Representative Dru Tarr

House Passes FY27 Budget, Invests in Programs that Support Families Across Massachusetts

Today, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed its Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) budget. Funded at $63.41 billion, the House’s FY27 budget responds to the needs of residents, provides record support for the Commonwealth’s cities and towns, and among many critical investments, includes significant funding for education, transportation, health care, housing, and workforce development.

“As a result of the Trump Administration’s sweeping federal funding cuts and reckless trade war, as well as two proposed ballot questions that seek to cut the Commonwealth’s revenues by more than $5 billion annually, this budget has come during a period of significant economic uncertainty. That’s why I’m incredibly proud of the investments that this budget makes despite those challenges, from funding for free school meals and for the final year of the Student Opportunity Act, to robust support for the MBTA, to nearly $10 billion for cities and towns across the Commonwealth,” said House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano (D-Quincy). “I want to thank Chairman Michlewitz and the Members of the House Committee on Ways and Means for all their work this budget cycle, as well as all my colleagues in the House for working to ensure that this budget delivers for every community across Massachusetts.”

“This budget builds off the successes of the last few years by prioritizing our constituents. Whether it is greater investments into programs like housing stability, public transportation, or early education, these initiatives are a reflection of our shared values,” said Representative Aaron Michlewitz, Chair of the House Committee on Ways & Means (D-Boston). “By reinvesting in the people of the Commonwealth, we will continue make our economy more competitive and equitable for years to come. I want to thank Speaker Mariano for his leadership during this budget process, as well as our Assistant Vice-Chair Kipp Diggs, and the entire membership of the House for their thoughts and guidance over the last few months to make this a more successful and well-rounded budget.”

“It’s an honor and privilege to work alongside Speaker Mariano, Chair Michlewitz, and the legislators on ensuring a strong, responsive budget that both serves the needs of our constituents and continues to address the Commonwealth’s initiatives for competitiveness and statewide excellence,” said Representative Kip A. Diggs (D-Barnstable), Assistant Vice Chair, House Committee on Ways and Means.

Due to responsible fiscal management, the House’s FY27 budget is balanced, and makes significant investments across several issue areas, without needing to include new taxes or tax increases. The House budget also strengthens the Stabilization Fund, which is set to reach $8.39 billion, reinforcing the state’s bond rating to keep borrowing costs down and save taxpayer money, while protecting the Commonwealth’s long-term fiscal health.

Fair Share Investments

The budget that passed today includes $2.7 billion in investments for transportation and education initiatives supported through funding generated by the Fair Share ballot initiative that voters approved in November of 2022, which established a surtax of 4 percent on annual income above $1 million.

Education
Student Opportunity Act Expansion$550,586,435
Child Care Grants to Providers$365,000,000
Universal School Meals$198,000,000
Free Community College$127,048,000
DCF and DTA Related Child Care$119,446,796
Income Eligible Child Care$114,718,769
Financial Aid Expansion$85,000,000
School Transportation Reimbursements$62,000,000
Minimum Per Pupil Aid$52,200,000
State University SUCCESS$18,000,000
Community College Success$18,000,000
Targeted Scholarships$10,000,000
Green SchoolWorks$5,000,000
TOTAL$1,725,000,000
Transportation
Mass Transportation Trust Fund$220,168,000
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)$470,000,000
Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs)$184,832,000
Health and Human Services Transportation$100,000,000
TOTAL$975,000,000

Local Aid and Education

The FY27 House budget delivers nearly $10 billion in aid to cities and towns across the Commonwealth, representing a $477 million increase over the FY26 budget. The budget funds Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA) at $1.33 billion and Chapter 70 education funding at $7.65 billion. The budget also funds the final year of a six-year implementation plan for the Student Opportunity Act (SOA), which was enacted in 2019 to modernize the state’s school funding formula to better support districts and expand resources for students, particularly those with the greatest needs. The budget increases the minimum aid total to $160 per pupil.

Additionally, the budget includes the following education initiatives:

Additionally, the House’s FY27 budget reforms out-of-district school transportation based on the legislatively mandated Inspector General’s (IG) review. The FY27 budget implements the recommendations issued by the IG by:

Public Transportation

The FY27 House budget includes $470 million for the MBTA, including $40 million for the MBTA Academy which supports workforce training and recruiting. The budget continues to support water transportation and income-eligible reduced fares.

The budget includes $217. 5 million for the 15 RTAs that serve commuters across Massachusetts. This investment includes:

Early Education and Care

Continuing the House’s longstanding commitment towards investing in the early education and care (EEC) workforce, the FY27 House budget includes $1.86 billion, $157.2 million more than in FY26, to sustain recent rate increases and other historic investments in child care access and affordability across the Commonwealth. This investment is in addition to the Fair Share supplemental budget that was recently passed by the House, which included $38.7 million to reduce the income-eligible waitlist, $8 million for child care for child care providers, and $7.5 million for an EEC educator loan forgiveness program. Other early education and care investments in this budget include:

Public Higher Education

The House budget allocates $866.5 million for the University of Massachusetts system, $419.8 million for community colleges, and $407.9 million for state universities. Other higher education investments include:

Health and Human Services

The House budget includes $22.41 billion for MassHealth, and invests in primary care rates and behavioral health.

The House budget extends the Health Connector’s ConnectorCare Pilot program, which offers lower premiums, no deductibles and reduced co-pays, until the end of 2027. The program currently enrolls 49,000 residents. As of January 1, 2026, residents with incomes of only up to 400% of Federal Poverty Level (FPL) were eligible because of the expiration of the ACA tax credits. The Pilot Program included in this budget extends coverage to those with an income of up to 500% of the FPL.

The House’s FY27 budget invests in the human services workforce, which provides services to our most vulnerable residents, by including $175 million for Chapter 257 rates for health and human service workers, and $132 million for rate increases for nursing facilities. The House budget also extends the Personal Care Attendant Program Working group and mandates that any additional cuts to the program can only occur with the agreement of the working group. It also funds the following initiatives:

The budget ensures greater access to HIV prevention medications, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). It prohibits cost sharing and prior authorizations, improves access for incarcerated individuals in the Commonwealth consistent with 1115 waivers and requires insurers to accept prescriptions from any licensed health care provider.

To alleviate the cost of living, the House budget makes investments to lower food costs and ensure access to our most vulnerable populations. It includes $60 million for the Emergency Food Assistance Program, $20 million for the Massachusetts Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) to provide a dollar-for-dollar match to SNAP recipients purchasing locally grown healthy food, and $11 million for the SNAP for Low-Income Workers program, increasing the benefit to $35 per eligible family.

Public Health and Mental Health

The House budget funds the Department of Public Health (DPH) at $1.16 billion and the Department of Mental Health (DMH) at $1.32 billion for FY27. Investments include:

Affordable and Accessible Housing

The FY27 budget maintains the House’s commitment to protecting renters and homeowners across the Commonwealth from eviction and homelessness by investing in the following programs:

The budget includes $258.6 million for the EA Shelter System, which accounts for $17.1 million in savings because of a decreased shelter portfolio and several savings initiatives. The budget also expands protections for children in the shelter system by requiring any child under the age of three to be referred for an Early Intervention evaluation and assessment.

Workforce Development and Economic Development

The FY27 House budget funds the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development at $112.8 million and the Executive Office of Economic Development at $123.9 million. Additionally, it invests in the following workforce development initiatives:

The House budget requires 7.5 percent of sports wagering revenue to be deposited into the Sports and Entertainment Events Fund, which was created by the Legislature in November 2025 to provide competitive matching grants for major sports or entertainment events in the Commonwealth.

Based on recommendations issued by the COLA working group that was established in the FY25 budget, the FY27 House budget establishes a funding process to trigger cost-of-living adjustments for retirees in the State Employees’ and Teachers’ Retirement Systems and provides an opt-in for local retirement systems.

Energy and Environmental Affairs

The House budget includes $477.1 million for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, continuing investments in conservation and sustainable development while keeping the Commonwealth on track to meet its climate goals. This investment includes:

Criminal Justice

The budget annualizes the second phase of increases to Committee For Public Counsel (CPCS) raises for private bar advocates and the hiring of more staff attorneys. The budget also increases the minimum salary of Assistant District Attorneys to $76,000 a year.

The House budget includes $812.1 million for the state’s sheriff offices, which is a $52.6 million increase over FY26. The budget takes the first step in an ongoing process toward eliminating funding deficiencies by adopting reforms that were outlined in the IG’s preliminary recommendations. To better track cost drivers, the budget separates out funding for costs that have been identified as reasons for the deficiencies: operations, payroll, no cost calls, and medication assisted treatment.

Other criminal justice investments include:

Speaker Mariano and the House Committee on Ways & Means introduced their FY27 budget proposal on April 15, 2026, following a review of the Governor’s proposal and a series of public hearings. The budget passed the House of Representatives 149-9 and now goes to the Senate for consideration.