Legislature Passes Final Budget – Includes Extension of Brownfields Tax Credit

In the afternoon of July 31, the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate passed the final FY24 Budget.

In direct response to NAIOP’s advocacy, the final budget includes a five year extension of the Brownfields Tax Credit, which was previously set to expire on January 1, 2024. Since the beginning of the session in January, NAIOP has worked with the Healey-Driscoll Administration, the Legislature, and a broad coalition of business groups and housing advocates to ensure the extension was considered for early passage.

We are grateful to Governor Maura Healey, House Sponsor Chairman Jerald Parisella, and Senate Sponsor Senator Nick Collins for filing the language on our behalf in the early days of the session. In addition, we are grateful to Leader Bradley Jones and Chairman Michael Finn for securing the extension in the House Budget proposal passed in April so that it could be included in the final budget.

This is the first budget for the Commonwealth since the new surtax on annual incomes above $1million was passed by voters last year. Budget negotiators allocated $1billion of those new revenues, giving $523million to education initiatives and $477 million to transportation investments. The final budget also makes certain COVID-era programs permanent, including free lunches for all students K-12; and a policy that paused eviction cases for residents who have a pending application for rental aid through programs such as the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT).

The budget now goes to the Governor’s Desk for signature. Upon receipt, the Governor has 10 days to sign the budget, and has the right to line item veto. Given Governor Healey’s public support of the Brownfields Tax Credit, NAIOP is hopeful that the Governor will allow the reauthorization to be enacted.

Finally, while the tax relief proposals passed by the House and Senate continue to be negotiated in Conference Committee, the final budget proposal sets aside $581million for tax relief this fiscal year, indicating that a compromise is expected to be reached in the Fall. NAIOP continues to work with legislative leadership to ensure the industry’s priorities are heard as discussions surrounding Massachusetts’ competitiveness continue.

The NAIOP Advocacy Team is working on numerous initiatives at the state and local level. If you have questions regarding these, or other topics, please feel free to reach out to NAIOP’s CEO Tamara Small or NAIOP’s Vice President of Policy and Public Affairs, Anastasia Nicolaou.