Press Release: 4/17/2026
House budget committee files $63.3B state budget bill for FY27
As state leaders grapple with implications from federal policy actions, the potential budget impacts of fall ballot questions, and economic stormclouds, the House Committee on Ways and Means yesterday filed a $63.3 billion state budget bill for fiscal 2027.
The committee’s proposal offers multiple targeted investments in municipal priorities, especially in education. Intended to pair with a fiscal 2026 supplemental budget that’s also in the works, the House committee’s budget bill (H. 5500) aims to alleviate budget pressures felt in school districts.
The bill would significantly increase Chapter 70 minimum new aid, to $160 per student — $52.2 million more than the governor’s proposal. The minimum aid boost, which would benefit 84% of school districts, would be $10 per student higher than minimum aid for the current year.
The House Ways and Means budget would increase Unrestricted General Government Aid by $10 million, bringing the total to $1.33 billion. This increase, which is lower than the governor’s proposed 2.5%, falls short of the discretionary funding needs of cities and towns, and the MMA will continue to advocate for additional UGGA aid as the budget process continues.
Importantly, H. 5500 does not include language proposed by the governor that would significantly change the collection process for overdue motor vehicle excise taxes and parking tickets.
“As more and more communities face increasingly urgent fiscal challenges, now is not the time to jeopardize municipal revenues,” said MMA Executive Director Adam Chapdelaine. “Cities and towns across the Commonwealth are grateful to House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz and committee members for actively responding to the concerns of local governments regarding this proposal.”
The Division of Local Services had updated Cherry Sheet estimates for each city, town and school districtbased on the House Ways and Means proposal.
The following are key components of the House bill:
UGGA
The budget includes $1.33 billion for UGGA, $10 million more than fiscal 2026.
The MMA recently published two reports that emphasize the large structural gap in unrestricted aid for the Commonwealth’s 351 cities and towns. This remains a priority for the MMA, and local officials are urged to continue this focus in the weeks ahead as they discuss priorities with their legislators.
Chapter 70
With $7.66 billion for Chapter 70 education aid, H. 5500 would continue implementation of the funding schedules in the 2019 Student Opportunity Act to fulfill the sixth and final year of the law’s rollout.
The $296.5 million increase over fiscal 2026 would boost per-pupil support for minimum aid districts from the statutorily obligated $30 per student up to $160 per student.
Special Education Circuit Breaker
H. 5500 proposes $653.4 million for the Special Education Circuit Breaker program. This amount is intended to be paired with additional aid proposed in a fiscal 2026 “Fair Share” supplemental budget that is moving through the Legislature simultaneously. Both the House and Senate versions of the supplemental budget bill include proposals that would complement the fiscal 2027 state budget proposal to satisfy the state’s funding obligation for this important program.
Charter schools
The House proposal would fund the charter school reimbursement account at $200.4 million, intended to meet the commitment to fund the state’s statutory obligation to mitigate Chapter 70 losses to charter schools. This is a slight increase over fiscal 2026.
Rural school aid
The House bill would fund rural school aid at $10 million for eligible towns and regional school districts — $2 million less than fiscal 2026. The proposal would maintain current eligibility requirements, amending the governor’s proposal to expand eligible entities.
Additional funding for rural school aid is also under consideration in the fiscal 2026 Fair Share supplemental budget.
Regional and out-of-district vocational transportation
The House bill would provide $112.3 million for regional school transportation and $6.8 million for out-of-district vocational transportation, for a total of $119.1 million. According to the administration, this would represent 87% of anticipated eligible regional school transportation costs and 100% of eligible non-resident vocational school transportation costs.
McKinney-Vento
Reimbursements for the transportation of homeless students would be funded at $35.2 million to support districts in meeting their federal mandate. This represents 58.2% of anticipated claims for fiscal 2027.
PILOT
Payments in lieu of taxes would be funded at $55.4 million, an increase of 1.6% over fiscal 2026, which is intended to hold communities harmless from updated valuation changes.
English learners reserve
The House bill would provide $10 million to offset reductions in state education aid due to unexpected reductions in English language learners.
Universal school meals
The bill includes $198 million to continue the universal school meals program, allowing all Massachusetts students to eat for free at school, regardless of household income.
Green School Works
The Green School Works grant program, launched in fiscal 2024 to provide financial support to K-12 districts to install or maintain clean energy infrastructure, would be funded at $5 million. Additional funding is under consideration in the fiscal 2026 Fair Share supplemental budget.
Outside sections
The House Ways and Means budget bill includes several outside sections, including the following ones that are noteworthy for municipalities:
• Disaster Relief and Resiliency Fund: Section 66 would direct $14 million of any consolidated net surplus for fiscal 2027 to the Disaster Relief and Resiliency Fund.
• Local option COLA for long-term retirees: Section 27 would allow optional cost-of-living adjustments for long-term retirees in local and regional retirement boards. This section would require local acceptance, as defined by a municipality’s form of government and the structure of the retirement system.
• Special education transportation costs reporting: Section 31-32 would require school districts to include detailed cost components in solicitation documents and annual reporting on special education out-of-district transportation costs. Vendors would be required to provide detailed cost components during the procurement process.
• Special education transportation contract database: Section 33 would require the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to create and maintain a database of procurement and contract documents for all special education out-of-district transportation.
• Special education transportation marketplace study: Section 51 would require DESE, along with the Operational Services Division, Department of Public Utilities, and Registry of Motor Vehicles, to study special education school transportation to identify solutions to address the lack of competition in the marketplace.
Next steps
House members have until 5 p.m. on Friday to file amendments to the Ways and Means Committee proposal. Debate on the House budget is expected to start on April 27, with a final House budget bill expected by the end of that week.
The Senate will take up its budget process in May, and the Legislature’s goal is to have a final bill on the governor’s desk in time for the July 1 start of the fiscal year.