Last night, the Conference Committee released their proposed budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027. The six-member committee, three from the House of Representatives and three from the Senate, reconciled differences between the House’s $63.4 billion and the Senate’s $63.4 billion FY 2027 budget proposals. The Conference budget proposal outlines a plan to spend over $63.4 billion for the upcoming fiscal year beginning today, July 1.
Statement from Viviana Abreu-Hernández, Ph.D., MassBudget President
“As we have consistently said, the Fair Share surtax has been vital in sustaining and expanding investments in public education and transportation programs and infrastructure across our state. These historic investments simply would not be possible without the Fair Share surtax.
Thanks to the Fair Share surtax, the Conference Committee was able to build on investments that are already making a difference in people’s lives. The budget proposal expands on successful programs, like free fares for all Regional Transit Authority (RTA) buses. Additionally, the Conference Committee proposed continuing vital surtax investments in operational grants for child care providers and childcare vouchers to support families with low incomes, continuing free community college, free school meals, and more. At a time when federal resources are shrinking and affordability remains one of the biggest challenges facing working individuals and families, Massachusetts is demonstrating that progressive revenue can help meet people’s needs.
We are especially pleased to see the Conference Committee budget proposal eliminate “learnfare”, an inequitable and ineffective policy that reduces or eliminates the cash assistance (Transition Assistance to Families with Dependent Children) a family gets based on a child’s school attendance record. Learnfare punishes families already experiencing deep poverty and does nothing to address the root causes of chronic absenteeism.
We are also encouraged to see the Conference Committee propose an increase for the state’s rental voucher program, which will allow more households to access stable and affordable housing. This investment is also crucial as the state continues to face an unprecedented housing affordability crisis. Also, the proposal allocates new dollars toward addressing funding challenges related to declining enrollment in public school districts.
In acknowledgement of the budget crisis many of our cities and towns are facing, the Conference Committee budget proposal includes a Foundation Budget Review Commission to examine K-12 education funding. Long-needed improvements are necessary to ensure equitable distribution and adequate funding to address the pressing needs of students and districts across the Commonwealth.
At the same time, there are areas where this budget falls short. The Conference Committee made a small cut to a key housing assistance program that helps individuals and families avoid eviction or foreclosure and address other housing emergencies. Also, while we appreciate the restoration of some funding to the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, it is only one-third of what is necessary to adequately serve the more than 30,000 taxpayers with low incomes that rely on this free service each year.
Most concerning is the proposed funding cut for Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) caseworkers. These frontline workers provide direct assistance to households with low incomes to apply and access benefits, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This cut in funding risks laying off approximately 150 caseworkers at a time when new federal eligibility requirements have made these positions even more vital. They connect residents with assistance and protect the state from losing federal funding for these critical programs.
The federal One Big Beautiful Bill (OB3), signed into law almost one year ago, will be fully enacted in 2027, once a series of provisions take effect. The OB3 gave $1 trillion in tax cuts to rich corporations and individuals while cutting $1 trillion in human services such as SNAP and Medicaid. These cuts will result in the Commonwealth losing billions in federal revenue. Massachusetts lawmakers must protect the state’s revenue, avoid any state revenue cuts, and continue to invest in our communities, supporting our low-and-mid income families to live thriving lives.
MassBudget will issue a preliminary analysis of the Conference Committee’s FY 2027 budget proposal in the days to follow.
