$5 Million for Local Projects Await Baker’s Signature
State Senator Adam Hinds announced Friday that the Massachusetts House and Senate enacted the final FY22 state budget, which is now on the Governor’s desk. The $47.7 billion spending plan contains nearly $5 million for local projects throughout the Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin & Hampden Senate District first secured by Hinds during the Senate budget debate in May, which includes $4 million for the Rural School Aid grant program that he established in 2018.
As we remerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, a key aspect of our state’s economic recovery is to actively incentivize increased investments in our small towns... That begins with the legislature investing in our communities now so that they may see long-term economic growth... Every dollar invested in rural communities is another step toward addressing regional inequities and closing the gap between rural and urban areas in our Commonwealth. ~ Senator Hinds