Law Enforcement

2025-2026 Regular Session

Establishes a local Route 1 Fund in Foxborough to finance economic and infrastructure projects in the Stadium Area, funded by redirected parking-fee revenue that phases out by 2031

Referred to Committee on Medical Affairs

Purpose

Establishes a regional economic development and infrastructure fund to support improvements along the Route 1 corridor and adjacent neighborhoods in the towns of Foxborough, Sharon, Walpole and Wrentham (the “Stadium Area”). The bill redirects certain parking-fee revenue to that fund and phases down the related administrative parking fees over 2027–2031.

Key provisions

Creates the “Route 1 Stadium Area Economic Development and Infrastructure Fund” (Section 1), administered by the town of Foxborough, to promote economic development and infrastructure improvements in the Route 1 / Stadium Area corridor covering Foxborough, Sharon, Walpole and Wrentham.

Specifies funds to be credited to the new fund:

amounts appropriated or transferred into the fund;
revenue derived from the parking fees collected under existing paragraph (2) of section 7 of chapter 16 of the acts of 1999;
any other amounts credited or transferred from any source.

States that amounts credited to the fund “shall not be subject to appropriation.” Money remaining at fiscal year-end shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available in subsequent years.

Redirects revenue that formerly was “returned to the commonwealth for deposit in the general fund” so that it is instead transferred to the new Route 1 fund (Section 2).

Phases down the annual aggregate administrative parking fees collected under paragraph (2) according to this schedule (Section 3):

20% reduction in 2027
40% reduction in 2028
60% reduction in 2029
80% reduction in 2030
100% reduction (elimination) in 2031

Who is affected

Primary local governments: towns of Foxborough (administrator), Sharon, Walpole, and Wrentham.

Users paying the referenced administrative parking fees (those fees are scheduled to decline and be eliminated by 2031).

Commonwealth General Fund: revenue formerly returned to the General Fund from these parking fees would be redirected to the local Route 1 fund.

Fiscal and operational implications

Short-term: parking-fee revenues will be diverted from the General Fund to the new local fund.

Medium-term: the fund may receive diminishing revenue as the bill phases down then eliminates the administrative parking fees through 2031; this could affect the fund’s long‑term financing unless supplemented by appropriations or other transfers.

Legal/administrative note: the bill language that “amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to appropriation” may affect how those monies are accessed or authorized for expenditure; further legal/administrative clarification would likely be required.

Timeline / procedure

Filed Jan 17, 2025 (Senate Docket 2401); read twice and referred Jan 29, 2025.

Referred to committees including Economic Development and Emerging Technologies; hearings scheduled/updated for September 2025.

Emergency preamble declared — bill intends immediate effect upon enactment.

Notes: This summary reflects the text of S.299 as filed. The bill redirects existing parking-fee revenue to a locally administered fund while phasing out the fee that largely funds it over five years, creating both immediate local resources and a scheduled revenue decline that will affect future funding availability.

Bill