State Representative Lipper-Garabedian Supports FY27 Budget, Delivers Record Investment without Raising Taxes
Agreement completes Student Opportunity Act commitment, expands housing production, and strengthens the MBTA
(BOSTON—7/1/2026) Without raising taxes on Massachusetts residents, the Massachusetts Legislature today delivered a Fiscal Year 2027 budget that drives down costs for residents, boosts the state's economy, and adds to the state’s savings account. State Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian (D-Melrose) joined her colleagues in supporting the enactment of this FY27 comprehensive budget.
The plan makes record investments in public education, unlocks new housing production, strengthens the state’s public transportation systems, and protects vulnerable residents from the impact of federal cuts.
The bill spends $63.4 billion, a 4 percent increase from last year, and includes $2.7 billion in Fair Share funds that will support public education and transportation as voters intended. The budget raises no taxes and adds $51 million to the state’s ‘Rainy Day’ Stabilization Fund, which is projected to reach a historic $8.2 billion balance by the end of Fiscal Year 2027.
“The FY27 budget is a powerful reflection of our values and priorities as a Commonwealth, addressing affordability for all residents and protecting our most vulnerable from the harmful impact of federal cuts,” said Representative Lipper-Garabedian. “In Massachusetts, we recognize the value of public education, and the State has made good on its promise to fully fund and implement the Student Opportunity Act. As a former teacher and education attorney, I am resolved to support the work of the revived Foundation Budget Review Commission to ensure the State is doing its part to address rising education costs. And as a former local elected official, I am proud that State support for our cities and towns is the second-highest state-funded category of spending. This budget also includes significant investments in affordable housing, healthcare, and public transportation, and climate resiliency.”
In addition to statewide investments, Representative Lipper-Garabedian secured the following earmarks for the 32nd Middlesex district, as well as critical Chapter 70 funding and local aid:
City of Melrose:
$100,000 to purchase new public safety and emergency medical equipment
$100,000 for stage light replacements and other capital improvements at Memorial Hall
$50,000 for exterior improvements to the Milano Senior Center
$13,911,036 in Chapter 70 school funding
$6,565,933 in Local Aid
Town of Wakefield:
$100,000 for restroom construction at Veterans Field
$50,000 to the Boys and Girls Club of Metro North for the purposes of establishing an innovation center and STEM lab
$50,000 to the Wakefield Fire Department for a high-speed washer-extractor and dryer-extractor
$24,000 to Wakefield Community Access Television (WCAT) for a new lighting grid
$9,949,023 in Chapter 70 school funding
$4,355,758 in Local Aid
City of Malden:
$150,000 to Portal to Hope for services and prevention education related to domestic violence and at-risk youth/school-based violence
$100,000 for the Malden River Works project
$100,000 for the Mayor’s Youth Employment Program
$100,000 to Housing Families for regional shared services
$100,000 to the Coalition for Anti-Racism and Equity and the Commonwealth Seminar for a joint fellowship program for high school and college students from underrepresented communities of color
$100,000 for flood mitigation and stormwater infrastructure improvements, including maintenance of the Town Line Brook and Linden Brook culverts
$75,000 to Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) to support their mobile homeless outreach program
$60,000 for public park improvements
$50,000 for upgrades and improvements to the city’s streetscape
$50,000 to Housing Families for its homeless children program
$70,838,845 in Chapter 70 school funding
$16,033,345 in Local Aid
“At the local level, I am proud to have secured $1.35 million in earmarks for the 32nd Middlesex district alongside the Melrose, Wakefield, and Malden delegations that prioritize these values and support residents.”
Education
The agreement completes the Legislature’s commitment to fully fund and implement the Student Opportunity Act with $7.66 billion in Chapter 70 aid to public school districts, an increase of $297 million over Fiscal Year 2026 and the highest level ever, along with a record $160-per-pupil minimum in local school aid.
The budget also revives the Foundation Budget Review Commission (FBRC) to examine the K-12 funding formula and assess how the state can address rising costs in special education, student transportation, personnel, and educator health care statewide.
The agreement funds the Special Education Circuit Breaker at $654.6 million to help students who need support, which, combined with $152 million from the recent Fair Share supplemental budget, brings the total investment to $806.6 million, reimbursing school districts for 75 percent of the costs of educating students with disabilities and complex needs.
Other education investments include $475 million for the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grant program to support early education and care providers’ day-to-day operational and workforce costs, $137 million for the MassEducate and MassReconnect free community college programs, $20 million for rural school districts, and $180 million for universal free school meals, which serve nearly 150 million free meals to Massachusetts kids every year.
The budget also includes $11.7 million to support students receiving special education services through the DESE/DDS Residential Prevention Program, and $2 million for a new grant program helping schools address young people’s social media use.
Transportation
The agreement provides $465 million in direct investment for the MBTA, which, combined with $595 million from the recent Fair Share supplemental budget, brings the total new investment in the system to over $1 billion for Fiscal Year 2027. It also includes $217 million for Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs), including $40 million to sustain fare-free transit service statewide. The state’s fare-free Regional Transit program has resulted in ridership exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
The budget also responds to a string of fatal wrong-way driving incidents on Massachusetts highways, including the tragic line-of-duty death of State Trooper Kevin Trainor, by directing MassDOT to implement new infrastructure and officer training, including directional striping, signage, lane delineators, and motorist alert systems.
Municipalities and Housing
The agreement provides record support to cities and towns across the state, including $1.363 billion for Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA), a $40 million increase over Fiscal Year 2026 and the highest level ever. For new dollars, the legislation implements a new funding formula to equitably distribute the increase throughout all of the state’s 351 communities.
In another step toward addressing the housing crisis and building homes faster statewide, the budget builds on last session’s Affordable Homes Act by streamlining local permitting, supporting development on nonconforming properties, providing reasonable timelines for projects under existing zoning, and modernizing the variance standard, all aimed at boosting housing production and driving down costs.
Health Care
The agreement extends the ConnectorCare expansion pilot program through 2027. Since 2024, the pilot has helped more than 115,000 residents access more affordable insurance through lower premiums, no deductibles, and reduced co-pays.
The budget also codifies existing federal protections requiring comprehensive insurance coverage of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) without cost sharing or utilization management barriers and directs a new study to modernize and improve the long-term sustainability of emergency medical services in the Commonwealth.
Retiree COLA Reform
This budget includes comprehensive, fiscally prudent reforms to cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for retired public employees, based on recommendations from the Special COLA Commission. It establishes a COLA Reserve Fund financed in part by pension investment returns above target, provides enhanced COLA benefits for certain current retirees based on years in retirement, and allows the base amount used to calculate future COLAs to increase in $1,000 increments as funding allows.
Food and Economic Security
The agreement protects access to benefits through Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC) and Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled and Children (EAEDC), and includes a $500 clothing allowance per child for families receiving TAFDC benefits.
It repeals the Learnfare law, which cut off TAFDC benefits when children had too many unexcused school absences and ended up hurting families who lost needed assistance.
It also provides $56.1 million for Emergency Food Assistance, an increase of $6.1 million over Fiscal Year 2026, and $21.5 million for the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP), which supports local farmers and access to healthy food.
Protecting Vulnerable Residents
The agreement includes provisions protecting children aged 16 and 17 from sexual interactions with mandated reporters and others responsible for their care and oversight, including teachers, coaches, police officers, and social workers.
In response to the tragic fire at Gabriel House in Fall River, the agreement provides $500,000 to implement recommendations from the Assisted Living Residences (ALR) Commission to improve safety standards, emergency preparedness, and oversight at assisted living facilities statewide.
The budget also establishes a commission to study transitional youth services for individuals with disabilities whose access to special education services will end due to high school graduation or turning 22, as the Legislature works to preserve community-based care options amid federal challenges to the Olmstead decision.
Sports Wagering Revenue
The agreement adjusts the distribution of sports wagering revenue, directing 5.5 percent to the Sports and Entertainment Fund and 2 percent to the Economic Development Trust Fund, dedicating new resources to support the Commonwealth’s economic growth.
The full text of the Fiscal Year 2027 budget is available online.
Having been passed by the Legislature, Governor Healey signed the budget on July 7, 2026.
###