Galvin renews call for $50M heating aid reserve
Photo | Courtesy State House News Service
Secretary of State William Galvin
Whenever lawmakers get around to considering a closeout budget bill, Secretary of State William Galvin wants them to bulk it up with $50 million more to help Bay Staters heat their homes this winter.
Galvin's office announced Tuesday that the Democrat would file an amendment to the pending supplemental budget (H 5260) once it begins to move that would create a $50 million reserve in the care of the state treasurer to fund home heating oil supply, renewing a push he made in September.
That money could be used to offer guarantees or loans to Massachusetts fuel wholesalers so they can acquire more inventory or to assist individual homeowners with the cost of purchasing home heating oil, Galvin said.
Massachusetts families will face enormous pressure as temperatures drop with utilities projecting massive energy cost spikes due to factors including Russia's war in Ukraine.
Warning that "help is urgently needed before the first cold snap of the season," Galvin said a standalone reserve fund could help relieve pressure on Bay Staters with moderate incomes, supplementing existing aid programs available for lower-income residents.
"No matter how you heat your home, prices are going to be much higher this winter than they were last year," Galvin said in a statement. "Much of the focus has rightly been on making sure that low-income families have the assistance they need, but middle-income families already dealing with inflation and higher utility prices will also need help to survive this winter."
A Galvin spokesperson said the secretary's office drafted language for an amendment to the budget and plans to submit it when lawmakers take up the bill, which has languished untouched for more than two months but is expected to emerge soon.
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