Massachusetts Senate Budget Coming Tuesday as House Adds Earmarks to $63.4 Billion Plan

BY ALISON KUZNITZ

The Senate plans to unveil its fiscal year 2027 budget next week, Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues told the News Service on Thursday.

Rodrigues said the spending package will come out Tuesday, less than a week following the House passage of a roughly $63.4 billion budget that was augmented by $81 in local earmarks and other new spending during three days of deliberations.

“I can tell you that the budget will reflect a lot of the themes that I heard loud and clear from my Senate colleagues,” Rodrigues said. “Primarily, the need to provide all the help and support we can give to our local municipalities who are struggling with the cost of operating their local governments.”

The House Ways and Means Committee did not go along with the Massachusetts Municipal Association’s request to significantly boost funding for unrestricted local government aid, instead steering about $1.3 billion into the account. Asked whether the Senate Ways and Means Committee would allocate more money, Rodrigues said, “You’ll see all that on Tuesday.”

Rodrigues said the Senate will “manage” its way through spending concerns for MassHealth, the agency that dominates the state budget and is expected to experience huge funding disruptions once federal policies impacting eligibility take effect.

“But even our private residents and our citizens back home, their health insurance premiums, our small- to medium-sized employers, their health premiums are spiking 11, 12% a year,” the Westport Democrat said. “Health care costs is something we have to get under control. The Senate will be debating, hopefully in the not-too-distant future, some health care affordability bills to try to bring some of that under control.”

Senate President Karen Spilka identified primary care reform as a priority almost 16 months ago. 

The Senate next week will also be debating an immigrant protections bill, after a redrafted measure surfaced during a prolonged informal session Thursday afternoon.

“It came through my committee as just procedure,” Rodrigues said of the PROTECT Act. “I’ve been up to my neck, literally 100% focused on writing the budget and getting a budget out that went to print today. So it’ll be public next week.”