By Bob Katzen
Senate 35-4, approved a $1.57 billion fiscal 2026 budget. Some of the funding will come from the $1.3 billion generated by the 2022 voter-approved constitutional amendment, known by supporters as the Millionaire’s Tax and the Fair Share Amendment, which imposes a surtax of an additional 4 percent income tax, in addition to the current flat 5 percent one, on taxpayers’ earnings of more than $1 million annually. Language in the constitutional amendment requires that “subject to appropriation, the revenue will go to fund quality public education, affordable public colleges and universities, and for the repair and maintenance of roads, bridges and public transportation.”
Provisions include $1 million in legal defense services for immigrants; $10 million for full-tuition scholarships for UMass Chan Medical School students pursuing family medicine if they commit to remaining in Massachusetts and serving populations in need for five years after graduation; $100 million to ensure that Massachusetts’ public universities are able to withstand reductions in federal research funding; a new $32 million investment to provide immediate relief for strained municipal budgets by increasing special education reimbursement rates; $150 million for high-quality and accessible early education and care; $40 million for early literacy initiatives; $18.3 million to expand financial assistance offered to Massachusetts students enrolled at state universities and UMass campuses; $2.5 million to boost school-based mental health support; and $1 million to help public schools pay for costs incurred to implement the ban on cell phones use by students during school hours.
Other provisions include a new targeted sales tax exemption for building materials to incentivize the construction of new affordable, moderate-income and middle-income housing units for certain housing projects; $535 million in direct support for the MBTA for operational funding, commuter rail support and the low-income fare relief program; and $535 million for the MBTA for operational funding, commuter rail support and the low-income fare relief program; $20 million for the Home Energy Assistance Program to assist eligible low-income elders, working families and other households with assistance paying a portion of winter heating bills; and $1 million to help public schools pay for costs incurred by cities and towns to implement the ban on cell phones use by students during school hours.
“By including innovative policy solutions with strong investments, we are going beyond just allocating funding in this budget,” said Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland). “We are lowering taxes to spur housing, building our health care workforce and protecting our immigrant neighbors, on top of making generational investments in statewide transit and education.”
“Today, the Senate passed a consolidated Fair Share supplemental budget that makes significant strides in educational initiatives and transportation infrastructure, while maintaining our focus on municipal relief and regional equity,” said Sen. Mike Rodrigues (D-Westport), Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. “The Senate continues to support special education, literacy growth and also establishes a primary care higher education scholarship pilot program at UMass Medical that will help fill the shortage of primary care physicians in the commonwealth. We also go big on transportation, investing Fair Share dollars to support the ongoing renovation and infrastructure improvements at the MBTA. This spending plan also addresses the harsh winter and historic blizzard of 2026, dedicating $100 million for municipal relief to beleaguered municipalities all across Massachusetts.”
“The Senate found time to pass yet another massive supplemental budget that did not include any reforms to our broken welfare system, any tax relief for our small businesses and taxpayers and no relief for ratepayers,” said Paul Craney, executive director of the Mass Fiscal Alliance. “The Massachusetts Legislature thinks it’s their job to spend every penny they can extract from the taxpayers for their pet projects.”
None of the four Republican senators who voted against the budget responded to repeated attempts by Beacon Hill Roll Call asking them to comment on the bill’s passage and to explain why they voted against it. Those four senators are Sens. Kelly Dooner (R-Taunton), Peter Durant (R-Spencer), Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) and Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester).
(A “Yes” vote is for the budget. A “No” vote is against it.)
Sen. Patricia Jehlen Yes