On April 30 the state House of Representatives adopted its Fiscal Year 2026 budget, totaling $61.5 billion.
The good news for housing includes:
- Individual shelter – increased from last fiscal year by $5m ($110.7m to $115.8m)
- Sponsor-based permanent supportive housing program increased $3m (from $8.9m to $11.9m)
- Home and Healthy for Good (permanent supportive housing): amendment adopted to restore $500,000 cut in Governor’s budget
- The Western MA Network to End Homelessness: amendment adopted for funding $75,000 (thank you to Rep. Sabadosa and our western MA delegation!)
The mixed/bad news includes:
- RAFT and Mass Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) received funding increases ($5m above Governor’s budget for each) but amendments were not adopted to meet the RAFT demand or increase the number of MRVP vouchers
- Housing Consumer Education Centers line-item was cut 44% relative to last year (from $8.9m to $5.2m), threatening loss of services and closure of local offices in our region.
- Our other amendment priorities were not adopted
Zooming out, it’s worth noting that the budget includes $1.95 billion in Fair Share (“millionaire’s tax”) surtax spending that supports public education and transportation, two areas that are also critical to housing stability. Read the larger context from the Mass. Budget and Policy Priorities here. Also see Mass. Housing and Shelter Alliance budget outcome summary here and Mass Coalition for the Homeless budget tracking sheet (with amendment outcomes) here.
Thank you to our western MA Representatives for their support of many of our amendments. We deeply appreciate their partnership!
The Senate Ways and Means Committee will release its proposed budget this week. Please stay tuned for updates and Network budget amendment advocacy!
