Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey files $2.5 billion borrowing bill to improve public higher education infrastructure

Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald on Jan 21, 2025

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BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey filed a $2.5 billion borrowing bill Tuesday that would dump cash into Massachusetts’ public higher education system to update aging infrastructure that the first-term Democrat argued has suffered from years of neglect.

Healey pitched her plan only days before she was expected to file her fiscal year 2026 budget proposal. After touring Bridgewater State University, Healey said dollars from the bill would be used to modernize campuses across the state with new labs, classrooms, and improved mental health facilities.

The Arlington Democrat said many public university and college campuses have fallen into disrepair since they were built in the 1970s and her administration does not want “to kick the can down the road any longer when it comes to educating our kids and training our workers of tomorrow.”

“With these transformative infrastructure investments, we will give students a cutting-edge education in our affordable public universities and colleges, create thousands of good-paying jobs for our workers and keep our state economically competitive for years to come,” she said in a statement.

The proposal, which Healey said would also create roughly 15,000 construction-related jobs if approved, looks to leverage $125 million in revenue generated in fiscal year 2026 by a surtax on incomes over $1 million to support the $2.5 billion in borrowing over the next decade.

The surtax — also known as the “Fair Share Amendment” or “Millionaires Tax” — is expected to generate $2.4 billion next fiscal year, according to Healey’s budget writers. Beacon Hill Democrats capped surtax spending in fiscal year 2026 at $1.95 billion with excess dollars deposited into a reserve fund.

Healey said the borrowing bill would focus on creating labs, classrooms, and training facilities that meet the needs of research and applied learning methods used today like web development, robotics, automation, advanced manufacturing, construction management, and building trades.

Dollars could also be used to improve facilities for student health, mental health, wellness, and safety and boost programs that address deferred maintenance, major capital projects, and modernization and decarbonization of facilities.

Most of the infrastructure on public higher education campuses around the state like the University of Massachusetts system was built in the 1970s and is “increasingly unable to meet the evolving needs of students,” according to the Healey administration.

But updating old buildings or classrooms is tough because of the rising cost of construction, decarbonization mandates, regulatory requirements, labor shortages, and material price spikes, the Healey administration said in a statement.

Bridgewater State University President Frederick Clark said the institution tries hard to address its infrastructure needs, like $200 million in deferred maintenance, by using student fees and “modest state funds.”

“State support to modernize campus facilities is absolutely critical to enhance affordability, accessibility, and academic excellence for the students we are privileged to serve,” Clark said in a statement shared by the Healey administration.

The move to boost campus infrastructure programs comes after Beacon Hill lawmakers made community college free for students of any age and income in Massachusetts this past fall.

The policy change led to a 14% increase in enrollment at the state’s 15 community colleges, though the union representing faculty said the jump has put pressure on teachers.

Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew Gorzkowicz said the proposal to borrow against surtax revenues is modeled on an approach officials have used in the transportation sector.

“The bill we are filing today puts these new resources to work to ensure our campuses can address their significant deferred maintenance backlogs and decarbonize their infrastructure while also modernizing to meet the needs of today’s students and workforce,” he said in a statement.

The move to borrow cash against surtax dollars for higher education infrastructure is the second time Healey has sought to leverage the revenue source in as many weeks.

Ahead of a major speech last week, Healey announced a separate decade-long, $8 billion transportation funding plan that in-part relies on borrowing against surtax revenues.

In a statement at the time, Gorzkowicz said using surtax dollars to borrow money for transportation was “an innovative strategy that will allow us to not only continue to invest in key projects and infrastructure but also solve the MBTA’s funding crisis not just for this year but years into the future.”

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