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Mass. governor signs bill to create $750 million matching pool to boost federal grant wins
Summary
Governor Maura Healey signed legislation creating a capital investment and debt reduction fund that will use interest on the state stabilization fund to provide up to $750 million in state matching funds and $12 million for municipal technical assistance to help cities and towns compete for federal grants.
Governor Maura Healey on Tuesday signed legislation to create a state capital investment and debt reduction fund that will allow Massachusetts to deploy up to $750 million over three years as match for federal grant programs.
The bill directs state officials to use interest earned on the Commonwealth’s stabilization ("rainy day") fund rather than the fund’s principal. "We are only using the interest of the fund," A&F Secretary Matt Gorkowitz said, adding that the corpus will not be touched. Gorkowitz told reporters the stabilization fund is projected to close fiscal 2024 at roughly $8.8 billion.
The administration framed the fund as a way to multiply federal dollars the state can win. "Each dollar we provide in state matching funds will enable us to multiply the federal dollars we receive in return," Quentin Palfrey, director of the Federal Funds and Infrastructure Office, said during the signing event. Palfrey and Healey also highlighted projects funded with recent federal awards, including the Cape Cod bridges, the Allston multimodal project and a North Station drawbridge award.
The legislation also includes $12 million in grants for local government technical assistance to help municipalities build competitive federal applications, the administration said. Gorkowitz said that provision is intended to help smaller cities and towns that lack staff capacity or technical expertise to pursue federal awards.
Administration officials attributed their success in securing federal funds to a new whole-of-government effort. Healey credited the newly created federal funds office and a coordinated team across state secretariats for bringing more than $8.6 billion in federal funding to Massachusetts since she took office.
Supporters framed the bill as fiscally responsible: officials said it relies on investment earnings rather than spending down reserves, and that using interest for match would allow the state to pursue transformational projects while preserving the stabilization fund’s principal.
Next steps: with the governor’s signature the bill becomes law and state officials will develop procedures for allocating interest earnings to matching awards and municipal technical assistance. Officials said they will prioritize securing federal matches and supporting application work; they did not specify an implementation timeline.
