MILUS and the State Budget
By Christine Rasmussen
At the recent 5th Thursday event held by the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Corrin Meise-Munns, an experienced land use and environmental planner who recently joined the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs, explained the Massachusetts Integrated Land Use Strategy (MILUS), a new coordinated initiative aimed at shaping the future of land use in the Commonwealth. This initiative is designed to create policies that value and support the connection between land use, energy, and transportation, fostering more compact development, reducing emissions, and protecting natural resources.
This effort will require the heads of each division within the office to collaborate to ensure that the state takes coordinated actions. These actions will result in management plans, enhance their ability to achieve a resilient and sustainable future, tie public investment decisions to comprehensive planning, and meet sustainability goals with climate resilience and equity.
While the initiative sounds worthwhile, Ms. Meise-Munns was reminded of the value that residents in this rural county place on Home Rule, and she was urged to keep this in mind as she coordinates with numerous agencies, as secretaries work on planning for the state’s future.
THE STATE BUDGET: Earlier this year, the Governor introduced a state budget for Fiscal Year 2026, which begins on July 1, 2025. The House of Representatives then passed its budget proposal totaling $61.5 billion. The Massachusetts Senate has also passed its budget proposal, which totals $61.4 billion. Now, a conference committee is trying to reconcile the significant differences, which include:
Transportation:
The Senate budget allocates $214 million for Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs), which is $10 million more than the House and Governor’s proposals.
Education:
Both the House and Senate budgets continue implementing the Student Opportunity Act funding schedules and increase minimum aid to $150 per pupil.
The Senate’s budget includes $170 million in Fair Share funding for universal school meals, while the House includes $190 million.
Local Aid:
The Senate proposes $1.333 billion for Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA), which is level with the Governor’s budget but $29 million more than the House.
Since the House and Senate versions were passed, the chairs of their Ways and Means Committees have been holding private negotiations to reach an agreement on a final bill, as the uncertainty of $1 billion in Medicaid funding included in the “Big Beautiful Bill” plays out amid the chaos in Washington.
With the July 1 budget deadline fast approaching, there are various opinions abouts how state leaders should proceed, with two schools of thoughts emerging, one is to wait until Washington adopts their budget and then finalize state spending, the other is to pass the bill that with the governor’s signature it’s final, it is the governor’s budget. If there are federal cuts, it becomes Governor Healey who will need to make the adjustments, giving her the power and the blame. Just creating another uncertainty for local leaders to deal with.
