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 minimum chapter 70 per-pupil allotment by $150, and providing $675,000,000 for special education circuit breaker reimbursements. The report also includes $470,000,000 directed to MBTA operational improvements in the General Appropriations Act; combined with a recently passed supplemental, the package provides roughly $1,000,000,000 for MBTA needs in FY2026, according to Roberts.

The agreement directs $2,400,000,000 of so-called fair share surtax revenue toward education and transportation this year, increases annual dedication of fair share revenue to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund from $250,000,000 to $550,000,000, and proposes a $33,000,000 deposit to the state stabilization (rainy day) fund, which Roberts said would bring the fund to about $8,260,000,000 at the end of FY2026.

To address long-term pension liabilities, the conference report uses $599,000,000 of excess capital gains to pay down the Commonwealth’s unfunded pension obligation rather than routing the full amount into the stabilization fund. Roberts said that choice reflects a decision to address another significant long-term liability even as the stabilization fund reaches record levels.

The budget preserves access to comprehensive health coverage for more than 2 million residents with a MassHealth appropriation of about $21,100,000,000 — roughly $2,000,000,000 more than FY2025, Roberts said — and makes investments in food security, homeless services and early education operational grants, including a $120,000,000 allocation to extend no-cost community college access under the mass higher-education program enumerated in the conference report.

Senators voiced both support and concern during the floor colloquy. The minority leader (the gentleman from Gloucester) asked for more detail about why the conference report reduces spending about $400,000,000 below the Senate’s proposal; Roberts cited shifting revenue trends, tariff impacts on employers, suspended federal grants and the prospect of federal changes to Medicaid as reasons for caution. Senator Rodricks urged colleagues to vote in favor of the conference report; Senator Collins praised provisions that direct the Department of Mental Health to issue new regulations on discharge practices and increase funding for jail-diversion training and co-response programs, calling those steps important for public safety and behavioral-health responses.

Some senators expressed concerns about items that did not survive the conference process. Lawmakers noted the elimination of a payroll-transparency amendment that would have required quasi-public entities to report payroll costs, and some members said the bill does not include direct relief for household energy costs amid rising bills. The Senate also secured a provision creating a commission to study remediation and legislative/regulatory options for properties affected by “crumbling concrete” (pyrrhotite-related concrete deterioration).

Clerks on the floor provided publication timing: the conference report was filed with the clerk at 1:54 p.m. the prior day and reportedly posted online at approximately 3:33 p.m., a point raised during questions about public access to the document prior to floor consideration.

By the rules in effect for timely-filed conference reports, the Senate did not need to suspend rules to consider the document. After debate, the yeas and nays were ordered; the clerk recorded 38 votes in the affirmative and 2 in the negative, and the conference report was adopted. The Senate president ordered the bill signed by the president and laid before the governor for her approbation.

The adoption ends the Senate’s consideration of the FY2026 general appropriation act; the next procedural step is the governor’s review and action on the enrolled bill.