As the Baker administration continues to make the case for its proposal to swiftly spend about $2.9 billion of American Rescue Plan Act money, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs had a message for the legislature on Friday – the longer the state goes without making investments, the risk posed by climate change grows greater.
For the second time this week, the administration held a background briefing to go into the details of Gov. Charlie Baker’s plan to put more than half of the state’s roughly $5 billion ARPA total to quick use on issues on which lawmakers and the administration generally see eye-to-eye. This time, the focus was on the $900 million the governor would spend on water and sewer infrastructure grants, climate-resilient infrastructure, parks and open spaces, and marine port development.
Particularly around climate resilience – preparing the environment to deal with climate change impacts like stronger storms, more frequent flooding and growing heat islands – the secretariat said the investments are time-sensitive and in demand. Since 2017, the administration has received more than $135 million in grant applications through the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program but has only had $44 million to award.
Lawmakers have said they do not necessarily disagree with the governor’s suggestions but want to spend the federal money only after a public hearing process similar to what takes place ahead of the annual budget debate. Hearings on the governor’s proposal and other uses of federal funds, led by the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, are expected to get underway later this month, House Speaker Ronald Mariano said this week.
Earlier this week, the Executive Office of Administration and Finance highlighted the $1 billion that Baker’s plan would designate for homeownership and housing priorities, painting the availability of federal money as a generational opportunity to boost housing security and begin to close the state’s racial homeownership gap.
The governor, during a Thursday press conference with Attorney General Maura Healey, called on lawmakers to use some federal money for addiction services. His plan calls for $175 million to be spent on addiction treatment and related behavioral health services.
