What $3.8 Billion MA Spending Bill Means For Burlington

BURLINGTON, MA — The town of Burlington, an area food rescue nonprofit and Northeastern University may all soon receive earmarks with ties to Burlington under an economic development spending bill state lawmakers sent to Gov. Charlie Baker last week.

The Burlington earmarks amount to $600,000 out of a roughly $3.8 billion package that remained on Baker’s desk as of Monday afternoon.

Legislators hashed out the agreement, combining unspent federal pandemic stimulus money and state surplus funds to back projects ranging from MBTA safety and service upgrades to broadband internet access improvements.

The agreement also noted a long list of more specific earmarks for individual municipalities and groups.

Burlington earmarks are as follows, as described in the bill sent to Baker:

• $100,000 for the planning and implementation of a mixed-use walkable village in Burlington
• $200,000 to Food Link, Inc. to address food insecurity in the city of Woburn and the towns of Arlington, Billerica, Burlington and Lexington.
• $300,000 for the construction of wet laboratories and maker space to support early stage life science companies at Northeastern University’s Innovation Campus in the town of Burlington.

Food Link, Inc. is an Arlington-based nonprofit. The organization runs food rescue services, picking up viable food products from various restaurants and retailers that might otherwise throw such products away. Food Link then distributes rescued food to partnered community organizations, such as food pantries, who can help get food into the hands of those in need, as described on the Food Link website.

The Northeastern Innovation Campus, meanwhile, is a roughly 14-acre campus in Burlington, placing Northeastern students alongside industry professionals and companies operating on campus.

The total $3.8 spending bill emerged on Thursday of last week after months spent stuck in talks between legislators.

The bill has drawn mixed reactions from Baker and other state leaders, who have expressed disappointment that lawmakers scrapped previously envisioned tax cuts and stimulus checks for some taxpayers.

While next steps for this bill remained to be determined on Monday while awaiting action from Baker, state officials have touted now ongoing distribution of tax refund checks triggered by a law limiting annual income tax revenues at the state level.

The refunds total close to $3 billion. They are being sent automatically to eligible Massachusetts residents.