Ways and Means Committee Chairs Aaron Michlewitz and Michael Rodrigues drop off a compromise fiscal 2025 budget bill in the House clerk's office around 7:45 p.m. on Thursday, July 18, 2024.
Bay Staters would also gain access to online Lottery products, a House priority that previously failed to gain traction in the Senate. Revenue from those sales would be permanently earmarked to help cover costs of C3 grants. The compromise fiscal 2025 budget would increase spending about $1.97 billion, or 3.5%, over the fiscal 2024 spending plan Healey signed into law last summer.
"I'm the product of public higher education.
The House hasn't taken a vote of its own on the massive early education measure, but House Speaker Ron Mariano indicated last year that the struggling sector would be among his priorities this legislative session. "Because we had taken on the C3 funding post-COVID, we felt it was more of a budgetary conversation since so much money was being put into this annually," he added."We felt it was more appropriate to iron out whatever differences we had through the budget process."
A newly-established Early Education and Care Operational Grant Fund will be financed with revenue generated from online Lottery sales. The budget plans for $100 million to come into this fund to pay for C3. The rest of the $475 million price tag will be paid for by $175 million of newly-available surtax funds and $200 million from the High-Quality Early Education and Care Affordability Fund.
Michlewitz attributed the shift to some of the high-profile education programs lawmakers have opted to fund in recent years, including C3 grants and universal school meals.
Education Education Latest News, Education Education Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: AP - 🏆 728. / 51 Read more »