BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey is pledging to make major investments to fix the beleaguered MBTA, build more housing and improve education for over the next year, while taking steps to make the state more affordable and competitive.
Settling into her third year in office, Healey used her State of the Commonwealth address on Thursday to tout her accomplishments and outline her priorities for 2025 and beyond.
“This year, we’ll work together to implement the historic legislation we passed last year. And we’ll stay focused on the things that matter to you,” Healey said in remarks in the House of Representatives’ ornate chambers before lawmakers, supreme court justices and other elected officials.
“We’ll take new steps forward: to fix transportation, make homes more affordable, invest in education, and grow our economy.”
A key proposal Healey highlighted on Thursday calls for spending $8 billion over the next 10 years by tapping into proceeds from the state’s Fair Share Amendment tax, also known as the millionaires’ tax, and borrowing to increase state funding for the MBTA, fix roads and bridges and other transportation projects.
The plan will pay for improving roads, bridges and public transportation across the state, while closing the MBTA’s ‘legacy’ budget gap, Healey said.
“We’ll put the entire system on stable financial footing, something we haven’t had for decades,” she said. You’ll see more frequent trains and buses; major upgrades at stations like Ruggles in Roxbury; and new platforms across the Commuter Rail from Beverly Depot to West Medford to Franklin and beyond. Bottom line, you’ll wait less, and you’ll move faster.”
The governor also pledged to make housing more affordable by eliminating renter-paid broker’s fees, implementing the Affordable Homes Act to jump-start housing production, and working with communities to comply with the MBTA Communities Act, which requires cities and towns to zone more property for affordable housing.
“For decades, we didn’t build enough homes in this state. We’re paying the price for that, now,” she said. “There’s not enough housing and it’s too expensive. But we’re changing that.”
She also touted her legislative accomplishments over the previous year, including a $1 billion per year tax relief package and passage of an economic development bill and climate change legislation aimed at accelerating clean energy development.
Healey signaled that her fiscal 2026 budget bill, set to be unveiled next week, will seek to curtail state spending and reduce costs for families and businesses and “prioritize efficiency, action and impact.”
“State revenues are growing. But the cost of providing services has gone up; and federal pandemic relief is long gone,” she said. “So, we will continue to control spending and live within our means just as every family and business is doing. We need every dollar to make a difference.”
The first-term Democrat is wrestling with political fallout of high-profile crimes at state-run shelters housing migrants and other homeless families as she rounds out her second year in office.
Healey is proposing an overhaul of the state’s emergency shelter system, calling for increased criminal background checks, residency requirements and stricter rules to qualify for housing. She’s also seeking another $425 million for shelters, with the state expected to spend more than $1 billion over the next year.
In her speech, Healey argued that the state is reducing the costs of housing tens of thousands of migrants and pledged to eliminate the state’s reliance on motels and hotels to house homeless families. She reiterated calls for the federal government to fix the immigration system, saying the state’s taxpayers can’t continue to shoulder the costs.
“The federal government needs to fix this at the source, by passing a border security bill,” she said. “They need to deport violent criminals. And immigrant families who have lived here, have children here, have jobs and pay taxes here, need and deserve a path forward. Congress and the new federal administration must act without delay.”
On immigration, Healey is also likely to clash with incoming Republican President Donald Trump, who is vowing mass deportations of undocumented migrants while punishing Massachusetts and other blue states that restrict cooperation with federal authorities.
Healey, who didn’t mention Trump by name during Thursday’s address, has pledged not to cooperate with the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
“In four days, there will be a transition of power in Washington,” she said. “I assure you we will take every opportunity to work with the federal government in any way that benefits Massachusetts, and I also promise you we will not change who we are.”
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.