Massachusetts Republicans painted a bleak picture Wednesday night of a state spending billions on shelters, tax revenues in decline, residents fleeing for other parts of the country, and a lackluster education system for students.

Sen. Peter Durant, a Spencer Republican, offered the stark and dark portrait of Massachusetts in response to Gov. Maura Healey’s State of the Commonwealth address, which cast the state as having a “strong” economy and made clear some of the governor’s spending goals in the fiscal year 2025 budget.

But Durant invoked immigration, education, housing, efforts to fight climate change, and underperforming revenues as sore points on Beacon Hill that need to be fixed rather than praised.

“As we enter 2024, we find ourselves asking some simple, yet familiar, questions: Are we better off today than we were 12 months ago, and are we headed in a direction that will make us better off? Unfortunately, for too many families the answer is ‘no,’” Durant said, according to a copy of his remarks as prepared for delivery.

There is little doubt that Massachusetts faces difficult questions this year around the level of services offered to newly-arrived migrants, new spending in light of a $1 billion tax revenue slowdown, suffocating housing costs, and how to prepare for a changing climate.

Top Democrats on Beacon Hill have acknowledged that fact, including Healey, who in her speech earlier in the night said Massachusetts faced “unexpected challenges.” Healey, however, said Massachusetts “is more affordable, more competitive, and more equitable than it was a year ago.”

“The state of our commonwealth, like the spirit of our people, is stronger than ever,” Healey said, according to a copy of her speech as prepared for delivery.

Durant said the severity of the situation in Massachusetts is most felt by taxpayers, who he said are leaving for other parts of the country amid a high cost of living.

“They’re leaving for better opportunities, better costs of living, and quite simply, a better life,” he said. “But it doesn’t have to be this way.  As we enter this new year, we’re at a critical juncture, and with some course adjustments, bipartisanship, and collaboration we can get back on track.”

Durant called on the Legislature to amend Massachusetts’ right-to-shelter law, a 40-year-old statute that requires the state to provide temporary housing to homeless families with children and pregnant people.

Signed into law by former Gov. Michael Dukakis, the proposal was first intended “to serve residents of the commonwealth with emergency housing when they find themselves in distress,” Durant said.

“Of course, we can empathize with immigrants that are fleeing their homes for a better quality of life. But that’s not the point; without support from the federal government, we must live with the reality we have. The right-to-shelter law is being exploited, and you are bearing the economic burden,” Durant said.

Both the Legislature and Healey declined last year to change the law in the face of increasing demand on the emergency shelter system. The Healey administration considered suspending the law in August 2023 but ultimately decided against it.

“Right to shelter is the law and we remain committed to ensuring eligible families have a safe place to stay,” a spokesperson for the governor said in September 2023.

Healey has long called on the Biden administration to send more dollars to Massachusetts to deal with the influx of migrants and the requirement to provide emergency shelter to thousands of families, most of which have fled dangerous situations in their home countries.

After calling for a “strategic plan to streamline” housing construction and casting doubt on a sole reliance on solar- or wind-generated energy, Durant blasted Healey for a series of unilateral cuts made earlier this month to offset lower-than-expected tax revenues.

Healey slashed $375 million from the fiscal year 2024 budget and found $625 million in “non-tax revenues” to plug the hole. Durant said out migration in Massachusetts is one reason revenues are “falling off a cliff.”

“When we replace 50,000 net tax-payers  with tax-takers the result is predictable. And while some may demonize a statement like that, it doesn’t make it false,” he said. “The old adage is that we are near the point where there are more people in the cart than pulling it.  We are seeing the disastrous consequences happening in slow motion.”