House’s $96 Million Spending Bill Includes 69 Budget Riders

House members digesting a $96 million spending bill polled out of the House Ways and Means Committee were given a few hours to file amendments ahead of planned debate on the legislation.

The committee bill includes a $55.7 million line item for winter snow and ice management costs, funds to cover special election costs, $10 million for the Department of Workforce Development, $8 million for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, $4.2 million for the Department of Corrections, and a $200,000 reserve to cover home modifications or moving expenses for eligible Boston Marathon bombing victims.

Among the 69 outside sections to the bill are other proposals dealing with the establishment of a Medical Marijuana Trust Fund, Medicaid reimbursements of “critical access hospitals,” farmer-winery licenses, transferring funds among human services accounts, collective bargaining agreements, a killed in the line of duty death benefit to the family of officer Sean Collier, a report on cost savings from implementation of a “basic health program,” an integrated eligibility system for MassHealth and other public assistance programs, and installation of a David Mugar marker to recognize the 40th anniversary of the Boston Pops July 4 Fireworks Spectacular.

Visit https://malegislature.gov/Bills/188/House/H3514 to read the full text of the bill.

Category: News/Updates