Massachusetts Senate overrides multiple gubernatorial vetoes to restore funding for blind services, housing, schools and workforce programs

The Massachusetts Senate voted during its floor session to override a series of the governor's vetoes, restoring line-item funding across the FY26 general appropriation bill for programs including services for people who are blind, low-threshold housing for people experiencing homelessness, early intervention for infants and toddlers, expanded vocational programming at technical schools, manufacturing assistance, shelter workforce supports, and other regional and educational grants.

Senator Jo Comerford, the senator from Hampshire, urged colleagues to overturn the vetoes for multiple items, saying the reductions would remove funding for vulnerable populations. "This funding represents a crucial piece of the Senate's commitment" to supports for blind and visually impaired residents and other affected groups, Comerford said on the floor.

The overrides covered multiple separate line items contained in Section 2 of the general appropriation bill and a series of other numbered items returned by the governor with reductions or disapprovals. In remarks introducing several overrides, Comerford described the programs in turn: funding for rehabilitation, housing assistance, counseling and technology training for legally blind residents; low-threshold housing for people with substance use and mental-health disorders who are at risk of HIV; early intervention services for infants and toddlers at risk for developmental delay; funding for third-shift vocational programs for adults; state assistance and federal-match dollars for the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MASMAP); and supports for shelter staff including transportation, loan repayment and child care.

Votes at a glance

- Item "4 1 1 0 dash 1,000" (Section 2, FY26 general appropriation…