WATCH LIVE: Gov. Maura Healey to deliver first State of the Commonwealth address
Gov. Maura Healey is scheduled to deliver her first State of the Commonwealth address Wednesday night where she is expected to tout first-year accomplishments like a $1 billion-a-year tax cut package.
Healey faced evolving challenges last year, including exploding demand for emergency shelter, in-part due to an increased arrival of migrants, and sagging tax revenues that led her to make $375 million in budget cuts last week.
The first-term Democrat plans to touch on policy victories like making school meals free for all families and launching free community college for students aged 25 and older, according to a spokesperson for the governor.
But it is not clear if Healey will touch on the shelter system, which her administration expects to spend nearly $2 billion on in fiscal years 2024 and 2025. The ballooning cost came as Healey moved last year to unilaterally limit the number of families in the system to 7,500.
State finances are also on rocky footing with the state expected to take in $1 billion less in revenues this fiscal year after six straight months of dismal collections. A preview of Healey’s address did not mention Massachusetts’ fiscal challenges.
Healey does plan on advocating for a $4 billion housing bond bill that, among other things, grants municipalities the option of imposing a real estate transaction fee to spur affordable housing development.
The governor is also expected to touch on early education initiatives she announced Tuesday and efforts to make Massachusetts more affordable and grow the economy, according to her spokesperson.
The speech is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Republican Sen. Peter Durant plans to offer a rebuttal to Healey’s speech and lay out the “the GOP’s vision for the Commonwealth” during an event at the Omni Parker House. A livestream of the speech will be available on X, the social media platform formally known as Twitter.