Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has officially enacted the Fiscal Year 2026 budget, coming in at $60.9 billion, a sum that undercuts the original H1 proposal by more than a billion dollars and shaves $130 million off the final conference budget, according to a statement on the state’s website. Framing the budget as a beacon of fiscal responsibility and safeguarding of essential services, the governor vetoed select spending, including planned pay raises for non-union managers, and ushered in a continued freeze in Executive Branch hiring to further reduce costs for the fiscal year.
Governor Maura Healey signed the Fiscal Year 2026 budget, emphasizing its focus on fiscal responsibility, cost reduction, and maintaining essential services. She expressed concerns about federal policies potentially affecting healthcare and the state economy. Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll highlighted initiatives including free community college, renter relief, and improved child care access. The budget maintains funding for free school meals, fare-free regional transit, and allocates Fair Share surtax revenue to education and transportation projects.
The Fiscal Year 2026 budget includes a $2.4 billion allocation from the Fair Share surtax aimed at strategic investments. Senate President Karen E. Spilka and House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano praised the budget's support for statewide initiatives and its focus on fiscal stability. The budget designates $8 billion over the next decade for transportation infrastructure and grants the governor emergency powers to manage fiscal uncertainty, including potential impacts from federal decisions.
Governor Healey vetoed $27.5 million intended for weight-loss drugs under the Group Insurance Commission, except when medically necessary for conditions such as diabetes. The budget maintains full funding for the Student Opportunity Act and allocates significant resources to early childhood education, public colleges, housing assistance, small businesses, environmental initiatives, public safety, and veterans' services.
Accompanying the bill, Governor Healey proposed a supplemental budget that earmarks additional funds meant to provide a quick response to future economic shifts and federal policy changes, a precautionary $30 million to the Housing Preservation and Stabilization Trust Fund and increased emergency budget cutting authority. This action reflects a wariness and readiness for the fluctuating economic weather forecasted ahead, asserting a fortified stance to navigate the fiscal waves of FY26.
