higher education campuses, will provide meaningful help to school budgets pushed to the breaking point, and more.”
(A “Yes” vote is for the $1.3 billion budget.)
Sen. Patricia Jehlen Yes