Today, Representative Mike Connolly joined his Cambridge and Somerville colleagues in the the Massachusetts House of Representatives to pass 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. The budget also includes Rep. Connolly's local funding priorities.

"Trump's disastrous trade war, war with Iran, and federal tax and spending cuts have created significant economic uncertainty across Massachusetts and even more affordability challenges for residents. Despite that, this budget is funding free school meals, the final phase in year of the Student Opportunity Act, improvements to the MBTA, Fare-Free Regional Transit, increases to our new Immigrant Legal Defense Fund, Free Community College, increases to housing vouchers, rental assistance, and more." Representative Mike Connolly said. "Thank you to Chair Michlewitz for his leadership in crafting this budget and to my House colleagues for their support of my local funding amendments."

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.

Rep. Connolly's Roll Call Votes to Defend Progressive Policy and Tax Fairness

Rep. Connolly took a number of votes against various GOP amendments to drain money from the state budget, such as reducing the sales tax, reducing the state income tax, adopting Trump’s “no tax on tips” gimmick (which harms workers more than it helps), and more (Roll Calls #158 to #164). He also voted down an amendment from Rep. Steve Xiarhos to eliminate cashless bail; the vote was 26 to 129. Rep. Connolly also voted down: suppressing ballot access with a photo ID law (27 to 131), defunding No Cost Calls (26 to 132), imposing citizenship requirements for housing assistance (26 to 132), preventing the state from using MBTA Communities Act compliance as a condition for grant eligibility (27 to 130), making the emergency shelter system more restrictive and more bureaucratic (26 to 131), defunding Mass Save (25 to 133, fear-mongering about “welfare fraud” (25 to 133), and finding new ways to collaborate with Trump’s DHS (25 to 133).

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.

Local Funding Priorities

Rep. Connolly's sponsored budget amendments were passed by the House and will deliver $70,000 for Cambridge Somerville Legal Services, East Somerville Main Streets, and to the city of Somerville for their crossing guard program and other pedestrian enhancements in East Somerville.

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:

• SPED Circuit Breaker funded at $805.4 million across two accounts in the House budget and the Fair Share supplemental budget, supporting 100 percent projected reimbursement entitlement
• $10 million for school districts that have experienced unexpected enrollment reductions in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students
• $57.1 million for Regional School Transportation, and $62 million to fund Non-Resident Vocational and Regional Transportation

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:

• Requiring the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to: maintain an electronic database for procurement and contract documents; establish best practices for districts; and study the special education school marketplace to identify areas to improve transparency and ensure open and fair competition.
• Requiring each school district provide detailed cost components from vendors such as: costs on a per-trip or per-invoice basis, including labor, capital or fleet and vehicle acquisition, fuel and vehicle maintenance, insurance, overhead, profit and other costs for DESE analysis of cost trends.

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:

• $94 million for general state contract assistance
• $66 million for additional state contract assistance to support expanded service hours, weekend services, and route expansions
• $35 million to continue fare-free fixed routes and ADA compliant service across all RTAs
• $10 million for projects that improve connections between different RTAs and between RTAs and the MBTA
• $8.5 million to support RTAs in delivering enhanced service and workforce initiatives
• $4 million for the Community Transit Grant Program which expands mobility options for older adults, people with disabilities, and low-income residents

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:

• $598.6 million for child care for children involved with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA). It also allows for expanded access to families involved in the Emergency Assistance (EA) Shelter System
• $623.6 million for child care for low-income families
• $475 million for Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grants
• $20 million for Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies
• $20 million for Head Start
• $7.5 million for an EEC Educator Scholarship Program

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:

• $176.7 million for scholarship funding
• $18 million for the Community College SUCCESS program
• $18 million for the State University SUCCESS program
• $10 million for the UMass SUCCESS program
• $15 million for Early College
• $12.9 million for Dual Enrollment

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:

• $5.6 million for the Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety, including funds to support their automated adverse events monitoring pilot in Massachusetts hospitals
• Maintains $16 per elder formula grant and $2.2 million for Service Incentive Grants for Councils on Aging
• Permits MassHealth to set coverage limits of $1,750 per year on dental services provided to MassHealth members and Health Safety Net patients, in alignment with caps on Group Insurance Commission (GIC) members. This would save the state $35 million annually

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:

• $184.1 million for the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services (BSAS)
• $35 million for HIV/AIDS Treatment and Preservation
• $11.1 million for a Gun and Violence Prevention Program
• $10.1 million for Community Health Centers, including $4 million for the Gender Affirming Care program
• $4 million to address safety, health and quality of life at the Mass & Cass area of Boston
• $679.7 million for Adult Mental Health Supports
• $136.7 million for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
• $3 million for the DMH Loan Forgiveness Program

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:

• $115 million for programs for homeless individuals
• $10 million for shelter workforce assistance
• $281.3 million for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP)
• $210 million for the Rental Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program
• $82.3 million for HomeBASE

• $8 million for a new Winter Beds program
• $3 million to the Access to Counsel program that provides legal representation for low-income families in eviction proceedings

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:

• $58.4 million for Adult Basic Education Services
• $20.4 million for DTA Employment and Training Services
• $17.4 million for Summer Jobs for At-Risk Youth
• $10 million for the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund
• $8.9 million for Career Technical Institutes
• $7.9 million for One Stop Career Centers
• $6.5 million for School-to-Career Connecting Activities
• $3.3 million for a Registered Apprenticeship Expansion
• $3.1 million for Career and Technical Education Grants
• $1.5 million for first-time homebuyer counseling and best lending practices
• $1 million for Social Enterprise Grants, a new workforce development program

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:

• $153.3 million for the Department of Conservation and Recreation
• $81.1 million for the Department of Environmental Protection
• $71.4 million for the Department of Agricultural Resources
• $63.4 million for the Clean Water Trust
• $10 million transfer to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center

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:

• $33.7 million for the Office of Community Corrections
• $16.1 million for Community-Based Reentry Services
• $6.9 million for Emerging Adults Pre-and-Post Release Reentry Grants
• $52 million for Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corp. to provide legal services to the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable populations
• $7 million for the Immigration Legal Assistance Fund for non-violent offenders

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.