I submitted the following letter to the Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means outlining my budget priorities for Fiscal Year 2027
March 31, 2026 (updated April 27, 2026)
Michael J. Rodrigues
Chair, Senate Committee on Ways and Means
State House, Room 212
Boston, MA 02133
Dear Chairman Rodrigues:
I greatly appreciate the opportunity to share my priorities for the FY27 budget.
I write this letter recognizing that the Commonwealth’s revenue projections and continued uncertainty surrounding federal funding in FY27 point to a challenging fiscal environment in Massachusetts. Assuming the ability to sustain priority investments in the coming year, the following are my top spending priorities:
- Protecting MassHealth by maintaining adequate and sustainable funding;
- Providing as much support as possible for the MBTA’s continued recovery towards fully reliable service;
- Providing maximum support for local education through increasing minimum aid under Chapter 70, fully funding the special education circuit breaker, and maximizing the charter school reimbursement rate;
- Ensuring full funding for indigent representation through the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) and the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC), including a focus on immigrant representation and private counsel compensation;
- Providing funding for Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) and other food assistance programs, including the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program;
- Maximizing homeless assistance and housing support, especially through the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) and Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT), including codification of MRVP;
- Continuing to improve funding to the Department of Conservation and Recreation;
- Improving funding for programs to support individuals with disabilities in the Commonwealth, particularly adults with autism without intellectual disability (ID); and
- Maintaining critical funding for the Department of Mental Health’s Jail and Arrest Diversion Program.
I would also like to identify the following items for discussion. I am happy to provide draft language:
- Secretary of State grant program to help municipalities maximize their count in the 2030 census ($2,000,000);
- Department of Corrections initiatives:
- Emerging Adult Community Supervision Framework under the Emerging Adult Reentry Initiative ($50,000);
- Kinship Reentry Pilot program to provide housing assistance and support to participants in reentry programs ($150,000);
- Public health-informed model of substantive use disorder treatment services ($125,000);
- Muddy River Study to evaluate and develop solutions to mitigate low water levels ($350,000);
- Shortening the early voting in-person period for general elections and eliminating it for primaries;
- Local options for automated camera enforcement of certain traffic violations; and enforcement;
- Increase in the maximum damages individuals can recover from municipalities and local water and sewer commissions that maintain public ways;
- Consumer protections for non-commercial motor vehicle owners when their vehicle is involuntarily towed.
All the line items below are important to me and my constituents:
Indigent Representation and Legal Services
0337-0002 Juvenile Court: MA CASA Network
0321-1500 Committee for Public Counsel Services
0321-1510 Private Counsel Compensation
0321-1520 Indigent Persons Fees and Court Costs
0321-2000 Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee
0321-2100 Prisoners’ Legal Services
7100-0700 Office of Dispute Resolution Operations: Community Mediation Grant Program
0840-0100 Victim and Witness Assistance Board
New Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance Targeted Resources for Underserved Survivors of Trauma program
Cultural Activities
0640-0300 Massachusetts Cultural Council
Early Education and Childcare
1596-2410 Childcare Grants to Providers
1596-2411 Income Eligible Waitlist
1596-2452 Child Care Supports
1596-2435 Childcare Affordability
1596-2467 Early Literacy
3000-1042 Center-Based Child Care Rate Increase
3000-1045 C3 Stabilization Grants
3000-2000 Access Management: Child Care Resource and Referral Network
3000-2050 Children’s Trust Fund Operations and Related Programs
3000-3060 DCF and DTA Related Child Care
3000-4040 Birth through Pre-School and Related Programs
3000-4060 Income-Eligible Child Care
3000-5000 Grants to Head Start Programs
3000-6075 Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Services
4513-9113 Maternal Infant Early Childhood Home Visiting Grant Program
3000-7050 Family and Community Engagement Services: Services for Infants and Parents
3000-7070 Reach Out and Read
1596-2410 Childcare Grants to Providers
1596-2452 Child Care Supports
1596-2467 Early Literacy
Environmental Protection and Resources Management
2810-0100 State Parks and Recreation
2800-0501 DCR Seasonals
2200-0100 Environmental Protection Administration
2300-0101 Riverways Protection and Access
Human Services Workers
1599-6903 Chapter 257 and Human Service Reserve
Personal Care Attendants – multiple line items
Indigent Health Care
4000-0500 MassHealth Managed Care
4000-0601 MassHealth Senior Care
4000-0700 MassHealth Fee for Service Payments
Services for People with Disabilities
4110-1000 Community Services for the Blind
4110-3010 Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind
4120-0200 Independent Living Centers
4120-2000 Vocational Rehabilitation for the Disabled
4120-3000 Employment Assistance
4120-4000 Independent Living Assistance
4120-4001 Accessible Housing Registry for Disabled Persons
4120-6000 Head Injury Treatment Services and Related Programs
4120-6002 Head Injury Treatment Services Trust Fund
4125-0100 Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Low-Income Support
1201-0100 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)
4400-1001 Food Stamp Participation Rate Programs
4400-1004 Healthy Incentives Program (HIP)
4400-1100 Caseworkers Reserve
4401-1000 Employment Services Program
4403-2000 Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC)
4403-2119 Teen Structured Settings Program
4408-1000 Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, Children (EAEDC)
7002-0025 Community Action Agency Operating and Outreach Support
Public Health
4510-0100 Public Health Critical Operations and Essential Services
4510-0600 Environmental Health Assessment and Compliance
4510-0710 Division of Health Care Quality and Improvement
4510-0810 Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner & Pediatric SANE and Related Programs
4512-0103 HIV/AIDS Prevention Treatment and Services and Related Programs
4512-0201 Substance Abuse Step-Down Recovery Services
4513-1005 Family and Adolescence Reproductive Health
4513-1020 Early Intervention and Related Programs
4513-1112 Chronic Disease Prevention (including Alzheimer’s)
4513-1130 Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention
4513-1136 Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Services
4516-1000 State Laboratory and Infections Disease Control Services
4530-9000 Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Program
4590-0300 Smoking Prevention and Cessation
4590-0925 Prostate Cancer Research Program
Youth Services and Job Training
1595-1075 Transfer to Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund
4000-0005 Safe and Successful Youth Initiative and Related Programs
4000-0007 Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Services
4590-1506 Violence Prevention Grants and Related Programs
4590-1507 Youth At-Risk Matching Grants
4800-0016 Roca Retained Revenue for Cities and Towns: Transitional Employment Program
7061-9626 YouthBuild Grants
7066-0015 Workforce Development Grants to Community Colleges and Related Programs
7002-0012 Summer Jobs Program for At-Risk Youth: YouthWorks and Related Programs
7003-1206 Massachusetts Service Alliance and Related Programs
7061-9634 Mentoring Matching Grants
Mental Health
5011-0100 Department of Mental Health Administration and Operations
5042-5000 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and Related Programs
5046-0000 Adult Mental Health and Support Services: Jail and Arrest Diversion Program
5047-0001 Emergency Services and Mental Health Care and Related Programs
5095-0015 Inpatient Facilities and Community-Based Mental Health
Services for People with Developmental Disabilities
5911-1003 DDS Service Coordination and Administration
5911-2000 Transportation Services
5920-2000 Community Residential Services and Related Programs
5920-2010 State Operated Residential Services and Related Programs
5920-2025 Community Day and Work Programs
5920-3000 Respite Family Supports
5920-3010 Autism Division
5920-3020 Autism Omnibus
5920-5000 Turning 22 Program and Services
5930-1000 State Facilities for People with Intellectual Disabilities
Library Support
7000-9101 Board of Library Commissioners
7000-9401 Regional Libraries Local Aid
7000-9406 Talking Book Program Watertown
7000-9501 Public Libraries Local Aid
7000-9506 Library Technology & Automated Resource Sharing Networks
7000-9508 Center for the Book
Housing and Homelessness Services
1410-0250 Assistance to Homeless Veterans
7004-0099 Office of the Secretary of Housing Livable Communities programs
7004-0100 Operation of Homeless Programs
7004-0101 Emergency Assistance Family Shelters Services
7004-0102 Homeless Individual Shelters
7004-0104 Home and Healthy for Good Program
7004-0108 HomeBASE
7004-2033 Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
7004-3036 Housing Services and Counseling
7004-3045 Tenancy Preservation Program
7004-4314 Service Coordinators Program
7004-9005 Subsidies to Public Housing Authorities
7004-9024 Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program
7004-9030 Alternative Housing Voucher Program
7004-9033 Rental Subsidy Program for DMH Clients
7004-9034 Housing Assistance for Re-Entry Transition
7004-9316 Residential Assistance for Families in Transition
7006-0011 Loan Originator Administration and Consumer Counseling Program
Elementary and Secondary Education
7009-9600 Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment
7009-6600 Early College Programs
7010-0012 Programs to Eliminate Racial Imbalance – METCO
7027-0019 School-to-Career Connecting Activities and Related Programs
7035-0035 Advanced Placement Math and Science Programs
7061-0009 Chapter 70 Aid to Cities and Towns
7061-0012 Special Education Circuit Breaker Reimbursement
7061-9010 Charter School Reimbursement
7061-9412 Extended Learning Time Grants
7061-9611 After-School and Out-of-School Grants
7066-0019 Dual Enrollment Grand and Subsidies
7117-0100 Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Scholarships and Fellowships
7070-0065 Massachusetts State Scholarship Program
Adult Education and Citizenship Services
4003-0122 Low-Income Citizenship Program
7035-0002 Adult Basic Education
Elder Care
9110-1604 Supportive Senior Housing Program
9110-1630 Home Care Services
9110-1633 Home Care Case Management and Administration
9110-1636 Protective Services
9110-1700 Elder Homeless Placement
9110-1900 Nutrition Services Programs
9110-9002 Grants to Councils on Aging
Sincerely,
William N. Brownsberger
State Senator
Suffolk & Middlesex District