A bipartisan pair of western Massachusetts lawmakers voiced frustration Thursday that Gov. Maura Healey’s proposed transportation spending skews heavily toward the MBTA, contending the balance is not “fair” to residents outside the Boston-based transit agency’s service area.
Democrat Sen. Jo Comerford of Northampton and Republican Rep. Todd Smola of Warren each pressed administration officials about the comparatively small amount of dollars that would go to regional transit authorities and microtransit under Healey’s bill (H 55) to spend down $1.3 billion in available surtax funds.
After Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew Gorzkowicz urged lawmakers to consider the one-time spending alongside recurring surtax revenue in Healey’s annual budget, Comerford contended that even combining the two bills, the T would still receive far more than RTAs.
“With this as it is, I think I can’t go home and say that we have a commitment through fair share dollars” for western Massachusetts, Comerford said of the governor’s plan. “I just don’t think it’s super fair currently.”
The supplemental budget would carve up the pot of excess surtax collections with $857.5 million for transportation and $462.5 million for education. Most of the money, about $780 million, would go to the MBTA, which faces a massive budget gap starting July 1.
Gorzkowicz and Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt pitched the legislation as part of a broader transportation funding plan that also includes Healey’s $62 billion fiscal 2026 budget and a five-year, $1.5 billion bond bill to fund local road and bridge maintenance.
The Joint Ways and Means Committee also plans to solicit testimony Thursday about the surtax bill from groups including the American Federation of Teachers, the Mass. Taxpayers Foundation, the Mass. Municipal Association and Transportation for Massachusetts, according to an aide.
