Senate Delivers Legislation to Lower Housing Costs, Expand Primary Care, Fund Immigrant Legal Aid, and Invest in Education and Transportation

$1.57 Billion Plan Pairs Fair Share Investments with Innovative Policy Solution

APRIL 10, 2026

Senator Bill Driscoll Jr. (D-Milton) joined his colleagues in the Massachusetts Senate yesterday to approve a budget plan that pairs statewide education and transportation investments with innovative policies to spur new multifamily housing construction, boost the family medicine workforce, protect immigrants, and ease strained municipal budgets with regionally equitable Fair Share investments.

The legislation, S.3041, exempts building materials from the sales tax for qualifying housing projects and boosts the primary care workforce by delivering scholarships to UMass Medical graduates who agree to practice in underserved populations in Massachusetts after graduation.

The bill sends significant funding to city and town budgets to help with the costs of heavy winter storms, increases reimbursements for special education services, and strengthens scientific research operations at public universities.

“By including innovative policy solutions with strong investments, we are going beyond just allocating funding in this budget,” said Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). “We are lowering taxes to spur housing, building our health care workforce, and protecting our immigrant neighbors, on top of making generational investments in statewide transit and education. I’m grateful to Chair Rodrigues for his leadership in delivering this bill, and grateful to each Senator for their contributions.”

“Today, the Senate passed a consolidated Fair Share supplemental budget that makes significant strides in educational initiatives and transportation infrastructure, while maintaining our focus on municipal relief and regional equity,” said Senator Michael J. Rodrigues (D-Westport), Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. “The Senate continues to support special education, literacy growth, and also establishes a primary care higher education scholarship pilot program at UMass Medical that will help fill the shortage of primary care physicians in the Commonwealth. We also go big on transportation, investing Fair Share dollars to support the ongoing renovation and infrastructure improvements at the MBTA. This spending plan also addresses the harsh winter and historic blizzard of 2026, dedicating $100 million for municipal relief to beleaguered municipalities all across Massachusetts. I would like to thank President Spilka and my Senate colleagues for their input to craft this supplemental budget.”

Legal Defense for Massachusetts Immigrants

In response to federal legal actions targeting immigrants living in Massachusetts, the legislation invests an additional $1 million in legal defense services for immigrants, allocated from the state’s general fund.

The funding comes following the success of an initial $5 million investment by the Legislature that created the Massachusetts Access to Counsel Initiative, which has already provided legal aid to hundreds of Massachusetts residents.

Incentivizing New Housing Construction

The legislation includes a new targeted sales tax exemption for building materials to incentivize the construction of new affordable, moderate-income, and middle-income housing units for certain housing projects.

To target production in areas with the greatest need, the program focuses on projects that include at least 15 per cent affordable units and projects in communities where the median household income is below 120 per cent of the average household income.

Education Investments

As part of the Senate’s $618 million Fair Share investment in education, the legislation addresses Massachusetts’ shrinking primary care workforce with a pilot scholarship program.

The new approach uses $10 million in Fair Share funds to offer full-tuition scholarships for UMass Chan Medical School students pursuing family medicine if they commit to remaining in Massachusetts and serving populations in need for five years after graduation.

The legislation invests $100 million to ensure that Massachusetts’ public universities are able to withstand reductions in federal research funding and continue to strengthen their life-saving research and development operations, grow their renowned talent pipelines, and build strategic partnerships for the future. The funds would buoy the education and scientific research sectors through a new Public Higher Education Bridge Funding Reserve.

The bill features a new $32 million investment to provide immediate relief for strained municipal budgets by increasing special education reimbursement rates in the current fiscal year. That investment is part of a larger $232 million appropriation for special education costs and circuit breaker reimbursements.

The bill also includes $150 million toward supporting high-quality and accessible early education and care; $40 million for early literacy initiatives; and $18.3 million to expand financial assistance offered to Massachusetts students enrolled at state universities and UMass campuses. Additional investments of $2.5 million would boost school-based mental health support, and $1 million would help public schools implement bell-to-bell cell-phone free school policies.

Transportation & Municipal Relief Investments

As part of the Senate’s $763 million Fair Share investment in transportation, the bill sends $100 million to help towns and cities with extraordinary winter costs, including funds specifically marked for communities that were impacted by significant winter storms such as the historic Blizzard of 2026.

The bill also includes generational funding in statewide Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs), funding for unpaved roads, and $535 million in direct support for the MBTA for operational funding, commuter rail support, and the low-income fare relief program.

The legislation’s transportation and education investments are possible because of the Fair Share surtax on households that earn more than $1 million per year. Fair Share revenues have continued to exceed expectations year after year, leading to mid-year supplemental packages such as this one.

The Senate and the House proactively split off critical funding for the Group Insurance Commission (GIC), which was originally contained in this bill, and fast-tracked that $300 million supplemental appropriation to the Governor earlier this week.

The Senate Committee on Ways and Means advanced the FY26 consolidated Fair Share supplemental budget to the full Senate with a 16-0 vote on April 2, 2026. All committee votes are posted on the Legislature’s website and full details of the legislation are available in a fact sheet in the Senate Press Room.

The Senate passed the bill with a 35-4 roll call vote today and sent it back to the House of Representatives for further review.

Statements of Support

Marty Meehan, President of the University of Massachusetts

“We are deeply grateful to Senate President Spilka, Chair Rodrigues, Chair Comerford, and the entire Senate for their significant show of support for the university in this proposed supplemental budget bill. We look forward to working with the entire Legislature in the weeks ahead to continue advancing these priorities as the university continues to navigate this difficult and uncertain federal funding and policy environment.”

Michael F. Collins, MD, Chancellor, UMass Chan Medical School

“As Massachusetts and the nation grapple with primary care physician shortages we are grateful that Senate President Spilka, Senator Rodrigues and his Senate Ways and Means Committee have stepped forward with this bold and creative proposal to incentivize medical students to enter into primary care fields and serve our most vulnerable populations in the Commonwealth. As the only public medical school in the Commonwealth founded with a focus on primary care education, we are excited to be part of this initiative and doing our part to address the growing demand for primary care physicians practicing in the state.”

Adam Chapdelaine, Executive Director, Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA)

“The MMA applauds the Senate’s commitment to our communities through this surplus supplemental budget. The proposed winter recovery efforts would provide essential support after a demanding season, helping to repair roads and mitigate costly snow maintenance budgets. We are also grateful for several additional investments focused on special education costs, regionalization efforts, rural schools, and more. Thank you to Senate President Spilka, Chair Rodrigues, and the Senate for today’s important action.”

Tamara Small, CEO, NAIOP Massachusetts

“As a member of the Unlocking Housing Production Commission, I am pleased to see this critical recommendation move forward. Exempting material costs from the state's sales tax will help manage the construction cost volatility facing multifamily housing development in Massachusetts. From addressing our housing crisis to catalyzing new property tax revenue for municipalities, this is a practical and progressive strategy for the Commonwealth. NAIOP looks forward to working with both chambers to advance these and other housing production strategies.”

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