THE HOUSE BUDGET proposal unveiled on Wednesday sets different spending priorities than Gov. Maura Healey for the $1 billion expected to come in from the millionaire tax.
The tax, approved by voters in November, placed a 4 percent income tax surcharge on income over $1 million, with the new revenue targeted at education and transportation initiatives.
Healey proposed spending $510 million on education and $490 million on transportation, while the House Ways and Means Committee is recommending an even split between the two categories.
There is some overlap between the two proposals. Both provide $20 million for a free community college program proposed by Healey and $5 million to lay the groundwork for mean-tested fares at the MBTA. There is also overlap on highway and bridge spending and support for regional transportation agencies. In all, the two proposals share $475 million in spending priorities, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.
But there are also significant differences. The House Ways and Means Committee, for example, proposes spending $161 million of the millionaire tax money to provide free meals to every student attending a public school in Massachusetts.
House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz said the school meals funding and the language included in the budget would make Massachusetts the fifth state to make the pandemic-era program permanent and save households roughly $1,200 per child.
Healey included no money for school meals in her budget and instead included an amount similar to the House in a supplemental budget proposal, presumably because she doesn’t view the meals initiative as permanent.
The House is proposing to spend $100 million launching a new competitive grant program called Green School Works to finance the installation of clean energy infrastructure at schools.
The House also sets aside $50 million to support scholarships for students attending state colleges, community colleges, and universities who are pursuing degrees in “high-demand” fields. Scholarship recipients would have to agree to work in Massachusetts in the field for five years after graduation.
The House did not include a Healey proposal to freeze tuition rates for students once they enroll at state universities and also tossed overboard some $25 million for pre-school and early college initiatives, although money for those programs appeared to be included elsewhere in the House budget.
On the transportation side, the House steers a total of $330 million to the MBTA, $141 million more than Healey. The House proposal includes $65 million for workforce development and safety initiatives, $100 million for bridge repairs, $100 million for station repairs, $39 million for track and signal work, and $11 million for initial work to connect the Red and Blue subway lines.
The House sets aside $10 million for unspecified water transportation projects, $7.5 million more than Healey’s budget. The House included no set-aside for East-West Rail, an initiative that Healey funded at $12.5 million.