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Governor Baker Signs FY16 Budget with CPA Funding Included

Posted on: May 3, 2018 - 2:05pm

July 17, 2015: Early afternoon on Friday July 17th, Governor Charlie Baker signed the fiscal year 2016 budget, including the transfer of $10 million from the state budget surplus to the CPA Trust Fund. This marks the third year in a row that the state budget has included a transfer for the CPA Trust Fund.

What does this mean for the CPA Trust Fund distribution?

There are still many factors that will determine how this funding will affect the percentage match CPA communities will receive this coming November 15th. First, there has to be sufficient funding in the state's surplus to allow for the full $10 million transfer. We won't know the size of the surplus until the state closes its books on October 31st.

We also don't know what the coming months will bring for collections for CPA at the state's Registries of Deeds. However, we are encouraged by the improving real estate market, which has meant that CPA revenues have increased year-over-year in four of the last five months at the Registries.

Special thanks to...

We are extremely grateful for the support of the budget Conference Committee, led by House Committee on Ways and Means Chair Brian Dempsey and Senate Chair Karen Spilka, as well as the four other committee members: Representatives Stephen Kulik and Todd Smola and Senators Vinny deMacedo and Sal DiDomenico.

We also recognize the hard work of Representative Peter Kocot and Senator Cynthia Stone Creem in filing budget amendments to include funding for CPA in the FY16 budget.

Here's the CPA language included in the budget:

SECTION 194. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, prior to transferring the consolidated net surplus in the budgetary funds to the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund under section 5C of chapter 29 of the General Laws, the comptroller shall dispose of the consolidated net surplus in the budgetary funds for fiscal year 2015 as follows: (i) transfer ½ of the surplus, not to exceed $10,000,000, to the Massachusetts Community Preservation Trust Fund established in section 9 of chapter 44B of the General Laws; and (ii) transfer ½ of the surplus, not to exceed $10,000,000, to the Massachusetts Life Sciences Investment Fund established in section 6 of chapter 23I of the General Laws.