What's in the Mass. House's $63 billion budget proposal
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The Massachusetts House proposed a slightly smaller budget proposal than Gov. Maura Healey's, as legislative leaders warned of massive cuts if certain ballot measures pass in November.
Why it matters: The House, like Healey, stopped short of widespread cuts as the state faces economic headwinds amid rising costs and federal funding cuts — and as the specter of tax cuts looms.
Driving the news: The House Ways and Means Committee filed a $63.3 billion fiscal 2027 budget bill Wednesday, a 3.6% spending increase from fiscal 2026.
- The proposal doesn't fully cover snow and ice spending like Healey's does.
- The bill also includes higher spending for several programs than Healey proposed, from MassHealth to sheriff's budgets.
Between the lines: House Speaker Ron Mariano told reporters the state's fiscal picture will look far worse if voters pass a ballot measure shrinking the income tax from 5% to 4%, which supporters say would bring relief to residents statewide.
- Other ballot measures propose repealing recreational cannabis sales (which include a 20% tax) and limiting how much revenue the state collects each year, returning the surplus to taxpayers.
What they're saying: "If the income tax ballot question passes in November, revenue losses will begin almost immediately," Mariano (D-Quincy) said.
- House Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz, a Boston Democrat, and his team have considered contingency plans for that scenario.
The other side: "The immediate revenue threat is not tax relief — it's an economy with weak business formation, 35,000 fewer jobs, and unemployment above most states," Jim Stergios, executive director of the Pioneer Institute, said in a statement to Axios.
- "Growth solves budgets; stagnation breaks them."
Zoom in: The House budget bill would allocate $22.4 billion to MassHealth, slightly less than what Healey proposed but $282 million higher than in fiscal 2026.
- The House also proposed a $1,750 cap on dental coverage for state employees and MassHealth patients, but didn't cut GLP-1 coverage for weight loss.
- Those changes, combined with other reductions and efforts to pursue lower-cost state contracts, would save roughly $1.2 billion, per the House Ways and Means Committee.
💰 The House would also send $812.1 million to sheriff's offices, $52.6 million higher than last fiscal year, to try to address budget gaps and spending issues raised by the inspector general's preliminary report.
- The bill would direct each office to spend a certain amount on operations, payroll, no-cost calls and medication-assisted treatment.
Other investments include:
🚇 $470 million for the MBTA's operating budget, all coming from the revenue under the Fair Share Amendment (AKA the "millionaire's tax").
📚 $7 billion for school aid, and $550 million to fund the last year of implementation for the 2019 landmark school funding law.
- That would increase aid to $160 a student (up from $130 a student).
👶 $623.6 million for child care for low-income families, among other early education investments.
🌆 $281.3 for the state's rental voucher program and $210 for the Rental Assistance for Families in Transition program, slightly higher than their fiscal 2026 funding levels.
Editor's note: This story was updated to add comments from the Pioneer Institute.