How is Massachusetts' $62.8 billion FY27 budget bill H 2 moving through the Legislature?

Governor Maura Healey filed the $62.8 billion FY27 budget as House 2 (H 2) on Jan. 29, 2026, framing 1% growth as fiscal discipline while preserving core services. The bill was referred to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means and reviewed at a Mattapan hearing on March 20 where members pressed agencies on federal-funding fragility, SNAP penalty risk and interpreter shortages; Secretary of A&F Matthew Gorkowitz pegged the House 2 bottom line at $60.1 billion excluding a $2.7 billion fair-share surtax, and EOHHS Secretary Kiaomi Mahania described the $33.7 billion health-and-human-services request as preservation-focused. The House and Senate have since floated competing versions, with the Senate cutting about $4 million from EEC administrative funding and omitting Career Pathways and Reach Out and Read line items.

AI-generated summary compiled from Citizen Portal's coverage of the bill. Officials' positions below are sourced from their own words in indexed meetings and press events.