Gov. Maura Healey announced an $800-million plan Thursday to help the state win federal dollars for a broad array of projects here in Massachusetts, from cybersecurity to water and sewer upgrades.
The Healey administration says Massachusetts is eligible to compete for up to $17.5 billion in federal funding through a trio of major laws President Joe Biden signed in the past few years. If the state secures all that money, it could need to pony up about $3 billion in matching funds from its own coffers.
“Already we have over $2 billion in matching funds for that purpose,” Healey said. “And today, we’re filing the legislation to make sure we leave nothing on the field.”
Healey’s new bill would make another $800 million in state money available over three years to go after federal grants. Most of that money — $750 million — would come from interest earned on the state’s “rainy day” savings account, and the remaining $50 million is millionaire’s tax revenue already set aside in this year’s budget to match potential federal transportation grants.
Money from the newly created fund would only be spent once Massachusetts wins a grant, and any left over after the federal programs expire would be put toward backlogged repairs on state property.
Healey said there’s a long list of projects she wants to put the money behind — “like, a ton.” She said the projects where Massachusetts has already applied for federal funding show the breadth of what’s possible.
She said the state has recently secured $108 million for rail infrastructure in central and Western Massachusetts, won competitions to host an investor catalyst hub for the new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health and a microelectronics hub for the Department of Defense.
Massachusetts has also newly applied for $250 million in clean energy investments for as many as 80,000 homes, Healey said, and put in "strong applications" for the I-90 interchange project in Allston and a long-running effort to rebuild the Cape Cod bridges.
The governor often talks about making Massachusetts more competitive, and the quest to beat out other states for specific pools of federal money is perhaps the most literal example of that sentiment.
“With over $17 billion in federal funds out there for us to compete for and win, we have to be aggressive,” said Matthew Gorzkowicz, Healey’s budget chief. “We know other states are as well.”
Gorzkowicz said Healey’s bill “will help separate Massachusetts from the rest of the nation by putting substantial, dedicated resources on the table” and “send a clear message to Washington that we are serious and ready to move on these projects.”
Healey sought to underline that message in March, when she hired Quentin Palfrey, a 2022 attorney general candidate, for the new, $160,000-a-year post of director of federal funds and infrastructure. An executive order Healey signed Thursday formally created the office that Palfrey leads.
Palfrey said the bill and order represent “the blueprint for how Massachusetts is going to establish the best effort in the nation to seize this tremendous opportunity.”
