Press Release: 5/13/2026
Representative Kane pushes for affordability, municipal relief measures in FY27 House budget
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 11, 2026
CONTACT: Kerry Shea, 617-722-2810
Cites ‘missed opportunity’ to provide additional savings to residents, cities and towns
BOSTON – State Representative Hannah Kane (R-Shrewsbury) recently joined with her Republican colleagues
to stand united in advocating for a series of proposed amendments to the Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) House budget
designed to assist the state’s taxpayers and municipalities as they struggle with rising costs and increasing
budget constraints.
Expressing concerns about the unprecedented number of cities and towns that are being forced to pursue
Proposition 2 ½ overrides to maintain basic services, Representative Kane said she was happy to see the House
budget takes steps to assist communities by funding the Special Education Circuit Breaker at $653.4 million, an
increase of $168.5 million. In addition to funding the final year of the Student Opportunity Act (SOA) at $550.5
million, the House budget also increases the minimum per pupil aid recommended by the SOA from an
additional $130 per pupil to $160 per pupil by providing $52.2 million in supplemental minimum aid, while
also creating a $10 million reserve for school districts experiencing unexpected enrollment reductions in ESOL
students.
Representative Kane also advocated for state funding assistance for local projects in her district through the
amendment process, securing earmarks for $75,000 for Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services, $30,000 to
upgrade athletic lights at Dean Park and Coolidge Pickleball Courts, and $12,500 for the Westborough Public
Library to purchase a book bike. In addition to these earmarks, Representative Kate Donaghue (D-
Westborough) and Representative Kane successfully advocated for $70,000 for Westborough to conduct a study
of the Route 9 corridor.
As Co-chair of the Legislature’s Food System Caucus, Representative Kane was pleased with strong
investments to fight food insecurity. The House budget includes $60 million for the Emergency Food Assistance
Program and $20 million, plus a $9M Prior Authorization Continued, for the Massachusetts Healthy Incentives
Program (HIP) to provide a dollar-for-dollar match to SNAP recipients purchasing locally grown healthy food.
It also includes $198 million for Universal School Meals.
While the $63.4 billion House budget contains no tax increases, Representative Kane cited the missed
opportunity to provide additional financial relief to residents and municipalities after multiple Republican
amendments designed to promote affordability were rejected, primarily along party lines. Those measures
included proposals to further expand local aid, authorize a municipal tax amnesty, address rising energy bill
costs, and reduce the sales and income taxes.
Representative Kane noted that the House proposal funds Chapter 70 education aid at $7.66 billion, which is a
$296.5 million increase over the current fiscal year and $54.8 million more than Governor Healey has proposed.
However, Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA) – which helps fund essential non-education
municipal programs and services including police and firefighters – is increased by only $10 million over thisyear’s levels, for a total of $1.33 billion, compared to the $33 million increase included in the Governor’s
budget. Under the House proposal, Shrewsbury would receive $23,420,930 in Chapter 70 aid and $3,494,003 in
UGGA funding for FY27, while Westborough would receive $13,452,856 in Chapter 70 funding and
$1,453,498 in UGGA funds.
Representative Kane backed several amendments that would have increased the UGGA appropriation, which
has fallen short of where it should be by failing to keep pace with inflation. One amendment would have
required the Comptroller, prior to calculating the FY27 net surplus, to transfer up to $25 million in unexpended
appropriations to UGGA that would otherwise revert to the General Fund, but it was rejected on a vote of 28-
130. Another proposal would have required a transfer of not less than 25% of funds received in excess of the
consensus revenue estimate to be transferred to UGGA, but cap the amount at $25 million, which was rejected
on a vote of 27-131.
Two additional amendments to expand UGGA funding were also offered by the House Republican Caucus. One
amendment called for diverting $10 million from a line item supporting unlimited no cost calls for inmates to
support UGGA instead, which was rejected on a vote of 26-132, while another proposed a 10% increase in
UGGA that would have increased the line item by $133 million, which was rejected on a vote of 25-133.
An effort by the House Republican Caucus to reform the Special Education Circuit Breaker program was also
rejected on a vote of 25-132. The amendment was supported by Representative Kane, who noted that it would
have required the state to reimburse school districts at 75 per cent of all the instructional and transportation
costs that exceed either the approved costs threshold or the statewide average per pupil expenditure, whichever
is lower. She also supported an amendment to require the state to commit to funding regional school
transportation without making it “subject to appropriation,” but it was not adopted. Another Republican-
sponsored amendment would have required the Commonwealth to reimburse cities, towns,
and regional school districts for 80% of special education costs that exceed the district’s average per pupil
expenditure, but it was rejected on a vote of 25-132.
Representative Kane also supported a proposed municipal tax amnesty, which would have given cities and
towns the option to provide a temporary waiver of any penalties, fees, charges, and accrued interest on an
outstanding tax bill if the underlying tax liability is paid in full by a date set by local officials. Representative
Kane said an amnesty would allow residents to clear an unpaid tax bill without paying additional penalties
while allowing cities and towns to more easily recover this funding to help support critical local services. The
amendment failed on a vote of 27-129.
To address rising energy costs, Representative Kane also voted for an amendment to suspend the collection of
any public benefit charge, public policy charge, or other similar surcharge assessed on retail electricity or
natural gas customers in the Commonwealth for the purpose of funding energy efficiency programs. This effort
to provide relief to ratepayers was rejected on a vote of 25-132.
Among the additional savings measures proposed by the House Republican Caucus and supported by
Representative Kane were amendments to:
• reduce the sales tax from 6.25% to 5%, which was rejected on a vote of 25-131;
• lower the income tax from 5% to 4%, which was rejected on a vote of 25-132;
• exempt overtime pay from the state income tax, which was rejected on a vote of 25-132;
• allow taxpayers to exclude up to $12,500 in overtime earnings from their state gross income for tax
purposes, which was rejected on a vote of 25-132;
• suspend the gas tax until the average retail price per gallon falls below $2.50, which was rejected on a
vote of 25-132;• allow taxpayers to exclude up to $25,000 of income received as tips or gratuities from their
Massachusetts gross income, which was rejected on a vote of 25-131; and
• allow taxpayers 69 and older to exclude income received from a 401(K)-retirement plan from their
Massachusetts gross income, which was rejected on a vote of 25-132.
The members of the House Republican Caucus also presented a united front in voting for amendments to:
• protect taxpayer dollar from fraud, waste and abuse by requiring the implementation of EBT fraud
prevention measures (including chip-enabled cards), interstate eligibility verification, and annual
independent audits of public assistance programs, which was rejected on a vote of 25-133;
• require state agencies to utilize the systemic alien verification system to determine if an applicant is a
US citizen or lawfully present prior to providing any benefits through the Department of Transitional
Assistance, the emergency shelter program, the Women Infants and Children (WIC) program, and the
MassHealth dental program, which was rejected on a vote of 25-133;
• incrementally increase the annual cap on the Conservation Land Tax Credit from $2 million to $5
million over a period of three years to help permanently protect the Commonwealth’s natural resources,
which was rejected on a vote of 30-124;
• eliminate the requirement that the Trial Court pay the $80 fee for bail commissioners who have to
respond outside of regular business hours so that the financial burden shift from the state to the
individual being arrested, which was rejected on a vote of 26-129;
• establish a local option for communities to voluntarily adopt a COVID-19 essential employee retirement
credit bonus granting up to 15 months of additional creditable service time for municipal public health
and safety officials during the declared state of emergency, which was rejected on a vote of 34-119;
• require voters to present a valid government-issued photo identification to vote, and for eligible voters
without an ID to receive a free ID from the Secretary of the Commonwealth, which was rejected on a
vote of 27-131;
• require verification of United States citizenship for applicants prior to receiving HomeBASE benefits
and prohibit funding for those who cannot provide proof, which was rejected on a vote of 26-130;
• prohibit the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities from requiring MBTA Communities
Act compliance as a condition for receiving grant funding, which was rejected on a vote of 27-126; and
• restrict eligibility for the emergency housing assistance program to residents of the Commonwealth who
are citizens of the United States and have been a resident of Massachusetts for no less than six months,
which was rejected on a vote of 26-122.
The FY27 House budget includes these and other investments:
• $22.41 billion for MassHealth
• $57.1 million for Regional School Transportation
• $62 million for Non-Resident Vocational and Regional Transportation
• $60 million for the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program
• $475 million for Commonwealth Care for Children (C3) grants
• $184.8 million for Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs)
• $3.3 million for a Registered Apprenticeship Expansion
• $176.7 million for public higher education scholarships
The FY27 House budget also extends the ConnectorCare Pilot until the end of 2027 to allow residents with an
income of up to 500% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) to access plans with lower premiums, no deductibles,
and reduced co-pays. As of January 1, 2026, residents with incomes of only up to 400% of the FPL were
eligible due to the expiration of the ACA tax credits. Additionally, the House budget extends the Personal CareAttendant Program working group and mandates that any additional cuts to the program can only occur with the
agreement of the working group.
On April 29, the House passed its budget proposal on a vote of 149-9. The budget will now move to the Senate
Ways and Means Committee, with the Senate scheduled to debate its own version of the FY27 budget the week
of May 18th
.
###