Yesterday, the Massachusetts Legislature took final action on a supplemental budget designed to close out Fiscal Year 2023. The final supplemental budget totals $3.1 billion and contains several provisions to support the ongoing operations of programs and services that benefit the residents of the Commonwealth.

To address the ongoing humanitarian emergency shelter crisis, the final bill allocates $250 million to be spent to address costs associated with sheltering eligible families, including by making funding available for temporary emergency shelter sites for families on a waitlist for permanent shelter. The final bill also stipulates that a portion of the $250 million be spent on support services and resources so that individuals and families can address the complex issues and challenges they face, as well as reimbursements to school districts for increased enrollment costs associated with an influx of migrant students.

To ensure oversight of spending on the emergency shelter crisis, the bill requires robust reporting every 14 days. In addition to $250 million for the emergency shelter system, the budget provides $10 million for resettlement agencies to assist immigrants and refugees and authorizes the use of up to $2 million in available funds from the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund to support career centers in their efforts to assist immigrants and refugees in securing federal work authorizations.

The legislation also funds newly negotiated collective bargaining agreements for state employees, bringing a long-awaited raise to tens of thousands of state workers just in time for the holidays. The new pay levels are expected to be reflected in the pay period ending on December 22nd.

“This bill will provide critical financing to the Commonwealth’s strained emergency shelter system, ensuring we have the capacity and capability to care for those who are facing difficult times, as well as funding for well-deserved raises for public servants across the Commonwealth,” said Senator Michael Moore (D-Millbury). “While I am disappointed that the guardrails around emergency shelter system funding written into the Senate’s version of this bill did not make it into the final version, I am pleased that the Legislature will receive a detailed report on the system’s status every 2 weeks. I look forward to working with my colleagues to make sure taxpayer dollars are being spent wisely, as well as to establish a plan to stabilize the Commonwealth’s emergency shelter system with an eye toward long-term changes in migration patterns.”

The largest spending item in the bill was related to health care costs provided through MassHealth. Other notable items in the closeout supplemental budget include:

$378 million to fund collective bargaining increases for state workers.
$75 million for school districts impacted by special education tuition rate increases.
$15 million for disaster relief for municipalities impacted by storms and natural disasters that occurred in 2023.
Supplemental $100 million pension payment to remove any further increased liability resulting from the 2015 early retirement incentive program.

A version of this supplemental budget having passed the House and Senate, it was sent to the Governor on Monday, December 4, 2023, and signed the same day.

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