Gov. Maura Healey shared her nearly $62 billion budget proposal for the 2026 fiscal year on Wednesday. The proposal, which has yet to be approved by the legislature, aims to bolster public education, stabilize transportation and prioritize affordable housing initiatives in Massachusetts.
The budget will leverage multiple types of revenue, including a proposed $1.9 billion of excess surtax revenue from the 2024 fiscal year, called Fair Share funding.
Education
The budget allocates $1.1 billion to support child care financial aid programs and $475 million to the Commonwealth Cares for Children program, which, according to the budget proposal, has expanded child care capacity by more than 15,000 seats.
To uphold commitments made under the 2019 Student Opportunity Act, Healey hopes to allocate more than $7.3 billion to educational aid for public elementary and secondary schools, a 6% increase from the prior fiscal year. The budget also aspires to fully fund the Special Education Circuit Breaker, a program created to reimburse school districts for special education costs.
Healey’s budget proposal also emphasizes higher education. $125 million of Fair Share revenue will be leveraged to secure $2.5 billion for the renovation of educational facilities in public and state universities. $118 million will be allocated towards upholding free community college and $80 million will go towards the MassGrant programs, which offer financial aid for eligible students in in-state universities.
Transportation
To address a nearly $700 million deficit faced by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority caused by rising personnel costs, growing costs of constructing and maintaining infrastructure and ridership that continues to lag behind pre-pandemic levels, Healey’s budget aims to pump $2.1 billion directly into the organization.
Additionally, it recommends $3.2 billion be allotted for general transportation funding in Massachusetts. The Commonwealth’s Regional Transit Authorities will receive $204 million in funding, with allocations going towards programs which expand routes, increase connectivity and expand mobility and accessibility options.
MassDOT will receive $617 million for operational purposes, most notably $80 million for snow and ice removal, which the Healey administration fears will become an increasingly significant issue due to more severe snow storms caused by climate change.
Housing
In an effort to bolster housing stability and prevent evictions in Massachusetts, the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities will receive a total of $1.2 billion —- an increase of 3.7% from the 2025 fiscal year.
In the proposed budget, Healey hopes to support the Affordable Homes Act, an initiative she signed in August 2024 that utilizes more than 50 initiatives and $5.16 billion in capital spending to promote affordable housing manufacturing over the next 5 years. In that time, the administration aims to create or maintain 65,000 homes for Massachusetts residents and workers.
To support a beleaguered emergency shelter apparatus, the budget allocates $325 million for emergency assistance for Family Shelters. $27.7 million will also be granted to the Operation of Homeless Programs to support staffing demands in homeless shelters.
For maintaining safe households for the over 70,000 residents living within the nearly 43,000 state public housing units, the budget recommends allotting $115.5 million for Subsidies for Local Housing Authorities.
