Healey, Driscoll address priorities, share budget proposals

Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll spoke to some 1,400 city and town leaders from across Massachusetts this morning during Connect 351, the MMA’s annual conference, in Boston.

In an appearance that came the morning after the governor’s State of the Commonwealth address, and five days before she is due to file her state budget plan for fiscal 2027, Healey and Driscoll touched on a number of their priorities, including affordability, housing, health care and the popular Community One Stop for Growth portal.

The governor spoke about the budget only in broad strokes, but separately released details today regarding local aid accounts.

The administration said the governor’s budget bill, known as House 2, will propose a 2.5% increase for the main discretionary municipal aid account — Unrestricted General Government Aid — an addition of $33 million for 351 cities and towns.

On Chapter 70 aid for K-12 public schools, she said her budget would fully fund the seventh and final year of the phase-in plan for the Student Opportunity Act at $7.6 billion, a $242 million increase over the current year. House 2 would fund minimum per-pupil aid at $75.

The Special Education Circuit Breaker account would be fully funded at $802.7 million, with $652.7 million included in House 2 and $150 million coming from a fiscal 2026 supplemental budget allocating Fair Share Amendment surtax revenue.

Healey said her budget would increase rural school aid by $8 million, to $20 million.

The governor said she would also be filing a multi-year bond bill for the Chapter 90 local road and bridge program, providing $300 million per year for the next four years. The Chapter 90 program, which benefits all 351 Massachusetts cities and towns, was increased by 50%, from $200 million to $300 million, for the current fiscal year.

Healey also announced the launch of the Funding for Accelerated Infrastructure Repair (FAIR) program to fund local, municipal transportation projects across the state. The program, supported by leveraging Fair Share revenue to expand borrowing capacity, will help municipalities work through their backlog of municipal bridges in need of repair. The investment is made possible by the expansion of the Commonwealth Transportation Fund through Healey’s $8 billion transportation plan.

“We’re very thankful for the governor’s proposed targeted investments in education, rural schools, and roads and bridges,” said MMA Executive Director Adam Chapdelaine. “We appreciate her proposal for Unrestricted General Government Aid, which we see as a starting point for a continuing conversation, given the overwhelming need for essential municipal services.”