With a few week to go till she hits the three-months-in-office mark, Gov. Maura Healey has lastly signed a significant piece of laws.
“I’m proud that the first major bill signed into law by our administration dedicates crucial resources to help Massachusetts families access safe and secure housing, keep food on the table, and pay for child care,” Healey mentioned together with an announcement she had signed a fiscal 2023 supplemental funds.
“Additionally, this bill supports our health care workforce, crucial housing and economic development programs like MassWorks, and our efforts to compete for federal funding,” she continued.
The new legislation authorizes $388.7 million in further spending on high of the about $53.3 billion already accepted for the 2023 monetary yr, in addition to a further $740 million in borrowing.
“This includes $400 million for MassWorks, $104 million for the Clean Water Trust and $125 million for matching grants to be competitive for federal dollars available through the CHIPS and Science Act,” the governor’s workplace defined with the invoice’s signing.
Following the top of COVID-era subsidies to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the invoice will construct an “offramp” for households utilizing meals help by offering 40% of canceled federal funding for the subsequent three months at a price of $130 million. The new legislation may also cowl free faculty meals for all Massachusetts youngsters by means of the top of the yr.
“Providing a glide path for SNAP recipients losing critical nutrition benefits and ensuring school meals for all continues in this school year will help to offset the overall impact of individuals and households who are struggling with food access,” Catherine D’Amato, president and CEO of the Greater Boston Food Bank, mentioned with together with the announcement.
The invoice would additionally ship $85 million to the state’s system of Emergency Assistance Family Shelters to assist deal with a scarcity of beds attributable to the inflow of migrant households to the Bay State.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”