Massachusetts Gets $7.5 Million State Supplemental

Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has signed a bill allocating $7.5 million in state funds to the Massachusetts LIHEAP. The funds are to be used immediately, most likely to increase recipients’ benefits.

The effort to obtain the state supplement was led by the state's community action programs with assistance from the National Consumer Law Center. It received strong support from a range of senators and representatives from both parties.

Advocates, who initially sought $15 million, pointed out that from 1980 to 1999, Massachusetts had supplemented its LIHEAP with funds from the state budget, starting with $15 million but dropping to $750,000 in 1999 and to zero after that. They also noted that heating oil prices have soared this winter, hovering around $2 per gallon – about 37 percent higher than last year.

Source: National Consumer Law Center, state newspapers

Page Last Updated: December 7, 2005