What Falmouth Would Get In $3.8 Billion MA Spending Bill

FALMOUTH, MA — A $3.8 billion spending plan was sent to Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday. The bill uses a combination of federal pandemic stimulus dollars and state surplus money to pay for an enormous variety of initiatives — but omits permanent tax cuts that were part of discussions earlier this year.

Included in the bill are funds earmarked for communities across Massachusetts, which includes money that would go to Falmouth if the bill is passed.

Among those funds are:

• $100,000 to FalmouthNet, Inc. "for professional services and research expenses in support of efforts to build a town-wide, community-based fiber-optic network"
• $2 million " to support the operations, design and 946 construction costs for a state-of the-art coastal research port infrastructure currently called the Complex for Waterfront Access To Exploration and Research in the town of Falmouth, operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution"
• $30,000 "to Joe Q Veteran Coffee Break, Inc. for building renovations to convert the former senior center into a veterans outreach and wellness service center in the town of Falmouth"

According to Patch reporting, the spending plan is on top of tax refunds heading to about 3 million state residents, the result of an obscure law that caps how much income tax revenue the state can collect in a given year.

There are key items that were omitted from the bill on top of tax cuts, including bringing back happy hour, and proposed $250 stimulus checks for some state residents.

Baker has not signaled if he'll veto or sign the bill, but has criticized lawmakers for not including tax code changes. Baker submitted his own $840 million spending plan earlier this fall, suggesting $200 million for the MBTA, $108 million on continued COVID-19 care — including vaccines, testing and personal protective equipment — and about $90 million on housing for the homeless, people leaving skilled nursing care centers and recent immigrants.

Read more on the bill: What's In The $3.8 Billion MA Economic Development Spending Bill