JULY 1, 2026
Dear Cambridge and Somerville constituents,
Today is the last day of fiscal year 2026, and this afternoon, legislative leaders announced a deal to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions of the fiscal year 2027 state budget. We are now set to vote on the $63.4 billion FY27 budget in a formal legislation session tomorrow.
The budget includes several of the priorities I advocated for during the House budget debate back in April, and it does some more to address the need to fund municipal coffers at a time when cities and towns are facing layoffs and budget cuts across the Commonwealth.
Assuming all goes according to plan, Governor Healey will have until July 11th to sign, veto, or return sections of the budget to the House of Representatives with proposed amendments.
The FY27 budget represents a 4% increase over the FY26 budget, or an additional $2.4 billion in annual spending. The budget avoids increases in taxes or fees and adds some $51 million to the "rainy day fund," which now stands at an all-time high of $8.2 billion.
Notably, the House-Senate agreement, called a conference report, increases local aid by $40 million, to $1.4 billion, and moves to distribute the money on a per capita basis.
This year also marked the completion of the 7-year implementation of the Student Opportunity Act, landmark education funding reform that we passed into law back in 2019.
In turn, this year's budget revives the Foundation Budget Review Commission, a 29-member committee that will make recommendations for changes to the state's K-12 funding formula. The panel is tasked with making final recommendations by October 2028.
As I've engaged with constituents, families, educators, advocates and school committee members in recent months — I have made the point that, with the 2019 Student Opportunity Act now fully implemented — the next legislative term will be a critical moment for us to think about all the different costs and stressors on school budgets, including special education transportation costs.
Two key House priorities are included it the Health Care section of the new budget: 1) extending the ConnectorCare expansion program through 2027, which provides subsidized insurance to people earning up to 500% of the federal poverty level, and 2) requiring MassHealth, the GIC, and private insurers to full cover PrEP (HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis) without cost-sharing or prior authorization.
The budget also includes some additional housing permitting reforms to streamline local approvals on nonconforming properties and to update certain variance standards.
Thank you, as always, for being an informed and engaged constituent. Please don't hesitate to reach out should you have any questions or concerns about the FY27 state budget or any other matter.
Yours in service,
Mike
