Senators target MBTA housing law with amendments

BOSTON (SHNS) - Senators came up with 317 ways in which they'd like to amend the Senate Ways and Means Committee's nearly $1.3 billion transportation and education spending bill this week, and the MBTA zoning law is once again a popular target.

The committee's supplemental budget (S 2512) backed by mostly excess income surtax revenues is on the Senate Calendar for debate Thursday. The package directs $613 million to education and $670 million to transportation. The $370 million billed for the MBTA is expected to be a common point of debate given the committee's divergence from the roughly $790 million the House approved to go toward helping the T replenish its depleted deficiency fund and maintain service gains.

Senators from both parties want to make the debate also about the MBTA Communities Act, a 2021 law that passed without much fanfare at the time but has since become one of the tensest topics in state government. The law, which requires cities and towns with or near MBTA service to zone for multi-family housing by right in at least one reasonably sized district, was designed to help address the state's housing supply shortage.

Much of the public concern surrounding the law has revolved around Milton, a town deemed a "rapid transit community" because it hosts the light-rail Mattapan trolley, which some have argued is not equivalent to the rest of the T's core transit system. House Speaker Ronald Mariano said last month the town had a point about "this crazy little trolley car," but said he wasn't open to legislative action to change the situation.

Democrat Sen. William Driscoll of Milton will try to convince the Senate that some legislative action should be taken. His amendment #308 would amend the MBTA Communities Act to declare that the "Mattapan High Speed Line shall not be considered a rapid transit modality," which could affect Milton's requirement's under the law.

Republican Sen. Kelly Dooner of Taunton filed a small handful of MBTA Communities-related amendments, including one (#76) to exclude municipalities that have no MBTA service but are currently subject to the zoning law as "adjacent" communities from the law. A number of communities in her district are considered "adjacent" towns, including Seekonk, Rehoboth, Berkley, Raynham, Carver and Wareham.

Dooner is also seeking (#77) to give "adjacent" towns two extra years to come into compliance and (#78) to create five exemptions from the MBTA Communities Act, including if a community's population is fewer than 8,000 people or if the town "lacks basic infrastructure or sufficient state funding for infrastructure improvements."

Minority Leader Bruce Tarr filed an amendment (#183) that would remove compliance with the MBTA Communities Act from the criteria that makes a city or town eligible for certain grant funding.

The Senate supplemental budget also attracted amendments that contemplate an expansion of MBTA service. Sen. Dylan Fernandes is pitching the idea (#163) of giving the T $25,000 specifically so it can "perform a feasibility study of the cost of upgrades required for extending commuter rail service to Buzzards Bay station." Fernandes backed the rail expansion idea as a member of the House in 2023.

Sen. Michael Rush of West Roxbury is proposing (#132) to give the T $100,000 to study the feasibility of extending the Orange Line from its current terminus at Forest Hills Station to the existing Roslindale Village commuter rail station about 1.5 miles away.

Given that the supplemental budget is spending surtax revenue that must be used for education and transportation investments, many of the 317 amendments seek earmarks for specific local projects and needs. 

Others seek to boost state aid across the board, like a proposal (#3) from Tarr to create a $50 million Supplemental Local School District Grant Program to provide additional aid to school districts that are eligible for the minimum per-pupil aid from the state, and Republican Sen. Peter Durant of Spencer is looking to add $15 million for regional school transportation reimbursement (#87) and to add $50 million in supplemental Chapter 90 roadwork funding (#93).

President Donald Trump's tariffs could become a talking point in Thursday's debate. Sen. Michael Moore is proposing (#1) to require the attorney general to issue regulations declaring it to be an "unfair and deceptive practice" for any company to misrepresent or fail to disclose "the nature, purpose, and amount of any import fees, import charges, or other import duties that would be imposed on the transaction due to the purchase" in Massachusetts.

When the House debated its version of the surtax supplemental budget last month, House Speaker Ronald Mariano got a $25 million earmark for a parking garage at a medical facility in his Quincy hometown. For that earmark to become reality, it will need to either be added to the Senate plan or survive House-Senate negotiations over a compromise version.