Representative LaNatra secures over $200k in Local Funding in the Fair Share Supplemental Budget passed by the House of Representatives
BOSTON – Thursday, March 19, 2026 – Representative LaNatra today announced over $200,000 in local funding to support critical school and transportation needs within the six communities Representative LaNatra serves. The earmarks will go toward supporting road improvement projects, school improvement projects, school safety and offsetting rising special education costs.
The funding comes from a $1.8 billion supplemental budget that passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday. The bill leverages mostly Fair Share surtax surplus funds and invests $885 million in public transportation and $417 million in public education, and funds several Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) deficiencies. The bill passed today also includes the tax conformity legislation filed by Governor Healey that delays the state’s alignment with the corporate tax changes passed by Congress in the OB3 Act last year.
“Since its passage by voters in 2022, the Fair Share surtax has continued to fund critical education and transportation needs across our state and has delivered thousands in additional funding to the communities I am proud to serve,” said State Representative Kathy LaNatra (D-Kingston). “The investments made by the House yesterday build on the progress we have made toward strengthening our education and transportation systems, both vital building blocks toward a stronger economy, stronger communities and a stronger Commonwealth. Thank you to Speaker Mariano and Chairman Michlewitz for their leadership on this bill, their forward-thinking and their investment into the 12th Plymouth district.”
The bill includes $215,000 in local funding to the 12th Plymouth district through 6 earmarks. These include:
$50,000 for final engineering and design costs for roadway improvement projects in Kingston at the intersection of Route 3 and Route 3A
$15,000 for roof repairs at Dennett Elementary School in the Town of Plympton
$50,000 for HVAC repairs and replacements at school buildings in the Town of Pembroke
$50,000 for the Town of Halifax to offset special education costs
$25,000 for Plymouth public schools to purchase and install security cameras and related equipment
$25,000 for the Plymouth public schools to purchase and install safety bollards
The bill delays conforming to the federal corporate tax changes that were passed by Congress in the OB3 Act last year, which will represent approximately a $400 million revenue loss for the Commonwealth when fully implemented. Under the bill, the Research and Experimental expense deduction will be delayed one year, the deductions for the Modification of Business Interest, Depreciable Asset Expensing, Qualified Production Properties will be delayed two years, and the Modification of Qualified Opportunity Zone Investments program will also be delayed two years. However, should the ballot question to lower the state income tax from 5 percent to 4 percent pass in November, which would result in a $5 billion revenue loss when fully implemented, the Commonwealth would permanently decouple from these tax credits, preventing them from going into effect.
The $1.8 billion bill is funded in part by $1.3 billion from excess Fair Share surtax funds to invest in public transportation and education. The bill invests $740 million in the MBTA, including in the Deficiency Reserve, workforce and safety, phsycial infrastructure, and low-income reduced fairs to increase access. The bill also invests funds into critical local transportation needs, including $50 million to help localities recover from the costs of snow and ice removal from the last storm, as well as $25 million into Regional Transit Authorities workforce, which are critical resources to those in the 12th Plymouth district.
In education, the supplemental budget invests over $400 million into areas such as special education circuit breaker costs, a vitally important resource to towns facing exponentially rising special education costs in their local budgets. The bill also provides over $180 million in investments into the Commonwealth’s early education and child care system, including workforce development and access for low-income families. In higher education, the bill provides $20 million endowment math for UMass and other state universities and colleges.
Other investments outside of the Fair Share surtax supplemental funds include $300 million for the GIC, to help insurance costs for the thousands of state workers, over $50 million to support the County Sheriff’s budget deficiencies and $41 million for DTA caseworkers to help more efficiently and acccurately process SNAP benefits.
The bill passed the House of Representatives 150-3 and now goes to the Senate for consideration.
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