Massachusetts House Passes Fair Share Supplemental Budget

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BOSTON – Friday, March 20, 2026 – This week, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a $1.8 billion supplemental budget that invests $885 million in public transportation, $417 million in public education, and funds several Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) deficiencies. The bill also includes tax conformity legislation filed by Governor Healey that delays the state’s alignment with the corporate tax changes passed by Congress in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OB3) Act last year.  

“From significant investments in public transportation and public education, to support for DTA caseworkers and expenses related to the World Cup, to fiscally prudent tax conformity measures – this legislation is representative of the responsible approach that the House will continue to take as we navigate a period of significant economic uncertainty,” said House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano (D-Quincy).  

“This supplemental budget will address immediate concerns associated with the MBTA and pressing needs in our education system. I’m proud to have worked with the delegation on earmarking targeted funding for our local public schools,” said State Representative Tackey Chan (D-Quincy). Those earmarks include $300,000 for student supports and services at Quincy College, $500,000 for special education transportation costs within Quincy Public Schools, and $500,000 for Quincy Public Schools’ summer education programs. 

"This supplemental budget invests in transportation, education, and essential services at a critical time,” explained State Representative Bruce Ayers (D-Quincy). “It delivers important funding for Quincy, including support for special education transportation, Quincy College, and summer programming for Quincy Public Schools. I was proud to support this responsible legislation that moves our Commonwealth forward.” 

The bill also delays conforming to the federal corporate tax changes that were passed by Congress in the OB3 Act, which will result in approximately $400 million in revenue losses for the Commonwealth if and when fully implemented. Under the bill, the Research and Experimental expense deduction will be delayed one year, and the deductions for Modification of Business Interest, Depreciable Asset Expensing, Qualified Production Properties, and the Modification of Qualified Opportunity Zone Investments program will be delayed two years. However, should the ballot question to lower the state income tax from 5 percent to 4 percent pass in November, which would result in a $5 billion annual revenue loss, the Commonwealth would permanently decouple from these tax credits, preventing them from going into effect. 

The $1.8 billion bill is funded in part by $1.3 billion from excess Fair Share surtax funds to invest in public transportation and education. Highlights include:  

  • $885 million towards transportation: 

  • $740 million towards the MBTA 

  • $525 million for the Deficiency Reserve 

  • $125 million for the Workforce & Safety Reserve 

  • $60 million for physical infrastructure with a focus on the core subway system 

  • $20 million for low-income reduced fares 

  • $10 million for water transportation infrastructure  

  • Other transportation items include: 

  • $50 million for snow and ice costs 

  • $25 million for Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) workforce development 

  • $30 million to fund the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Credit 

  • $30 million for MassDOT Service Investments 

  • $417 million towards education: 

  • $150 million towards Special Education Circuit Breaker costs 

  • $150 million to fund Early Education Child Care costs 

  • $38.7 million for the EEC income eligibility waitlist 

  • Includes $8 million for child care for providers and $7.5 million for the loan forgiveness program for providers 

  • $20 million for Green SchoolWorks program to help schools with clean energy upgrades 

  • $18.3 million for Financial Aid Supplements  

  • $20 million endowment Match for UMass and other state colleges and universities  

  • $5.1 million for Tomorrow’s Teachers Loan Forgiveness program 

  • $5 million for ESOL Services Waitlist 

The bill also allocates $507 million from the General Fund: 

  • $300 million for the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) 

  • $54.4 million for sheriffs, representing half of the deficiency 

  • Requires reporting on the expenses of proposed usage of the funds  

  • $41.6 million for DTA caseworkers 

  • $10 million for FIFA Boston for World Cup related expenses 

The bill also includes the following outside sections:  

  • Food Donation Tax Credit: Establishes a food donation tax credit for farm businesses based on the amount of food donated to a nonprofit food distribution organization. The credit is capped at $5,000 annually per individual. 

  • Sustainable Aviation Fuel Credit: Allows taxpayers to take a credit against the tax imposed on fuels used for aircraft propulsion and, subject to limitation, requires the amount of credit per gallon of sustainable fuel to increase by $0.015 for each additional 1 percent reduction in life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions above 50 percent. The credit is capped at $10 million total for all cumulative tax credits over a fiscal year. 

  • Ratifies eight Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) 

The bill passed the House of Representatives 150-3 and now goes to the Senate for consideration.