State Representative Lipper-Garabedian Joins Massachusetts House to Pass Fair Share Supplemental Budget
Bill invests in public transportation and education, addresses FY26 deficiencies and delays implementation of federal corporate tax changes passed in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”
BOSTON – Wednesday, March 18, 2026 – State Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian (D-Melrose) joined the Massachusetts House of Representatives today to pass a $1.8 billion supplemental budget that invests $885 million in public transportation and $417 million in public education, and funds several Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) deficiencies. The bill passed today also includes the tax conformity legislation filed by Governor Healey that delays the state’s alignment with the corporate tax changes passed by Congress in the OB3 Act last year.
In addition to statewide investments, Representative Lipper-Garabedian advocated for the following earmarks for the City of Melrose and the Town of Wakefield:
· $75,000 for renovations for the all-purpose room at Melrose’s Hoover Elementary School
· $40,000 for an audiovisual system for the all-purpose room at Melrose’s Horace Mann Elementary School
· $30,000 for the procurement of traffic safety equipment and signage in the City of Melrose
· $20,000 for a traffic study in Melrose’s Lincoln Elementary School area
· $100,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of Metro North’s INspire Café in Wakefield
· $50,000 for pavement resurfacing of Wakefield’s North Avenue
· $35,000 for facility enhancements for a preschool classroom at Wakefield’s Greenwood Elementary School
“This supplemental budget funded through Fair Share funds provides key investments in education and transportation, including targeted earmarks for the 32nd Middlesex district. This funding will support facility enhancements and renovations of three elementary schools in Melrose and one in Wakefield, providing students with enhanced learning spaces. It also includes essential traffic safety measures and pavement resurfacing to continue to improve the safety and quality of our local streets and communities,” said State Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian (D-Melrose). “I’m further pleased to join the House in championing statewide investments for our education ecosystem and transportation, including meaningful funding for Early Education and Care, as well as the MBTA. Thank you to Speaker Mariano and Chair Michlewitz for your leadership on this legislation.”
“From significant investments in public transportation and public education, to support for DTA caseworkers and expenses related to the World Cup, to fiscally prudent tax conformity measures – this legislation is representative of the responsible approach that the House will continue to take as we navigate a period of significant economic uncertainty,” said House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano (D-Quincy). “I want to thank Chairman Michlewitz for his hard work, as well as all my colleagues in the House for recognizing the importance of the investments and reforms that this legislation makes.”
“The use of these one-time surplus funds provides us with a unique opportunity to better strength the Commonwealth in numerous ways. By further improving our educational and transportation sectors we will build off the work we have done in the last several budget cycles with a judicious use of the Fair Share funds. The tax changes contained in this bill will help support the state’s economic competitiveness, while giving us time to absorb the expected loss in revenue,” said Representative Aaron Michlewitz, Chair of the House Committee on Ways & Means (D-Boston). “I want to thank Speaker Mariano and all our House colleagues for their input and support on this critical funding legislation.”
The bill delays conforming to the federal corporate tax changes that were passed by Congress in the OB3 Act last year, which will represent approximately a $400 million revenue loss for the Commonwealth when fully implemented. Under the bill, the Research and Experimental expense deduction will be delayed one year, the deductions for the Modification of Business Interest, Depreciable Asset Expensing, Qualified Production Properties will be delayed two years, and the Modification of Qualified Opportunity Zone Investments program will also be delayed two years. However, should the ballot question to lower the state income tax from 5 percent to 4 percent pass in November, which would result in a $5 billion revenue loss when fully implemented, the Commonwealth would permanently decouple from these tax credits, preventing them from going into effect.
The $1.8 billion bill is funded in part by $1.3 billion from excess Fair Share surtax funds to invest in public transportation and education. Highlights include:
· $885 million towards transportation:
$740 million towards the MBTA
$525 million for the Deficiency Reserve
$125 million for the Workforce & Safety Reserve
$60 million for physical infrastructure with a focus on the core subway system
$20 million for low-income reduced fares
$10 million for water transportation infrastructure
Other transportation items include:
$50 million for snow and ice costs
$25 million for Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) workforce development
$30 million to fund the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Credit
$30 million for MassDOT Service Investments
· $417 million towards education:
$150 million towards Special Education Circuit Breaker costs
$150 million to fund Early Education Child Care costs
$38.7 million for the EEC income eligibility waitlist
Includes $8 million for child care for providers and $7.5 million for the loan forgiveness program for providers
$20 million for Green SchoolWorks program to help schools with clean energy upgrades
$18.3 million for Financial Aid Supplements
$20 million endowment Match for UMass and other state colleges and universities
$5.1 million for Tomorrow’s Teachers Loan Forgiveness program
$5 million for ESOL Services Waitlist
The bill also allocates $507 million from the General Fund:
· $300 million for the Group Insurance Commission (GIC)
· $54.4 million for sheriffs, representing half of the deficiency
Requires reporting on the expenses of proposed usage of the funds
· $41.6 million for DTA caseworkers
· $10 million for FIFA Boston for World Cup related expenses
The bill also includes the following outside sections:
· Food Donation Tax Credit: Establishes a food donation tax credit for farm businesses based on the amount of food donated to a nonprofit food distribution organization. The credit is capped at $5,000 annually per individual.
· Sustainable Aviation Fuel Credit: Allows taxpayers to take a credit against the tax imposed on fuels used for aircraft propulsion and, subject to limitation, requires the amount of credit per gallon of sustainable fuel to increase by $0.015 for each additional 1 percent reduction in life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions above 50 percent. The credit is capped at $10 million total for all cumulative tax credits over a fiscal year.
· Ratifies eight Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs)
The bill passed the House of Representatives 150-3 and now goes to the Senate for consideration.
###