MMA asks House members to support and build on investments in FY26 state budget bill

Dear Representative,

We are writing to express our deep appreciation for the many provisions in the House Ways & Means Committee budget proposal (H. 4000) that benefit and support cities and towns across the Commonwealth, and we welcome the opportunity to offer insights on proposed amendments that will be before you during your upcoming deliberations on the fiscal 2026 state budget.

We are grateful to Speaker Mariano, Chair Michlewitz, and the members of the House Ways & Means Committee for their commitment to cities and towns by increasing several key local accounts, including funding year five of six of the landmark Student Opportunity Act, and increasing Chapter 70 minimum aid to $150 per pupil. This increase to Chapter 70 minimum aid is a top priority for cities and towns, and this investment would have a tremendous impact on schools across the Commonwealth.

The House Ways & Means Committee proposal fully funds the state’s statutory requirement for Charter School Mitigation payments and the Special Education Circuit Breaker program. In addition, the proposal includes major investments for Regional School Transportation, and continued support for universal school meals, which has improved student nutrition and success across the Commonwealth. The House Ways & Means proposal also provides for the transfer of certain limited alcoholic licenses to full liquor licenses and maintains Medicaid “crossover payments” for EMS. These are all critically important, and demonstrate leadership and a commitment to municipalities and school districts despite economic uncertainty at the federal level.

Please Support the Following Key Municipal and Education Amendments

In this letter, we are respectfully asking you to support appropriation amendments to build on the progress included in the House Ways & Means proposal:

Amendment #306 (Unrestricted Local Aid) – Please increase Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA) in fiscal year 2026. As you know, cities and towns are struggling with increased costs, inflationary pressures, and local revenues that are capped by Proposition 2½. Communities are facing extremely tight budgets and very difficult and painful choices. Because of this, increasing Unrestricted General Government Aid (1233-2350) is vital this year. UGGA is the only source of discretionary local aid that cities and towns use to fund foundational local services, including public safety, public health, public works, senior, youth and veterans services, water and sewer services, solid waste disposal and recycling collection, park and recreation services, libraries, and much more. We urge your consideration to increase this account to provide an increase to UGGA of at least 2.2% over the current fiscal year.

To that end, we offer our enthusiastic support for Amendment #306, filed by Chair Jack Lewis. This amendment would help address key municipal needs by increasing the UGGA account from level-funding over the current fiscal year to a 2.2% increase, which would match the Governor’s House 1 proposal as well as the consensus revenue forecast.

Amendment #434 (Chapter 90 Roads and Bridges Supplemental Aid) – Please support Amendment #434, filed by Rep. Michelle Ciccolo, to increase funding for local roads and bridges (1596-2428) by $45 million. This supplemental funding to repair local roads and bridges is critically important. We are grateful for these supplemental investments over the past few years to fund needed, shovel-ready local road projects. With the adoption of this amendment, this account would match funding included in the final fiscal year 2025 budget.

Amendment #1647 (Rural School Aid) – Please support Amendment #1647, filed by Chair Natalie Blais, to bring the Rural School Aid account to $60 million, which would fulfill the recommendation of the Commission on Rural Schools (7061-9813).

Amendment #1119 (Shannon Grant) – Please support Amendment #1119, filed by Chair Adrian Madaro, to increase funding for the Shannon Grant program (8100-0111) by $3.3 million. This anti-gang grant program helps cities and towns respond to and suppress gang-related activities.

Summary
Again, we would like to express our gratitude to Speaker Mariano, Chair Michlewitz, and the members of the House Ways & Means Committee for presenting a fiscal blueprint that provides important support to cities and towns across the state. In a time of great uncertainty, local governments look forward to strengthening their partnership with state leaders to provide essential services to residents across the Commonwealth. In order to meet these needs, communities need fiscal stability at the local level. The investments made in the House Ways & Means proposal, combined with the priority issues outlined above, will strengthen local governments and give them the capacity to deliver critical services.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to have your office contact me or MMA Senior Executive and Legislative Director Dave Koffman at dkoffman@mma.org at any time.

Thank you very much for your support, dedication and commitment to the cities and towns of Massachusetts.

Sincerely,

Adam Chapdelaine
Executive Director & CEO