Legislative Fellow Update - January 2024

Bruce Jacobs, PhD, PE, BSCES Legislative Fellow

Governor Healey’s request for $400 million over two years in funding for Chapter 90 funding was the subject of a January 30 hearing of the Joint Committee on Transportation.  This is on par with the $200 million base annual funding for Chapter 90 that has been provided since 2012.  On the upside, the Governor has included funds for transportation from the Fair Share tax receipts (that’s the Millionaire’s tax that passed as a referendum last year).  That included $100M for Chapter 90 funding and $24M for roads and bridges in rural communities. The two-year funding mechanism will theoretically give towns the ability to plan for larger projects than possible when they are depending on year-to-year Chapter 90 disbursements.  

Five communities and representatives from the Massachusetts Municipal Association and the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission (MAPC) appeared at the hearing to advocate for higher funding levels due in part to substantial increases in construction costs since 2012.  MAPC representative, Georgia Barlow, advocated for $350 million in annual Chapter 90 expenditures as an investment to maintain municipal roadways.  

MassDOT took advantage of the hearing to announce the impending launch of a web-portal to simplify the process of applying for Chapter 90 and other MassDOT-funded highway grants.  Watch for its launch this spring.