Investing in a rail corridor to better connect the largely rural western portion of Massachusetts with the densely settled, urban east has been a long-held dream of Berkshire legislators.
“I'm not concerned that it's not in this year's fiscal budget. We have a lot of work to do. The commission, the rail commission, the West-East rail commission is still doing its work. We have yet to see the report of what they're recommending," said Democratic State Representative Smitty Pignatelli, who represents the Southern Berkshires on Beacon Hill. “But I think there's a lot of work we need to do on the ground level in the Berkshires and particularly Pittsfield. I think we really had to take a local look at the intermodal center. Could we accommodate additional trains going west-east, east-west? Is there some other alternative thing that we should be looking at right now? So, I think it's premature to be looking for dollars for west-east rail. We have set it aside in a bond bill a couple of years ago, it's got our name on it.”
Lawmakers set aside $275 million for West-East rail in a bond bill last summer.
“But I think we have a lot of groundwork to do before we’re ready for shovels in the ground," Pignatelli continued. "So, I'm not at all disappointed it's not in the budget, it's still top-of-mind awareness. And when the report comes out, and then I think we'll be in a much better position to then ask for the dollars because we're ready to go.”
Fellow Democrat Tricia Farley-Bouvier, state representative from Pittsfield, says a new funding source could come into play as work on the project continues.
“Of course I'm disappointed that we didn't succeed in getting into this vehicle, but then we just, you know, we pick ourselves up and we go after the next vehicle," she told WAMC. "We do expect at the end of the calendar year, that there will be more- Remember the Fair Share Amendment? That money, we've budgeted just a billion dollars for that this year. We do expect there to be more than that. And we're hoping to say, okay, you've got some more money, let's get those Pittsfield and Palmer station work done, which was something the governor had proposed. So, we're just going to keep, we're just going to keep fighting.”
Voters approved the Fair Share Amendment in 2022, which is expected to generate upwards of $2 billion a year with a new 4% tax on commonwealth residents who make over $1 million a year. Those monies are dedicated to public education, infrastructure, and public transportation — theoretically including West-East rail.
The other missing element from the commonwealth’s 2024 fiscal plan is a tax plan.
“Well, what's missing right now from the conversation, but we know it is coming, is the recognition that our job isn't done until we pass tax relief," Democratic Governor Maura Healey said on WBUR. "We need tax relief to make our state more affordable for families and businesses. We need tax relief to make our state more competitive for employers.”
Healey’s initial plan was criticized by leaders including members of the Berkshire legislative delegation for being too generous to the wealthy, who worry it could undercut the intended impact of the Fair Share Amendment.
Pignatelli says the House and Senate are still in a logjam over the issue.
“We still have a disagreement with the Senate on the tax package, on tax relief for seniors and for low-income folks," he explained to WAMC. "So, that's still in conference committee. I'm optimistic that that will get resolved in early fall.”
Western Massachusetts Democratic State Senator Paul Mark said while the two bodies remain apart on a tax plan, there are some areas where agreement is shining through.
“I think there's an agreement that everybody seems to want to see at least a doubling of that estate tax and trying to decouple it from the winner take all situation so that if you get to that $1 million and $1, that you don't pay tax on the entire you just pay tax on what's over the exemption amount," said Mark. "And I was at the Farm Bureau at Iowa Valley in Hancock, and that that was an issue that, to some of these farmers, was pretty important that as their property values increase and as their businesses are successful, that they're able to continue generation to generation. And that's something I think we want Massachusetts to be competitive on.”
Mark says the capital gains tax is also proving to be a sticking point.
“The House went one way, and the Senate went a different way on that, so just reconciling that," he said. "And again, anything we're doing, making sure it keeps us competitive, keeps us in line with the progressive idea of the Fair Share Amendment, the millionaire's tax, and then also not cutting our foot off in the future, making sure that revenue is going to stay solid, that the amount of money that we saved in that rainy day fund is there for an emergency and that we don't create an emergency, and just making sure, because again, we can't- We have to be balanced, that programs that people rely on every single day in the state are going to be available and going to be predictable and going to be reliable.”
Pignatelli says by the end of 2023, he expects the legislature to deliver on not just a tax plan, but further economic stimulus for the commonwealth.
“Massachusetts is in great shape financially," he told WAMC. "I think we've been very wise and fiscally responsible with how we spend our dollars. I think we've made some key investments across the commonwealth that I think are going to pay dividends for us going forward. I think we need to shift our focus towards workforce development, workforce training and retraining and start filling some of the job vacancies there across the commonwealth. And I think there'll be a priority in the fall.”
