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Massachusetts governor seeks more bonds for transit and transportation

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Massachusetts governor seeks more bonds for transit and transportation


Massachusetts Governor Maura T. Healey’s $56.1 billion budget proposal for fiscal 2025 calls for increased funding to the state’s Commonwealth Transportation Fund that will enable it to borrow an additional $1.1 billion over the next five years.

The fiscal 2025 budget proposal, which represents a 2.9% increase over the current year’s spending, would dedicate $250 million of transportation revenues from the Fair Share income tax surtax enacted in 2022 directly into the CTF, “unlocking the capacity to borrow an additional $1.1 billion for capital projects” at the Department of Transportation and the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority over the next five years, according to the governor’s executive summary of the budget proposal.

Additional borrowing enabled by dedicated Fair Share revenue would be used in fiscal 2025 “to immediately invest an additional $300 million” to help fund the MBTA’s track improvement plan, the governor’s proposal said. The Boston area’s public transit provider has been wracked by high-profile safety problems.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announces her fiscal 2025 budget recommendation at a State House press conference on Jan. 24, 2024.

Joshua Qualls/Governor’s Press Office

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According to the budget message, which was announced on January 24, $250 million will be earmarked for additional debt service for the CTF. The funds would come from the state’s Fair Share income tax surtax that was approved by Massachusetts voters in November 2022. That measure imposes a 4% surtax on incomes above $1 million that is expected to generate over $2 billion annually to fund education, repairs and maintenance of roads and bridges, and improve public transit.

All told, the governor’s 2025 proposed budget would include $1.3 billion from the new levy, up from $1 billion in the current fiscal year’s budget.

If approved, $63 million of the $250 million of Fair Share transportation revenues would be reserved for debt service on additional CTF bonds. Of the remaining $187 million, $127 million would be used to double the MBTA’s operating subsidy to $256 million while $60 million would be used to support MassDOT operations, including customer service at the state’s Registry of Motor Vehicles agency. The MBTA also receives $1.5 billion from a portion of the state’s sales tax revenue.

In April 2022 the Federal Transit Authority launched a safety management inspection of the MBTA following several high-profile accidents. Following the inspection, it reprimanded the MBTA, the country’s oldest and fifth-largest transit system, for “compromising” safety by favoring its capital program over safety, mainly by taking the “unprecedented step” of transferring $500 million from its general fund into its capital budget in January 2022. The FTA said MBTA appeared to have prioritized new-build projects over preventative maintenance.

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The federal agency ordered the MBTA and its state oversight agency, the Department of Public Utilities, to take immediate action to improve safety across the system. The FTA said the MBTA “lacks resources to adequately manage its $2 billion capital program and complete capital projects on time and without need for retrofits and workarounds.”

According to the governor’s budget proposal, “additional capital borrowing capacity, leveraged from Fair Share revenues, will help the MBTA improve safety, service, and sustainability.”

Fair Share investments will also allow MassDOT to “continue investments in critical bridge infrastructure and keep Massachusetts roadway construction crews engaged and on the job,” the budget documents said.

Increased operating funding will also help the MBTA to continue improving safety, reliability and service, the proposal said.

The budget recommendation also includes $169 million for operating assistance to 15 regional transit authorities across the state, including $75 million from Fair Share revenues.

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MBTA senior sales tax bonds are rated AAA by Fitch Ratings and Kroll Bond Rating Agency and AA-plus by S&P Global Ratings.

Massachusetts Commonwealth Transportation Fund revenue bonds are rated AAA by Kroll and S&P, and Aa1 by Moody’s Investors Service.



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Massachusetts orders DraftKings to pay $934K after it botched MLB parlay bets

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Massachusetts orders DraftKings to pay 4K after it botched MLB parlay bets


A costly sportsbook screwup left DraftKings on the hook for nearly $1 million after Massachusetts regulators ordered the payouts tied to a botched MLB parlay scheme.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted 5-0 on Thursday to reject DraftKings’ bid to void $934,137 in payouts stemming from a series of correlated parlays placed during MLB’s 2025 American League Championship Series, according to Bookies.com.

A Massachusetts customer wagered $12,950 total across 27 multi-leg parlays on Toronto Blue Jays player Nathan Lukes, exploiting an internal DraftKings configuration error that allowed the bettor to stack multiple versions of the same bet into one wager.

DraftKings sought to void a payout of nearly $1 million to a bettor who placed 27 multi-leg parlay wagers that were successful. Tada Images – stock.adobe.com

DraftKings told regulators the bets should never have been accepted and argued the patron acted unethically by taking advantage of an obvious error.

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Commissioners flatly rejected that argument.

The wagers were tied to DraftKings’ “Player to Record X+ Hits in Series” market during the seven-game ALCS between Toronto and Seattle.

Because of a misclassification inside DraftKings’ trading tools, Lukes was incorrectly labeled a “non-participant” rather than an active player.

That designation disabled safeguards designed to block bettors from parlaying correlated outcomes from the same market.

As a result, the bettor was able to combine multiple Lukes hit thresholds — including 5+, 6+, 7+ and 8+ hits — into single parlays, functionally creating an inflated wager on Lukes recording eight or more hits at dramatically enhanced odds.

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A Massachusetts customer wagered $12,950 total across 27 multi-leg parlays on Toronto Blue Jays player Nathan Lukes. AP

The bettor also added unrelated, high-probability legs, including NFL moneyline bets, to further juice payouts.

Lukes ultimately appeared in all seven games and finished the series with nine hits, clearing every threshold.

Of the 27 parlays placed, 24 hit cleanly. Only three lost due to unrelated college football legs involving Clemson, Florida State and Miami.

During a heated exchange at Thursday’s commission meeting, DraftKings executive Paul Harrington accused the patron of fraud and unethical conduct.

DraftKings told regulators the bets should never have been accepted and argued the patron acted unethically by taking advantage of an obvious error.

Commissioners bristled. One of them, Eileen O’Brien, blasted DraftKings for casting aspersions on the bettor without evidence and said the situation did not meet the standard of an “obvious error.”

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“An obvious error is a legal and factual impossibility,” O’Brien said. “This is an advantage that the patron took.”

She added that DraftKings’ internal failures — not the bettor’s conduct — created the situation.

“We need to seriously consider giving voice to the consumer and getting their half the story,” O’Brien said. “The compulsion to pay will in fact encourage compliance.”

Because of a misclassification inside DraftKings’ trading tools, Lukes was incorrectly labeled a “non-participant” rather than an active player. Getty Images

Other commissioners echoed that view, emphasizing that it is the operator’s responsibility to ensure the integrity of its markets.

The commission noted that DraftKings acknowledged the root cause was internal — a configuration failure within its own trading tools — and not the result of a third-party odds provider or external data feed.

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Upon discovering the error, DraftKings pulled the affected markets, left the wagers unsettled pending regulatory guidance and implemented corrective fixes.

The company said no other Massachusetts customers were impacted, though the same issue appeared in two other jurisdictions.

The Post has sought comment from DraftKings.



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Deadline nears for Massachusetts Health Connector enrollment

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Deadline nears for Massachusetts Health Connector enrollment


SPRINGFIELD — With just days left before the Dec. 23 deadline, state and local leaders are urging uninsured residents to enroll in health coverage through the Massachusetts Health Connector to ensure they’re protected in the new year. The cutoff applies to anyone who wants coverage starting Jan. 1.

The Health Connector — the state’s official health insurance marketplace — is the only place residents can access financial assistance and avoid misleading “junk” policies that often appear in online searches, according to a statement from the agency.

Officials say the enrollment period is especially critical for people without job-based insurance, gig workers, newcomers to the state and anyone seeking affordable, comprehensive health plans.

At a press conference Wednesday at Caring Health Center’s Tania M. Barber Learning Institute in Springfield, health leaders emphasized that most people who sign up through the Connector qualify for help paying premiums through its ConnectorCare program.

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Audrey Morse Gasteier, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector, said the state has spent nearly two decades committed to ensuring access to health care and offering the most affordable coverage possible for everyone.

”And despite the federal challenges, we continue to do everything we can to offer coverage to everyone who needs it. Now is the time for people who don’t have coverage to come in, apply, and find out what kind of plan for which they qualify,” she said.

Open enrollment also gives current members a chance to review their coverage, compare options and make changes.

Recent changes in federal policy have caused shifts in coverage and higher premiums for many Massachusetts residents, creating uncertainty and concern, said Cristina Huebner Torres, chief executive vice president and strategy and research officer at Caring Health Center.

“During times like these, trusted, local support becomes even more essential, and our Navigators have been on the very front lines, helping residents understand their options, maintain coverage, and navigate a complex and evolving system,” Huebner Torres said.

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Massachusetts woman charged with DUI after Simsbury crash

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Massachusetts woman charged with DUI after Simsbury crash


SIMSBURY, Conn. (WTNH) — A Massachusetts woman was arrested Wednesday and charged with DUI after a crash in Simsbury, according to police.

The crash happened at around 2:15 p.m. on Hartford Avenue and Elm Street. Police responded to reports that one of the operators of the vehicles was unconscious, later becoming conscious.

Upon arrival, police found that operator, who was identified as 39-year-old Allison Beu of Southwick, Massachusetts, outside of her vehicle and interacting with the other involved parties.

The two occupants in the other vehicle were not transported to the hospital.

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Beu was charged with DUI and failure to drive in proper lane.



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