Governor Healey, administration outline $59.6 billion FY26 House 1 with $1.95B in fair-share spending

Governor Maura Healey and Administration officials laid out a balanced FY26 spending plan and companion bills during the first Joint Committee on Ways and Means hearing on the FY26 budget. The administration presented House 1 with a $59.6 billion operating bottom line and proposed $1.95 billion in spending tied to the voter-approved fair-share surtax.

The administration described House 1 as “balanced, responsible, and very forward thinking.” Secretary Matt Gorkewitz said the plan pairs the FY26 operating budget with companion bond and supplemental legislation to support major investments in transportation and higher education infrastructure.

House 1 includes proposals to dedicate surtax revenue to expand the Commonwealth Transportation Fund and to leverage those receipts to support borrowing: the administration said dedicating $765 million of FY25 surtax to the transportation fund would unlock nearly $5 billion of capacity over 10 years and is part of a broader $8 billion, 10-year transportation investment plan. The budget also seeks to direct $125 million in surtax toward higher education infrastructure, leveraged to support roughly $2.5 billion of borrowing for the state universities, UMass and community colleges.

Secretary Matt Gorkewitz called the surtax strategy “a multi-pronged strategy to build a sustainable and resilient budget” and said the plan includes nearly $3.23 billion in combined education and transportation spending when the FY24 supplemental surtax appropriation is considered. He told the committee House 1 was crafted “to strategically grow funding in key areas” while using a mix of one-time funds and dedicated revenues and keeping the overall operating bottom line within projected resources.

Both the governor and the secretary repeatedly warned of federal-level uncertainty. Governor Healey called the federal environment “unpredictable” and urged the legislature and executive to be prepared to pivot if Washington actions reduce federal funding streams. Secretary Gorkewitz said the administration is monitoring federal developments and had programmed modest consensus revenue growth of about 2.2% for FY26, excluding surtax.

House 1 also proposes $9.2 billion for local aid (about $480 million or 6% over FY25), continued support for C3 childcare grants, expansion of early college and universal pre-K work, and preservation of programs the administration listed as priorities—Student Opportunity Act funding, universal K–12 meals, and economic development initiatives in life sciences and climate tech. The administration said the plan avoids drawing from the stabilization (rainy day) fund and continues deposits into it.

Officials closed by inviting the committee and members across both chambers to engage on the budget and directed staff to provide supplementary materials and briefings. The administration acknowledged more work on FY25 supplemental items would follow as spending pressures are finalized.