BOSTON — Representatives kicked off their second day of budget debate Thursday with a public safety and judiciary mega-amendment that provides money for first responders to buy things like radios and gear, funds programs that help abused or neglected kids through Juvenile Court, and directs the state’s redevelopment of prime land that’s hosted a prison for nearly 150 years.
The consolidated amendment, the third one appended to the House’s fiscal 2025 budget so far, has a total bottom line of $10,136,367. It was adopted unanimously around 1 p.m., bulking up the bill’s bottom line despite few signs of tax collection revenue growth and spending side pressures like the enormous costs of the family shelter crisis.
The House budget already endorsed Gov. Maura Healey’s proposal to close the state’s medium-security prison in Concord, and the consolidated amendment includes language that aims to direct the process around the state’s conveyance and redevelopment of the MCI Concord property.
The language, based on a Rep. Simon Cataldo amendment, would require the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance to study and conduct planning for the reuse of the MCI Concord property, hold at least three public hearings, and issue a written report at least 60 days prior to the transfer of the property. It also appears to give Concord a 180-day right of first refusal related to a transfer of the wastewater treatment facility located on the property.