Press Release: 2/20/2026

Massachusetts Senate to Take Up BRIGHT Act, Equipping Campuses and Students with Facilities Designed to Lead

February 19, 2026

 

Senate Ways and Means Committee Advances Legislation, Full Senate to Take Action Next Week 

(BOSTON—2/19/2026) The Senate Committee on Ways and Means today voted to advance the BRIGHT Act, a $3.28 billion bond bill that supports public higher education students’ access to modernized infrastructure and facilities at Massachusetts’ community colleges, state universities, and UMass campuses.

S.2962, An Act to build resilient infrastructure to generate higher-ed transformation, will be taken up by the full Senate on Thursday, February 26.

The legislation will help deliver updated facilities and ensure the sustainability of Massachusetts’ public higher education institutions by addressing the backlog of deferred maintenance projects, including an estimated $2.5 billion in special obligation bonding to help cover deferred maintenance costs, repairs, and major capital projects. To finance the projects, the legislation dedicates $125 million in annual ‘Fair Share’ revenue for public higher education capital projects.

The bonding would also support laboratory modernization projects along with facilities that bolster workforce development and vocational technical training. The bill incentivizes housing production by helping to open up underutilized spaces by financing the transition of underutilized campus property into housing and mixed-use development, while also streamlining the process for public colleges and universities to sell off or lease surplus land. And ensuring that public higher education land is used responsibly, the legislation authorizes investment in climate resilience, decarbonization, and energy efficiency priorities.

The Senate has led in recent years on policies to make public higher education more accessible to residents than ever before, including tuition-free community college and historic increases to financial aid.

The bill was originally filed by Governor Maura Healey and was opened up to public testimony at a hearing of the Joint Committee on Higher Education on June 3, 2025. The House of Representatives passed a redrafted version on November 18, 2025, which was then reviewed by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.

Senators are able to file amendments until 2:30 p.m. on Monday, February 23.

All committee votes are publicly posted on the Legislature’s website. Full details of the legislation are included in a fact sheet available in the Senate Press Room.