January 22nd, 2025

In state address, Healey touts achievements, vows reform to health care, housing and more

Governor Maura Healey leaned into the 250th anniversary of the country as she delivered her State of the Commonwealth speech on Thursday, Jan. 16, at the State House, promising reform to Massachusetts’ transportation, health care, housing, and education systems.

Over the course of almost an hour, Healey laid out her plans for the year ahead, vowing to improve bridges and roads, ensure access to affordable health care, and invest in housing infrastructure while addressing the shelter crisis.

“This year, we’ll work together to implement the historic legislation we passed last year. And we’ll stay focused on the things that matter to you,” she said, addressing lawmakers, elected officials and guests. “We’ll take new steps forward to fix transportation, make homes more affordable, invest in education and grow our economy.”

Increased immigration and homelessness left the state’s emergency shelters at capacity and elected officials in crisis as they scrambled to deal with the overflow last year. On Thursday, Healey attributed the “unexpected problem” to a “failure of federal border control” and said the state would take a stricter approach to handling the issue.

“I want to be absolutely clear: We are dramatically reducing costs; and we have, and will, prioritize Massachusetts families. In 2025 we’ll get families out of hotels for good. We’re going to keep working with the legislature to reform this system,” she said. “Massachusetts taxpayers should not, and cannot, continue to foot the cost. The federal government needs to fix this at the source by passing a border security bill.”

In a statement one day before her address, Healey said she would implement “significant changes” to the state’s right to shelter law, such as strengthening background checks, further limiting stays, and revising eligibility criteria. The announcement came after an undocumented immigrant staying a hotel-turned-shelter was arrested on drug and weapons charges.

Healey said she supported the deportation of violent criminals but simultaneously emphasized the rights of immigrants living, working and paying taxes in the state.

Healey’s speech also charted her administration’s path forward for high school education after voters did away with the MCAS graduation requirement last November.

“I respect that decision,” she said. “But it creates for all of us a responsibility to make sure every student graduates ready to succeed. We need a high, statewide standard. Students, families, and employers need to know what a diploma represents. And without that baseline, it’s always the most vulnerable students who don’t get what they need.”

To achieve this, Healey announced a statewide graduation requirement council composed of students, teachers, colleges, and employers who will work together to recommend a permanent measure of standards that would create more opportunities for students.

Healey also touched on her proposal to eliminate renter-paid broker fees, announced last Monday in an effort to eliminate barriers to housing for Massachusetts tenants. If approved by the legislature, the plan would shift the responsibility of fees onto whoever hires the broker, usually the landlord.

“The average renter has to pay 10 grand just to get a foot in the door. That’s money you could be saving for a downpayment on a house,” she said. “If you rent, you should not be forced to pay a broker’s fee.”

In the same vein, Healey said her administration would prioritize building more affordable homes to meet the demand and address the shortage. In August 2024, Healey signed the Affordable Homes Act, allocating $5.16 billion over five years to improving the public housing system, constructing housing for low- and moderate-income families, and bolstering first-time home buyers.

“If we want our kids to stay here, if we want families to put down roots, if we want seniors to be able to live in the towns they love, if we want companies to stay and grow here, we need more homes,” she said. “And we’re going to build them.”

Alongside housing, Healey touted her accomplishments in the area of transportation and detailed her plans for revamped roads and bridges. She congratulated MBTA general manager Phillip Eng for making significant and fast progress in eliminating slow zones across the tracks, saying, “In Phil we trust.”

Healey said she would invest $8 billion over the next 10 years in improving local roads and sidewalks across the state and to “close the T’s budget gap,” which would contribute to upgrades to T stations and the Commuter Rail.

With Steward Health Care embroiled in scandal all last year, leading to the closure of hospitals in already under resourced areas, Healey shared a message of reform and expansion for the state’s physical and mental health services. Her budget, she said, will include funding for behavioral health services in schools, reproductive rights, benefits for veterans, and “an army of primary care providers.”

“We’ll drive career training pipelines to grow the workforce … so when you call for an appointment, you’ll get one,” she said. “You’ll get the affordable care you need, where and when you need it.”

In her speech, Healey did not address President-elected Donald J. Trump’s imminent term but briefly referenced the “transition of power in Washington,” saying, “We will take every opportunity to work with the federal government in any way that benefits Massachusetts, and I also promise you we will not change who we are.”

Governor Maura Healey, State of the Commonwealth