Transcript Highlights:

• Department of Education?
• You mentioned the cuts at the Department of Education, the federal Department of Education, about a..
• . ...cuts at the Department of Education, the federal Department of Education, about a, in the fall,
• What is happening at the Department of Education?
• Housing stability continues to be a major priority.

Summary: The Joint Committee on Ways and Means held an FY27 Health and Human Services budget hearing in Mattapan, hosted at the Boston Public Library branch. Chairs Lydia Edwards and Russell Holmes, along with Rep. Brandy Fluker-Reid, emphasized the significance of holding the first Ways and Means hearing ever in Mattapan and highlighted the importance of bringing state budget deliberations into a majority-Black neighborhood. Several legislators introduced themselves as they joined, and the committee noted that public testimony was not part of the format, though agencies were invited to discuss priorities and challenges. MassAbility opened the agency testimony. Leadership described the agency’s mission to support people with disabilities through employment, training, home and community life services, and disability determination. They said Governor Healey’s FY27 budget funds MassAbility at $93.3 million, a 1% reduction from FY26, and explained that the agency is responding to federal funding uncertainty and shifting program needs by redesigning services internally. Members questioned a proposed $1.3 million reduction to the Home Care Program, staffing changes, and whether services could be maintained with fewer resources. MassAbility said it was reviewing data on who uses the program, that it does not provide nursing or personal care, and that it is working with a transition plan and a working group. The agency also discussed federal uncertainty around vocational rehabilitation funding and said it had received delayed federal awards but remained in contact with national associations and federal partners. The testimony included a personal story from a participant, Joshua Corcoran, to illustrate the impact of services. The Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing testified next, requesting $11.27 million, about a 6% increase over FY26. The commission said it serves about 1.4 million residents and focuses on communication access in health care, courts, public safety, and other public systems. It highlighted interpreter and captioner workforce shortages, a mentorship program to expand the provider pool, and a modernized referral platform funded through capital contingency money. Members asked about interpreter availability, after-hours emergency coverage, ASL access for students and families, and training for police and emergency responders. The commission said staffing remains limited, especially for after-hours services, but that it is expanding training, school outreach, and partnerships with DCF and other agencies. The Massachusetts Commission for the Blind then presented its FY27 budget request of $30.8 million. The commissioner said the agency serves nearly 9,000 legally blind residents, provides training and peer support, and placed 190 consumers in competitive integrated employment this year. It also described services for older adults, vocational rehabilitation, and the Turning 22 program for young adults with additional disabilities. Members raised concerns about a 7% cut from the prior year and asked how the agency could maintain services; the commissioner said the agency had no waiting list, had trimmed overhead, and could manage the budget through internal efficiencies and strong partnerships. The Office for Refugees and Immigrants closed the session, describing expanded legal and support services for immigrants and refugees, including Know Your Rights trainings, the Massachusetts Access to Counsel Initiative, citizenship and financial literacy programs, and the Family Welcome Center in Mattapan. Members asked about federal funding losses and the structure of the new legal services program; ORI said FY26 funding is stable but FY27 federal cuts remain uncertain, and that the legal program uses a centralized intake system with priority for emergencies and first-come, first-served access.

Transcript Highlights:

• Stability is about confidence and positivity.
• Ultimately, this ...procedural hurdles that may prolong placement and stability.
• This reflects a broader statewide and nationwide crisis impacting placement stability.
• It is a support system, a crisis response partner, and a key source of stability.
• Our team did everything they could to protect stability, and I'm proud of that.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The first one is economic stability for communities and local businesses.
• -born counterparts, disparities exist in educational attainment and language ability.
• The ABOD handbook is critical for staff training and customer education.
• The ABOD Handbook is critical for staff training and customer education.
• Hunger, prevent being hungry from further preventing that stability.

Summary: The committee held its second hearing on CalFresh enrollment and nutrition, focused on the effects of H.R. 1 on eligibility, administration, and food access in California. The Legislative Analyst’s Office and the Department of Social Services outlined major federal changes: expanded work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents, narrowed eligibility for certain lawfully present non-citizens, and new state and county cost-sharing for both administrative and benefit costs. Officials said about 665,000 Californians could lose benefits under the work requirement, roughly 72,000 non-citizens could lose eligibility, and California could face hundreds of millions to billions in new costs depending on error rates and implementation details. DSS described its mitigation efforts, including county guidance, trainings, automation, outreach materials, and coordination with workforce programs, while county representatives argued the workload is larger than current funding assumptions and that staffing and training needs are urgent. Members also heard from a CalFresh recipient, Lauren Keltz, who described how benefits helped her family during her daughter’s medical crisis and how a clerical error led to the loss of food, health, and cash assistance, contributing to homelessness and food insecurity. Her testimony was used to underscore the consequences of administrative errors and benefit disruptions. Grocery and agriculture representatives said CalFresh is not only an anti-hunger program but also a major economic driver, with benefits spent locally at grocery stores, farmers markets, and farm stands. They warned that cuts would reduce demand for fresh food, hurt independent grocers and small farmers, and increase reliance on food banks, while urging continued support for market match and farm-to-food-bank programs. In the second panel, advocates and local administrators emphasized the human and operational impacts of the federal changes. The California Immigrant Policy Center called for expanding the state-funded California Food Assistance Program to cover more immigrants excluded by H.R. 1. A San Francisco eligibility worker and a San Diego county administrator said the new rules will add substantial casework, require more client outreach and exemption screening, and strain already limited staffing. Justice in Aging stressed that CalFresh is a key anti-hunger tool for older adults and people with disabilities, especially as housing and health costs rise, and supported outreach funding for seniors. Throughout the hearing, members discussed the need for state funding, better automation, and stronger county and community partnerships to reduce disenrollment and protect access to food.

Transcript Highlights:

• There was never a sense of stability, just ongoing pressure.
• Stephen Proffer, the Director of Early Education at the California Department of Education.
• Stephen Profiter, Department of Education.
• Stephen Profiter, Department of Education.
• These programs are foundational to family stability.

Summary: The committee heard an extensive Department of Social Services presentation on child care budget issues, including the Governor’s proposed 2026-27 budget, federal CCDF changes, Prop. 64 revenue adjustments, and a one-time $11.5 million disaster-related infrastructure grant for licensed child care facilities affected by 2025 declared disasters. DSS said federal formula updates and lower Prop. 64 revenues would reduce funding and could result in about 4,176 CCTR slots being reduced, but the department said it was working to avoid impacts to currently enrolled children. The LAO supported aligning general child care funding with lower revenues and asked for more detail on the disaster grant. Members pressed DSS and Finance on why reductions were not being backfilled and why so many awarded slots remain uncontracted or unused; DSS said delays are largely due to providers building new infrastructure, licensing, staffing, and enrollment challenges, and that some unspent funds revert to the General Fund. The committee also discussed whether some contract dollars should be shifted to vouchers and whether more flexibility should be allowed for infrastructure and expansion costs. A second panel focused on the state’s commitment to expand child care and on rate reform. DSS reported that nearly 125,000 new slots have been awarded since 2021-22, but speakers from Stanislaus County Office of Education, Parent Voices California, and the California Budget and Policy Center argued that unmet need remains large and that the system still leaves many families without access. Stanislaus County described a large local shortage of infant and toddler care and said reimbursement disparities between child care programs and state preschool create disincentives for providers. Parent Voices gave testimony about the burdens and instability families face when trying to access care, especially for survivors and low-income parents, and called for a universal, publicly funded system. The Budget Center said only about 16% of eligible children were enrolled in 2024, urged expansion across the mixed delivery system rather than concentrating investment in TK, and called for faster rate reform and new revenue. LAO estimated that bringing certain CCTR adjustment factors up to CSPP levels would cost $88 million to $131 million ongoing. Members and witnesses discussed the single rate structure, automation needs, and the need for deadlines and a ramp-up plan; DSS said the goal is to eliminate disparities, but that policy decisions are still needed before automation can proceed. The committee then reviewed several trailer bill proposals. DSS outlined a 2026-27 COLA proposal that would apply a 2.41% increase through cost-of-care-plus payments, though the department said it had inadvertently excluded CalWORKs Child Care and the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program and would revise the proposal; LAO recommended making the COLA methodology uniform across programs. DSS also proposed replacing the market rate survey with the federally approved alternative methodology on a triennial schedule, limiting temporary absences in family child care homes to 20% of monthly hours, defining excessive unexplained absences as more than 30 days in a year, and aligning family fee deductions with new federal requirements so providers receive the full voucher value. Members generally supported the temporary absence change and asked about implementation timing for the family fee deduction, with DSS saying it was in contact with Riverside County. The committee also heard a brief update on the Early Childhood Policy Council reappropriation, which would extend unused funds through June 30, 2028 because prior costs came in higher than expected.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> Stability of family economics.
• , stability, stability, um<00:15:36.440><c> there</c><00:15:36.880><c> are</c> um there are um there
• </c> their sort of household stability. their sort of household stability.
• That stability changed in 2025.
• But stability for children requires stability in the systems that support them.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This exempts intensive residential treatment services and residential crisis stabilization residents
• , modifies mental health certified peer Family specialist grant activities to include continuing education
• Before I found Vista 44, I was a supportive housing counselor helping others find stability in difficult
• Funding from Medical Assistance Housing Stabilization Services, which is not duplicative, is a separate
• . been verified and they qualify for critical services such as housing stabilization, which provides

Bills: HF2115, HF2276, HF1644, HF99, HF2068, HF2707, HF2704, HF2406, HF1674, HF1579

Keywords: human services, aging services, disability services, behavioral health, long-term care, nursing home, nursing facility, assisted living, waiver services, medical assistance, Medicaid, case mix reimbursement, PDPM, RUG, direct care and treatment, developmental disabilities, day services, positive support, guardian, conservator

Transcript Highlights:

• What they need is stability.
• I've been an educator in both K-12 and in higher education... Community college.
• I've been an educator in both K-12 and in higher education for over 15 years.
• My elementary education program alone has doubled in size since Mass Educate.
• As one in three special education educators are leaving every year, and the education pipeline is at

Keywords: 1212, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I want to thank those folks for educating us on how many train sets are needed.
• And yet, and yet, only 5 percent for the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund. Mr.
• a very significant contribution into the stabilization fund.
• We need to dip into the stabilization fund to the tune of almost 15% right now.
• As a matter of fact, it makes a decision. ...withdraw from the stabilization fund.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Senate considered a fiscal year 2025 close-out supplemental appropriations bill and a series of amendments, many of which were withdrawn, adopted, or rejected. Early debate focused heavily on funding for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Massachusetts, with Senators O’Connor and Feeney arguing for restoring money for transportation, safety, and event readiness, citing projected ridership surges, economic benefits, and the need for Boston and the Commonwealth to invest. Senator Driscoll also won adoption of an amendment directing the MBTA to study and report on its local assessment formula, using Milton and Quincy as examples of perceived inequities in how communities are charged relative to service received. The Senate then took up several other amendments, including measures on fire survivor support, vaccine liability, mental health and sidewalk projects, council on aging and public safety items, disaster relief, service dogs, and MBTA assessments. Senator Tarr offered amendments on driver record transparency and energy cost reporting, but those were not adopted. A major roll-call vote rejected Tarr’s amendment to restore a larger share of excess capital gains to the stabilization fund; supporters argued for stronger rainy day reserves, while the Ways and Means chair defended the bill’s use of a deficiency reserve fund and warned of revenue losses from federal tax changes. The Senate also adopted an amendment on shelter and Home Base spending transparency, requiring renewed reporting on emergency shelter and housing assistance programs. Later, the chamber adopted Senator Edwards’ amendment creating a Massachusetts Federal Employee and Service Member Civil Relief Act to protect federal workers and service members in the event of a shutdown, including relief from eviction and foreclosure-related harms. The Senate also adopted Senator Rodrigues’s Ways and Means amendment, then approved the underlying supplemental budget as amended and ordered it to third reading. After the final roll call, the bill was passed to be engrossed by a 39-0 vote. The Senate concluded by agreeing to adjourn and by honoring Mrs. Anne Lee in memory, with a brief communication from Senator Cyr noting a prior remote-vote error for the journal.

Transcript Highlights:

• This would include basic education spending and K-12 education, the debt service on previously issued
• This would include basic education spending and K-12 education, the debt service previously issued bonds
• To avoid family programs, health care, and higher education.
• And related to the budget stabilization account, this serves...
• You'll see the budget stabilization account transfer.

Summary: The committee held its first meeting, with co-chairs and members introducing themselves and staff outlining the committee’s statutory charge under the 2026 supplemental operating budget. Staff explained that the committee is tasked with studying budget transparency and fiscal sustainability in two phases: first, revenue growth, spending assumptions, statutory cost drivers, and carryforward/maintenance levels; and later, staffing, overhead, performance management, and public reporting tools. The committee also discussed its goals, with members emphasizing a shared factual understanding of Washington’s fiscal situation, the causes of projected structural deficits, and possible paths to a more sustainable operating budget. Staff then gave a detailed operating budget basics presentation. They reviewed the size and composition of the operating budget, explaining that most spending is concentrated in grants and client services, salaries and benefits, and goods and services, with K-12 education, DSHS, the Health Care Authority, DCYF, corrections, and higher education making up most NGFO spending. They also walked through the distinction between constitutional, federal, statutory, and discretionary spending; the role of caseload and per-capita forecasts; how maintenance level and policy level budgets are built; and how the four-year outlook works, including revenue forecasts, reversions, budget stabilization account reserves, and the official outlook adoption process. Members asked several questions about what is or is not included in the outlook, especially future collective bargaining agreements, health care inflation, court-ordered liabilities, and whether the budget could better separate mandatory from discretionary spending over time. Staff said some of those questions would require follow-up and noted the existence of an outlook accuracy report. The committee then heard from Josh Goodman of the Pew Charitable Trusts, who introduced Pew’s state fiscal work and its role as the nonprofit partner supporting the committee. He said Pew would help analyze long-term fiscal sustainability, reserve policies, recession preparedness, and practices from other states, and would draw on its 50-state data and subject-matter experts. No votes were taken and no formal actions were reported at this meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• A couple of things to point out: the budget stabilization account transfer to general fund state is at
• And then in terms of non-general near general fund transfers, pension stabilization to the budget stabilization
• The NGFO... stabilization account. This is the same as had been reflected in the House past budget.
• Scrolling down further in this document to the budget stabilization account, here you will see the $880
• So on to higher education: in this case, the four-year near-general-fund impact is minus $237 million

Summary: The conference committee on Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5998 met to review the operating budget conference report. House and Senate budget coordinators walked through comparison documents showing the Senate-passed budget, House-passed budget, and the conference proposal, including statewide totals, agency detail, revenue assumptions, transfers, and the four-year outlook. They said the conference budget uses the February 2026 ERFC forecast, includes an $880 million transfer from the budget stabilization account to the general fund, and reflects a four-year net near-general-fund impact of about $800 million, with an ending fund balance of $231 million in 2025-27 and $563 million in 2027-29. They also noted that future collective bargaining agreements are not included in the outlook beyond those already settled. The briefing highlighted major policy items across the budget, including Working Families Tax Credit expansion, a proposed city and county fiscal health account, changes to Working Connections child care attendance payments, behavioral health facility and staffing adjustments, long-term care funding for certain non-citizen residents affected by federal changes, Apple Health and other health-related responses to H.R. 1, K-12 changes such as free school meals contingent on related legislation, Running Start and transportation depreciation adjustments, higher education administrative reductions, corrections staffing and bed changes, wildfire response funding, and state employee compensation agreements. Members also discussed the budget’s reliance on revenue measures and transfers, including legislation referenced as 2487, 6228, 6231, and 6346. After the presentation, Senator Robinson moved adoption of the conference report and passage of the bill as recommended by the committee. In discussion, supporters said the budget protected core services and responded to federal H.R. 1 impacts, while opponents criticized the size of the budget, the use of reserves, future outlook assumptions, and reductions in some K-12 and other programs. The committee then voted 4-2 to recommend the conference report and ESSB 5998 to the legislature, with Representatives Gregerson and Ormsby and Senators Robinson and Stanford in favor, and Representative Couture and Senator Gildon opposed.

Transcript Highlights:

• When families have a little more stability, kids do better, and communities are stronger for it.
• already struggling to meet ends meet, provides predictable monthly support, and studies how that stability
• impacts financial... ...predictable monthly support and studies how that stability impacts financial
• Is this coming just out of education and schools, or is this coming just out of the budget?
• We use those funds for education. We promote water as a drinking alternative.

Summary: The Senate Human Services Committee heard testimony on three bills. SB 6212, sponsored by Sen. Nobles, would create a Department of Commerce pilot program providing monthly cash benefits to families with children who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, with a control group and a final report to the Legislature on whether to expand the program statewide. Supporters said the pilot could reduce child poverty, improve family stability, and provide evidence on the effects of direct cash assistance; the sponsor acknowledged the bill would be expensive and said funding would need to be worked out. No vote was taken. SB 6186, sponsored by Sen. Warnick, would direct DSHS to seek a federal waiver to prohibit SNAP benefits from being used to buy candy and sweetened beverages, with annual reapplication if needed. The bill’s preliminary fiscal note was described as significant, and the sponsor said she was open to amendments, including possibly limiting the proposal to Sun Bucks. Testimony was overwhelmingly opposed from anti-hunger advocates, public health experts, economists, SNAP educators, and individuals with lived experience, who argued the restrictions would be costly, hard to administer, stigmatizing, and unlikely to improve nutrition; one supporter said the measure would promote healthier choices and reduce long-term health costs. No action was taken. SB 6707, also by Sen. Warnick, would have WSIPP study DCYF’s screening tools and risk assessment processes for child welfare referrals and their effects on outcomes such as services, removals, re-referrals, and fatalities. DCYF said it supports evaluating its risk assessment tool but is already working with Chapin Hall on a similar redesign and pilot of the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale, and asked how the bill would avoid duplicating that work. Sen. Warnick said the bill was intended to examine child welfare outcomes more broadly. The committee heard testimony but took no vote, and the chair announced amendments for Wednesday’s executive session are due by noon the next day before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> prevention and housing stabilization prevention and housing stabilization program<01:04:49.520><
• The program is run by the Department of Education, or for the Department of Education, by Tutor.com.
• </c><01:39:31.840><c> resources</c> provide and the educational resources provide and the educational
• </c> students to families and to Educators students to families and to Educators and<01:43:02.760><c>
• </c> effectiveness of any sort of educational effectiveness of any sort of educational initiative<01:

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Education will come to order.
• I'm Kim Brunzel, Department of Education.
• It's a student to give them a good quality education.
• Andrea Ball here on behalf of the Orange County Department of Education and a coalition of local educational
• I'm an education case manager at Voices Solano.

Summary: The Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education heard the Governor’s proposals on universal school meals, the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP), and community schools, with the Kitchen Infrastructure and Training Grants Program also discussed. For universal meals, the Department of Education supported continued investment, citing high student meal need, reported gains in meal participation and service efficiency from prior kitchen grants, and concerns that federal changes and underreporting could affect funding. The Department of Finance outlined $1.8 billion Proposition 98 General Fund for universal meals and an additional $100 million for a fourth round of kitchen grants, while the LAO recommended rejecting the new kitchen grant round because prior rounds are still being spent and the allowable uses are broad. Members raised questions about federal matching requirements, Summer EBT, and whether immigration-related federal policy changes could reduce meal counts and state/federal reimbursements. For ELOP, the Department of Finance described $4.7 billion ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund plus $62.4 million to set a minimum Tier 2 rate of $1,800 per pupil. The LAO recommended modifying the proposal to fully fix Tier 2 at the current $1,579 rate and tie future changes to program requirements, while CDE supported the Governor’s approach and said the added stability would help districts plan. Committee discussion focused on whether ELOP should remain a standalone before- and after-school program or be folded into LCFF, with some members and witnesses arguing for more local flexibility and clearer outcome measures, while others emphasized the value of guaranteed expanded learning access, especially for elementary students and working families. CDE noted new CalPADS reporting will provide more data beginning with the 2025-26 school year. For community schools, the Governor proposed $1 billion ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund to expand the model to thousands more schools and sustain existing ones, along with stronger technical assistance and future accreditation/self-certification. The LAO recommended continuing the current one-time grant approach instead of creating a new ongoing categorical program, citing concerns about scalability, administrative burden, and the need for earlier planning and clearer accreditation timelines if ongoing funding is adopted. CDE strongly supported the ongoing investment, saying community schools have improved attendance, suspensions, and achievement, and that technical assistance and county office support are essential for expansion. Members and public commenters largely supported community schools, with some urging stronger accountability, more support for county offices and MTSS, and debate over whether non-classroom-based charter schools should be excluded from eligibility. No formal votes were taken in the portion provided; the committee heard testimony and moved through the agenda items and public comment.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Committee on Higher Education will come to order.
• university's</c> stability to the university's stability to the university's relationship<00:09:22.480
• stability, and clinical care, bringing stability, and academic<00:09:40.640><c> support</c><00:09:40.959
• ,</c><00:21:18.480><c> but</c> you know, to finish their education, but you know, to finish their education
• Higher education is and its citizens.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Housing is one of the most important stability options for these young people.
• I know how hard it is to focus on work, education, or healing when stability is always just out of reach
• Stability is not a luxury. It is a foundation that makes everything else possible.
• These supports alone will not provide a youth with the stability they need to thrive.
• Will not provide a youth with the stability they need to thrive.

Summary: The Early Learning and Human Services Committee held public hearings on three bills. HB 2468 would update the Revised Code of Washington to match DSHS’s 2025 reorganization, replacing references to eliminated administrations with the new Home and Community Living Administration and Behavioral Health and Habilitation Administration, and also removing a 2028 sunset on the Dementia Action Collaborative, adjusting advisory committee membership, and eliminating a staffing mandate tied to no-paid-services caseloads. The sponsor and DSHS testified in support as a technical cleanup bill, while members raised questions about possible amendments, including whether to keep or remove the Dementia Action Collaborative sunset. DSHS said it was open to changes and noted some statutory references still need correction. No vote was taken. HB 2529 would rename the DCYF Oversight Board as the DCYF Accountability Board, move it to OFM for administrative purposes, narrow some duties, require at least twice-yearly engagement with affected communities, allow the board to request ombuds reports, broaden some membership qualifications, and change the annual report to an every-other-year report starting in 2027. Representative Dent, a board member, said the changes were intended to make the board less political, improve attendance and membership flexibility, and focus the report on more useful recommendations. A union representative asked for language ensuring a DCYF caseworker board member can attend meetings as part of job duties rather than using personal leave. Members also questioned whether the reduced reporting frequency was appropriate given recent fatalities and near-fatalities at the agency. No action was taken. HB 2455 would create a two-year pilot program providing rental assistance and related housing fees for 50 youth in extended foster care who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness, beginning January 1, 2027, with a report due in 2029 and transition planning required before youth age out at 21. The sponsor and multiple youth advocates testified strongly in support, describing homelessness, instability, and barriers such as “double-dipping” restrictions that prevent youth from combining housing supports. Testifiers said the bill would help youth focus on school, work, and healing, and urged the committee to expand the program if possible. Members asked about the pilot timeline and whether an interim review might be useful. The hearing closed with no vote on the bill, followed by committee announcements about Friday’s 8:30 a.m. meeting and an agenda change removing HB 2200 from Friday executive session and moving it to possible executive session next week.

Transcript Highlights:

• Our home provides the stability we need for a successful future.
• This proposal is a benefit restriction bill, not a nutrition education bill.
• Education creates lasting change.
• What works is education and incentive programs.
• What works is education and incentive programs.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I just want to thank you all again, and I just want to provide, for the education of you, Mr.
• attainment, and future economic stability.
• of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives.
• Our educational collaboratives, our public educational collaboratives in Massachusetts—there are 24 of
• This collaborative for educational services out in Northampton has 37 school districts.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee first heard testimony on a proposed Massachusetts baby bonds program, including H. 3429, S. 2146, and the Treasurer’s related bill H. 48. Treasurer Goldberg and a broad coalition of advocates, researchers, health professionals, and people with lived experience said the program would create trust accounts for children born into low-income families or in DCF custody, with funds available at age 18 for education, homeownership, business startup, or other long-term asset-building uses. Supporters argued the program would help close the racial wealth gap, improve economic mobility, and not affect eligibility for financial aid or public benefits. Committee members asked about administration, investment returns, eligibility, and withdrawal rules; the Treasurer said the accounts would be held in trust and managed by her office with an advisory board, with funds accessible at 18 and usable through age 35 if the beneficiary remains a Massachusetts resident. No vote was taken during the testimony shown. The committee also heard testimony on legislation establishing Lobular Breast Cancer Awareness Day, including S. 2666 and H. 4625. Senator Ross, Representative Badger, physicians, survivors, and advocates described invasive lobular carcinoma as difficult to detect because it often grows in lines rather than forming a lump, can be missed on mammography, and is underfunded and underrepresented in research and clinical trials. Witnesses said the bill would codify an annual October 15 proclamation to raise awareness, improve diagnosis, and encourage more targeted research and treatment. Committee members asked why the disease is so hard to detect, and medical witnesses explained the imaging challenges and the lack of lobular-specific protocols. The witnesses urged favorable reports. The committee then took testimony on H. 4648, a bill concerning the purchase or lease of Fenn Farm in Stockbridge by the Stockbridge-Munsee community. Representative Davis, the Stockbridge Land Trust president, and the tribal president testified that the bill would remove a conservation restriction tied to a state MVP grant so the tribe could manage the land without a restriction that they said would conflict with tribal sovereignty and Indigenous stewardship practices. They said the parcel is a sacred site connected to Monument Mountain and that the restriction is unnecessary because the land is already surrounded by conserved property. The witnesses asked for favorable action on the bill. Finally, the committee heard testimony on H. 3416, a resolution urging Congress to create a national infrastructure bank. Representative Senna and several advocates argued that an off-budget infrastructure bank could finance major repairs and upgrades to roads, bridges, rail, water systems, broadband, and housing without adding to the state budget, while creating jobs and supporting economic growth. Witnesses cited historical precedents for national infrastructure banks and said Massachusetts could benefit substantially from such a program. The transcript shown does not include a committee vote or final action on the resolution.

Transcript Highlights:

• to the Committee on Education Policy. to the Committee on Education Policy.
• Which cascades into better grades, attendance, education pathways, stability, and thriving futures.
• She needed stability, stability, stability, love,<00:28:50.040><c> and</c><00:28:50.240><c> someone</
• </c> supports that makes stability real. supports that makes stability real.
• Thank you, Education Policy.

Bills: HF3877, HF3714, HF3750, HF3024

Keywords: public authorities, dissolution cases, court system, child protection, legal notice, foster care, child welfare, enrollment priority, education programs, child care assistance, foster youth, extended foster care, bill of rights, out-of-home placement, Minnesota Statutes chapter 260C, social services agency, caseworker, permanency team, sibling visitation, relative contact

Transcript Highlights:

• Our investments in education do not stop upon graduating from high school.
• And we make higher education more affordable and provide support for our students enrolled at public
• No new taxes, no tax cuts, a balanced budget does not dip into the stabilization or rainy day fund.
• We must waste no time in studying the reality of our education funding.
• We must waste no time in studying the reality of our education funding.

Summary: The Senate first adopted two resolutions commending the Plimpton Historical Society for Deborah Sampson Day and Megan’s Light for recognizing May 2026 as Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month. It also suspended Joint Rule 12 on several House petitions, referred those matters to committees, and later took up final passage of two local bills: one authorizing Dartmouth to grant an additional off-premises liquor license and another relative to the charter of Westwood. Both bills were passed to be enacted and sent to the Governor. The main business of the session was the opening debate on the Senate Ways and Means FY27 budget, which was described as a balanced $63.3 billion proposal. The chair and supporters highlighted major investments in unrestricted local aid, Chapter 70 education funding, regional school transportation, rural aid, community college affordability, food security, housing, and health and human services. They also emphasized that the budget was built on the consensus revenue estimate, included no new taxes or tax cuts, did not use the rainy day fund, and relied in part on federal funds and Fair Share revenue. In extended questioning, the minority leader pressed for details on the budget’s assumptions and cost drivers, including federal participation, Fair Share revenue, debt service, MassHealth caseload and spending, pension and OPEB liabilities, settlement reserves, collective bargaining funding, and controls against waste, fraud, and abuse. The chair responded that federal funds account for about 22% of budgeted revenues, Fair Share revenue is estimated at about $2.7 billion, debt service is about $2.67 billion, MassHealth and related health and human services total about $36.4 billion, pension funding is $5.1 billion, and OPEB receives a $150 million payment. Members also discussed the C-3 child care program, DTA program integrity, and housing permitting reforms, with several senators speaking in support of the budget’s priorities and urging further debate and amendments before final passage.

Transcript Highlights:

• The areas that concern me most in the budget are education, seeing that I was an educator for 30 years
• Enrollment Stabilization Program.
• Representative, why repeal the Educational Enrollment Stabilization Program when we still do not know
• We are repealing the Educational Enrollment Stabilization Program.
• Education, Unemployment Committee, Health Professions and Program Subcommittee, Education Subcommittee

Bills: HJR 99, HB 1399, HB 1400, HB 1094, HB 365, HB 1109, HB 647, HCR 35, SB 14, HB 12, HB 1522, HB 422, HB 675, HB 204, HB 748, HB 912, HJR 99, HB 1399, HB 1400, HB 1094, HB 365, HB 1109, HB 647, HCR 35, HCR 123, HCR 124, HR 57, HR 87, HR 111, HR 228, HR 230, HR 322, HR 624, HR 625, HR 626, HR 627, HR 628, HR 630, HR 631, HR 634, HR 635, HR 636, HR 637, HR 638, HR 639, HR 640, HR 645, HR 646, HR 648, HR 649, HR 651, HR 652, HR 653, HR 654, HR 664, HR 665, HR 668, HR 675, HR 676, HR 678, HR 679, HR 680, HR 683, HR 686, HR 688, HR 689, HR 694, HR 695, HR 697, HR 698, HR 699, HR 472, HR 622, HR 632, HR 633, HR 643, HR 655, HR 657, HR 660, HR 661, HR 662, HR 663, HR 667, HR 670, HR 674, HR 681, HR 682, HR 696

Keywords: animal feed, tax exemption, ad valorem taxation, retail, constitutional amendment, retail sale, tangible personal property, Texas tax code, groundwater, water conservation, financial assistance, Texas Water Development Board, innovation fund, local conservation districts, transportation protection agreement, funeral services, insurance exemption, regulation, deceased transportation, HB 365