LEGISLATURE

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey’s budget boosts spending 3.8% over last year, even as tax revenue growth slows to 2.9%, federal aid is uncertain, and reserves have already been tapped.

In her proposed budget released last week, the Mass. governor included a multi million-dollar "down payment" that will staff up and investing in infrastructure that could be used to kick thousands of residents off Medicaid programs like MassHealth, next year.

Lawmakers will peer into the future and guess how much tax revenue Massachusetts can reliably count on to support state spending beginning six months from now and running through June 2027.

Last week Mass. Gov. Maura Healey signed the 104-page $2.3 billion supplemental budget. Her requested FIFA World Cup tournament funding for next year's games in Foxborough was halved.

Beacon Hill moved several policy priorities forward in mid-November, but most bills weren’t finalized, leaving much of the work for next year.

The fallout from the federal government shutdown continues to chip away at federal funding for safety net programs designed to aid low-income Mass. residents.

The Trump administration says it will fund SNAP food aid for November, but only partially and with delayed disbursement.

BU Professor of finance Mark Williams says Massachusetts needs to adopt some longer-term strategies to soften the impact of Trump Administration funding cuts.

State law dictates how public schools approach vaccines. Proposed legislation in the Bay State would prevent parents from claiming religion as a reason for skipping vaccination.

Changes to federal tax law will likely leave Massachusetts $650 million less in revenue this fiscal year. Lawmakers are scrambling for possible fiscal workarounds.