Full and original article posted on MassINC
Inadequate public transportation has long been a shared concern for Gateway City leaders across the state. Many of their residents are simply trapped on nights and weekends, when bus service is either extremely infrequent or entirely unavailable. This has serious implications for individual health and wellbeing. It also reduces the available workforce, and regional economic competitiveness. New revenue from Question 1 presents an opening to address this longstanding problem. With each iteration of the FY 2024 budget, we get a bit closer to achieving this goal.
Before we dig into these developments, some context will be helpful: In FY 2024, the legislature is working to spend $1 billion from Question 1. The ballot initiative is likely to generate significantly more revenue, but the exact amount is uncertain and the surtax tax on top earners will be volatile, so legislators want to be particularly careful with funding that organizations will rely on for recurring expenses. The ballot initiative directs all of this new revenue to either education or transportation, without specifying how much either should get.
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