Senate adopts $61.01 billion FY2026 conference report, sends budget to governor

The Massachusetts Senate voted 38–2 to accept the conference committee report on the fiscal year 2026 budget and passed House Bill 4240 to be enacted, sending the spending plan to the governor for her consideration.

The conference report approves $61,010,000,000 in total appropriations for FY2026 and includes increased investments in K–12 education, transportation, MassHealth and other priorities while using one-time resources and a partial reallocation of excess capital gains to address long-term liabilities.

Senator Roberts, chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, told colleagues the budget “is on time, balanced, and responsible,” and said the document totals $61,010,000,000 in top-line spending, roughly $3.3 billion above FY2025 but about $400 million below the Senate’s earlier version. He said the conference committee reduced spending in recognition of economic uncertainty and potential federal actions that could affect state revenues: “Any slight impact, a slight reduction in federal support for Medicaid could have a material impact on the budget,” Roberts said.

Key items in the conference report listed by Roberts include fully funding the Student Opportunity Act (chapter 70) with $7,360,000,000 in state aid, increasing the…