BOSTON—State Senator Jason Lewis joined his colleagues in the Massachusetts Senate to pass the BRIGHT Act, a $3.28 billion bond bill that invests in upgrades to public higher education campuses across Massachusetts and strengthens the learning experiences of students at community colleges, state universities, and UMass campuses.
An Act to build resilient infrastructure to generate higher-ed transformation modernizes facilities and addresses the backlog of deferred campus maintenance by harnessing the power of the Fair Share Amendment, a small income surtax on the state’s wealthiest residents, to back a new state bond issuance.
“I was proud to help lead the passage of the Fair Share Amendment to support critical education investments just like this,” said Senator Jason Lewis. “This bill invests in new housing, modern and sustainable infrastructure, and urgent deferred maintenance that will save the state money in years to come and upgrade facilities for the benefit of our public college students.”
The funding will help cover deferred maintenance, repairs, and major capital projects including lab modernization, workforce development facilities, and climate resilience and energy efficiency priorities. The bill also provides support for public colleges and universities to turn unused campus property into housing or mixed-use developments, and simplify the process for selling or leasing surplus land.
To finance BRIGHT Act projects, this legislation dedicates $125 million per year from the Fair Share surtax on high-earning households to create and back a new special revenue bond. The state collected roughly $3 billion in total Fair Share revenues in 2025.
This capital investment package builds on recent Senate-led policies to make public higher education in Massachusetts more affordable and accessible, including tuition-free community college and substantial increases to student financial aid.
After passing with bipartisan support in the Senate, the bill will now be reconciled with a similar version that was previously passed by the House of Representatives before being sent to Governor Healey for her signature.
