State Representative Lipper-Garabedian Joins Massachusetts House to Pass FY27 Budget, Invests in Programs that Support Families Across Massachusetts, including $940K in Local Earmarks
Highlights include investments made through the Fair Share surtax and a record investment in local aid for cities and towns
BOSTON – Wednesday, April 29, 2026 – Today, State Representative Lipper-Garabedian (D-Melrose) joined 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 House FY27 budget is a powerful statement of our values as a Commonwealth, prioritizing critical statewide funding for our cities and towns, public education system, mass transit, and housing to make Massachusetts more affordable and support our residents and their families. The House’s investments in reproductive health care access and legal aid for our immigrant neighbors are among the many examples in which we also reject the Trump Administration’s unparalleled actions to undermine our civil rights, civil liberties, and safety,” said State Representative Lipper-Garabedian (D-Melrose). “With the headwinds from DC, including the looming loss of billions of dollars in federal support for public health programs, this has been a challenging year to prepare a budget. Given this, I’m particularly proud to have secured nearly $1 million in earmark funding for the three 32nd Middlesex municipalities and local community partners with the other members of the legislative delegation. This earmark funding will enhance our community spaces, including the Milano Senior Center in the City of Melrose, Veterans Field in the Town of Wakefield, and streetscape upgrades and capital improvements in the City of Malden.”
In addition to statewide investments, Representative Lipper-Garabedian, along with the District’s full House delegation, secured the following $940,000 in earmarks for the City of Melrose, the Town of Wakefield, the City of Malden, and local community partners:
$150,000 for Portal to Hope as part of its community-based domestic violence program that includes a "teens-at-risk" project
$100,000 for Melrose’s Memorial Hall for improvements
$100,000 for restroom construction at Wakefield’s Veterans Field
$100,000 for the Malden Mayor’s Youth Employment Program (MSYEP)
$100,000 for the Malden-based Coalition for Anti-Racism and Equity’s Leadership Next Generation Fellowship Program
$100,000 for flood mitigation efforts at Malden’s Town Line and Linden Brook
$50,000 for streetscape upgrades and capital improvements in the City of Malden
$50,000 for Action for Boston Community Development’s Mobile Homeless Outreach Team
$50,000 for Housing Families to support the homeless children program in Malden
$50,000 for Melrose’s Milano Senior Center for exterior improvements
$50,000 for the Wakefield Fire Department for an extractor washer and dryer
$24,000 to Wakefield Community Access Television for a new lightning grid
“As a result of the Trump Administration’s sweeping federal funding cuts and reckless trade war, as well as two proposed ballot questions that seek to cut the Commonwealth’s revenues by more than $5 billion annually, this budget has come during a period of significant economic uncertainty. That’s why I’m incredibly proud of the investments that this budget makes despite those challenges, from funding for free school meals and for the final year of the Student Opportunity Act, to robust support for the MBTA, to nearly $10 billion for cities and towns across the Commonwealth,” said House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano (D-Quincy). “I want to thank Chairman Michlewitz and the Members of the House Committee on Ways and Means for all their work this budget cycle, as well as all my colleagues in the House for working to ensure that this budget delivers for every community across Massachusetts.”
“This budget builds off the successes of the last few years by prioritizing our constituents. Whether it is greater investments into programs like housing stability, public transportation, or early education, these initiatives are a reflection of our shared values,” said Representative Aaron Michlewitz, Chair of the House Committee on Ways & Means (D-Boston). “By reinvesting in the people of the Commonwealth, we will continue make our economy more competitive and equitable for years to come. I want to thank Speaker Mariano for his leadership during this budget process, as well as our Assistant Vice-Chair Kipp Diggs, and the entire membership of the House for their thoughts and guidance over the last few months to make this a more successful and well-rounded budget.”
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.
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.
Education
Student Opportunity Act Expansion- $550,586,435
Child Care Grants to Providers- $365,000,000
Universal School Meals- $198,000,000
Free Community College- $127,048,000
DCF and DTA Related Child Care- $119,446,796
Income Eligible Child Care- $114,718,769
Financial Aid Expansion- $85,000,000
School Transportation Reimbursements- $62,000,000
Minimum Per Pupil Aid- $52,200,000
State University SUCCESS- $18,000,000
Community College Success- $18,000,000
Targeted Scholarships- $10,000,000
Green SchoolWorks- $5,000,000
TOTAL- $1,725,000,000
Transportation
Mass Transportation Trust Fund- $220,168,000
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)- $470,000,000
Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs)- $184,832,000
Health and Human Services Transportation- $100,000,000
TOTAL- $975,000,000
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 $805.4M 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.
###