Governor Healey’s BRIGHT Act proposes $2.5 billion to upgrade infrastructure at UMass, state universities, and community colleges

Boston - On June 3, 2025, Governor Maura Healey testified before the Legislature in support of her higher education bond bill, the BRIGHT Act, which would make historic investments to modernize Massachusetts’ public higher education infrastructure while creating nearly 20,000 construction-related jobs.

Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew J. Gorzkowicz, Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler, Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance Commissioner Adam Baacke, Department of Higher Education Commissioner Noe Ortega, higher education presidents and chancellors, students, labor leaders, and construction industry leaders also supported the bill through testimony before the Joint Committee on Higher Education. 

In January, Governor Healey filed An Act to Build Resilient Infrastructure to Generate Higher Education Transformation (the BRIGHT Act), which would use funding from the voter-approved Fair Share amendment to unlock $2.5 billion in new capital funding to improve UMass, state university, and community college campuses across the state. The investments authorized in the bill will modernize facilities, including new labs, classrooms and mental health spaces, address deferred maintenance and enable major capital projects. 

“Massachusetts is the number one state for education, and it is our core competitive advantage. Our public higher education campuses play a critical role for students, communities, workers, employers, and our economy – but our campuses are not in great shape and investments are long overdue,” said Governor Healey. “The BRIGHT Act will modernize our campuses, expand access to 21st-century skills for students, and create welcoming new spaces for students and community events. Importantly, it will also create 2015,000 good construction jobs that are badly needed right now. We appreciate the Legislature’s consideration of this critical proposal.”??

“As a proud graduate of Salem State University, I know firsthand the value our public colleges bring to our economy – 75 percent of public higher education graduates stay in Massachusetts and contribute to their communities,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “The BRIGHT Act will make sure that we can modernize our campuses and help them stay competitive so they can support the next generation of our workforce, while also creating thousands of new construction jobs right now.”

Many facilities on Massachusetts public higher education campuses were constructed in the 1970s, and the cost to address this aging infrastructure is rising due to increased construction and material prices, regulatory requirements, and labor shortages. As a result, there is not enough traditional capital funding sources to keep up with rising campus maintenance needs. The BRIGHT Act proposes a solution by using Fair Share resources to support new borrowing for capital projects. 

The bill will support construction of new labs, classrooms, and training facilities that meet the needs of today’s research and applied learning methods, as well as improvements to facilities for student health, mental health, wellness and safety. The BRIGHT Act also incentivizes technology capital projects, such as improvements to online or hybrid workspaces, and supports housing development by authorizing the state to help higher education institutions pay costs associated with selling off land and buildings for new housing production.

"By leveraging Fair Share revenues to unlock new bonding capacity, our administration has already made long-overdue investments in Massachusetts’s transportation system. The BRIGHT Act envisions expanding that proven approach to our public higher education system and provides the authorization we need to modernize and decarbonize our campuses across the state to give students the facilities they need to learn and succeed,” said Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew J. Gorzkowicz. “We are grateful for the Legislature’s partnership and eager see the BRIGHT Act pass so that we can make transformative investments in Massachusetts’s future.”  

“The BRIGHT Act investments will enable students to learn in more modern, greener, safer and innovative high-quality environments,” said Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. “This funding will go a long way toward transforming our higher ed campuses and facilities to ensure that Massachusetts remains the best place to pursue a two or four-year degree.”

“The new capital resources made available by the BRGHT Act represent a generational investment in the Commonwealth’s public higher education campuses,” said Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance Commissioner Adam Baacke. “DCAMM supports 29 institutions, and this level of funding will greatly expand our ability to modernize and decarbonize facilities, in addition to addressing considerable deferred maintenance needs.”

“Our public higher education students, and the entire Commonwealth, will be better served with modernized facilities that match the high quality of teaching happening on our campuses,” said Commissioner or Higher Education Noe Ortega. “Improving physical spaces on our public campuses will help Massachusetts prepare students not just for today's careers, but for the rapidly evolving demands of tomorrow's economy.”

Statements of Support:

Marty Meehan, President, University of Massachusetts: 

“I want to thank Governor Healey and Lieutenant Governor Driscoll for their vision, leadership, and commitment to public higher education in proposing the BRIGHT Act. Given the scale of the climate crisis, and our shared statewide goals to reduce carbon emissions, I share their belief that we must continue acting with urgency in Massachusetts and putting our future generations first. Through the investments proposed in the BRIGHT Act, the University of Massachusetts can accelerate our work to meet the state’s current and future workforce, research, and economic development needs while making the Commonwealth a national model in aligning climate resiliency, decarbonization, and economic mobility.”

David Podell, President of MassBay Community College:

"Making community college free has led to an enrollment increase of more than 13,000 students, many of whom will fill workforce gaps in health and science.  They need to be trained in up-to-date laboratories and first-rate facilities to meet the needs of employers.  Many of the community colleges have significant deferred maintenance.  The BRIGHT Act has the power to bring Massachusetts community colleges firmly into the 21st century, preparing the workforce of tomorrow and changing the lives of individuals and their families."

Nate Mackinnon, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges:

“Thanks to investments by the legislature and the Healey-Driscoll administration, the community colleges are enjoying significant enrollment growth at all 15 of our campuses – but our facilities and buildings are in desperate need of modernization, updating, and renovation. The community colleges enthusiastically support the BRIGHT Act to invest in campus infrastructure across all of public higher education.”

Mary Grant, President of Massachusetts College of Art and Design:

"Investments in campus infrastructure are investments in student success. This legislation will enable MassArt to modernize facilities, strengthen programs that support in-demand fields, and prepare our students to lead in today’s creative, cultural, and innovation economy. I am so grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration for introducing this transformative and visionary piece of legislation and I applaud the legislature for beginning its work to advance it."

Vincent Pedone, Executive Director of the State Universities Council of Presidents:

“Students that attend our public institutions of higher education deserve to learn in 21st century spaces that match the excellence of our programs and faculty. However, our institutions continue to struggle with building maintenance costs and the need to modernize outdated equipment across our nine-campus state university system. The passage of the BRIGHT Act is critical to ensuring we remain competitive, relevant, and responsive to the rapidly evolving workforce and educational landscape”.

Steve Sharek, Executive Director, Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators:

"The Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators strongly supports the reauthorization of Skills Capital Grants. These grants are a vital investment in our students, our schools, and the future of our workforce. They enable vocational and technical education programs to stay current with industry standards, expand access to hands-on training at a time of unprecedented demand, and ensure our graduates are ready to contribute to the Commonwealth’s innovation economy from day one."

Colton Andrews, President, Western MA Building Trades Unions: 
“In an era marked by significant uncertainty from the Federal Government, it is imperative for the Commonwealth to reaffirm its commitment to the ongoing success of our esteemed public higher education system. The BRIGHT Act, with its transformative pledge to modernize our aging infrastructure, exemplifies the unwavering support from the Commonwealth and the Healey-Driscoll Administration.”

Frank Callahan, President, Massachusetts Building Trades Union:
“UMASS Boston has been transformed over the last 10 years by capital investments on their campus built under a Project Labor Agreement that has provided career opportunities along with apprenticeship training, good wages and benefits. Passage of the BRIGHT Act before you today will give the Commonwealth a similar ability to invest across the Higher Education system.” 

Jim Welch, CEO, Associated Subcontractors of Massachusetts:
“Making such a significant investment in the college and university system for capital improvements will continue to show the Commonwealth’s commitment to higher education while educating, employing and training generations of workers across the state—we at the Associated Subcontractors of Massachusetts, our 300 member companies and thousands of workers support Governor Healey and the Administration in this meaningful and timely effort.”