MASSACHUSETTS SHOULD be better able to compete for federal dollars with a funding bill Gov. Maura Healey signed into law Tuesday.
The federal grant money would be funneled towards infrastructure and economic development projects. The law sets up a $750 million pot of money, funded using interest generated by the state’s $8 billion-plus stabilization fund. The money will go toward matching federal grants.
Healey officials say the new funding will help the Bay State access up to $17.6 billion in federal money through three bills signed by President Joe Biden – the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, the infrastructure law, and the CHIPS Act.
“This law will maximize our federal funding wins at no risk to the taxpayer,” Healey said.
“We can now make sure that when we apply for programs, federal funds, that require matching funds, that we have that money available and that we’re getting the most possible money back from the federal government,” she added. “These funds are going to be used on a range of projects.”
Healey first filed a federal funds bill in October 2023, in addition to signing an executive order that set up an office meant to “chase and maximize” federal funds, headed up by Quentin Palfrey, a former Obama White House official who also was a Democratic candidate for attorney general and lieutenant governor.
The law sets aside $12 million in technical assistance funds for local governments and tribes, “particularly in the rural areas and our Gateway Cities, [which] need more support to navigate the thicket of acronyms and jargon, federal government silos, as well as more resources to compete for federal funds and finance critical local projects,” Palfrey said.
With the law, Healey administration officials won’t have to “carve out space in the capital plan for a match, or worse, let opportunities pass us by,” added Matt Gorzkowicz, Healey’s budget chief.
Beacon Hill legislative leaders were unable to agree on a final version of the bill until earlier this month. The bill was part of a passel of legislation that failed to pass before the end of formal sessions on August 1, though lawmakers were able to get it approved in sparsely attended informal sessions. Economic development and environmental bills remain unfinished.
The federal funds bill landed on the governor’s desk for signature amid a presidential election that could lead to Donald Trump’s return to the White House in just three months, and a far less friendly environment over the next four years for Massachusetts officials seeking federal dollars. Healey has been a campaign trail surrogate for Vice President Kamala Harris and sued Trump multiple times while attorney general.
A report from A Better City, the Boston-based nonprofit, put Massachusetts as “performing slightly above average” among other states in bringing in competitive federal grants, ranking at 17th in the country since 2021. Narrowing the timeframe to the securement of funds since October 2023, when Healey established Palfrey’s office, puts the state at No. 7.
The Healey administration has touted an $8.6 billion haul in federal funds since she took over as governor, and pointed to $1.7 billion for Cape Cod bridges, $335 million for I-90 Allston project, and the recent $472 million to rebuild a Depression-era drawbridge close to Boston’s North Station as the latest example.
“It’s going to completely change commuter rail and Amtrak services,” Healey said of the drawbridge project.
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