Senate’s supplemental budget has municipal procurement, financing updates

The Senate on Nov. 5 finalized its version of a fiscal 2026 closeout supplemental budget bill, which proposes several policy changes, including updates to public procurement laws and municipal bonding terms that were identified as priorities by the MMA.

The Senate bill revises the House’s recently passed version, would allow the Commonwealth to close the books on fiscal 2026. The Senate proposals mirror many procurement updates in the governor’s proposed Municipal Empowerment Act.

“The MMA is grateful for the Senate’s inclusion of critical municipal procurement and financing updates in today’s closeout supplemental budget,” said MMA Executive Director Adam Chapdelaine. “These proposed changes would save both time and money for our municipalities, while maintaining important safeguards. Thank you to Senate President Karen Spilka, Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues, and the entire Senate for this important action in support of the Commonwealth’s 351 cities and towns.”

The bill would:
• Adjust Chapter 30B procurement thresholds to bring general local government procurement rules in line with existing thresholds used in public school procurements
• Adjust public construction procurement thresholds
• Allow for cooperative purchasing agreements for goods and services
• Eliminate the requirement to post on COMMBUYS
• Exempt snow hauling and removal from Chapter 30B (aligning with snow plowing)
• Allow for single procurement of broadband services, design and installation
• Extend the maximum borrowing term for municipal and school building projects from 30 years to 40 years

The Senate bill would amend a state law requiring disclosure and eventually a ban on firefighting personal protective equipment containing PFAS, to permit the sale of auxiliary firefighting personal protective equipment containing PFAS until Jan. 1, 2032.

Both the House and Senate bills include provisions that would allow for temporary liquor license processes for nonprofit charitable organizations and allow municipalities with remaining deficits related to the COVID-19 pandemic to amortize them over the course of up to three years.

Both the Senate and House bills include provisions intended to ensure consistency with the legislative intent of data reporting requirements under the Frances Perkins Workplace Equity Act, especially given logistical reporting challenges at the U.S. Department of Labor and proposed federal regulatory changes. A recently proposed federal rulemaking would eliminate the federal EEO-1 through EEO-6 workforce demographic reporting that is the foundation for the Massachusetts’ wage equity reporting.

The bills would establish a backstop provision outlining a state reporting requirement should federal reports be eliminated. This could align it with the same data that is currently collected and submitted in current EEO reports.

The Senate bill’s appropriations include funding for smart growth education payments (Chapter 40S), Marijuana Social Equity Municipal Payments, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, MassHealth, and the Department of Transitional Assistance to adapt to federal policy changes that are pressuring states to reduce error rates for SNAP benefits.

Differences between the House and Senate proposals must be reconciled before a final bill can be sent to the governor for her review.