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This alert this afternoon from the Massachusetts Municipal Association-

April 8, 2015

LEGISLATURE ENACTS $200M CH. 90 BOND BILL
GOVERNOR’S SIGNATURE EXPECTED ALMOST IMMEDIATELY
Cities and Towns Now Have a Total of $330M Available for 2015 Construction Season

This afternoon, the House and Senate both enacted a one-year, $200 million Chapter 90 bond bill, which gives cities and towns access to a total of $330 million to repair and maintain local roads during the 2015 spring-to-fall construction season.

The Chapter 90 bond bill for fiscal 2016 was filed by Gov. Charlie Baker on March 12 and was passed unanimously by the House and Senate on March 25 and April 1, respectively. The Massachusetts Constitution, however, requires a two-thirds vote of each branch to enact all bond bills, which necessitated the votes cast today.

The Governor is expected to sign the bill immediately.

The funding will be combined with $100 million in new Chapter 90 authorizations that the Governor released in January, as well as the $30 million fund announced last month to help cities and towns repair potholes and other winter damage. Municipalities look forward to putting the money to work to repair local roads that took a beating during an historic winter.

The MMA applauds the Baker Administration and all members of the Legislature for moving swiftly on this critical funding bill. This year more than ever, cities and towns need to be able to get to work early in the construction season.

The Chapter 90 local road and bridge program provides cities and towns with a source of funding to maintain, repair and rebuild 30,000 miles of local roads in every corner of the state. Adequate and timely funding for Chapter 90 is essential for public safety, economic growth, and quality of life in Massachusetts.

With the state working to erase a $1 billion mid-year budget deficit in fiscal 2015 and a $1.8 billion structural budget gap for fiscal 2016, the Baker-Polito Administration decided to file a one-year Chapter 90 bond bill. Now that it has been enacted, the MMA and local officials will work in partnership with the Governor and legislators to achieve long-range funding for Chapter 90 that is both adequate for cities and towns and sustainable for the Commonwealth.