News

Last night, the Conference Committee released its proposed budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027, reconciling the House’s and Senate’s earlier FY 2027 budget proposals. The Conference budget proposes to spend over $63.4 billion for the fiscal year that began today, July 1. The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) has reviewed the proposal and offers the following analysis on behalf of the low-income individuals and families we represent and serve.

“This budget arrives at a pivotal moment for Massachusetts families. As federal cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, and other safety net programs take hold, the choices we make here at home matter more than ever. We’re encouraged to see the Legislature moving in the right direction on several fronts, and we don’t take that for granted. At the same time, this budget doesn’t yet rise to meet the moment. We urge the Governor and Legislature to keep strengthening this budget in the months ahead, so that the Commonwealth does everything in its power to protect the families who need it most.” – Georgia Katsoulomitis, Executive Director

Nearly one year ago,  H.R.1 enacted roughly $1 trillion in cuts to SNAP and Medicaid. As these federal cuts phase in, the residents who will be hit hardest are the same residents MLRI represents every day: people with low incomes, people with disabilities, immigrants, and families already struggling to afford housing, food, and health care. The state budget cannot fill every federal cut, but it is the primary tool Massachusetts has to mitigate federal harm. That means the Legislature and Governor must protect safety net programs from state cuts, adequately staff the agencies that help people access the benefits they are still entitled to, and protect our communities. 

Unit Analysis

Economic Justice

• Alarming funding cut for DTA workers: at a time when residents are facing unprecedented barriers reaching SNAP caseworkers for help, we are distressed to see the Conference budget proposing a cut below the amount needed just to maintain the current workforce. The Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) currently does not have enough workers to serve low-income people applying for or trying to maintain benefits. Because of insufficient staffing, since the start of 2026 DTA has hung up on an average of 77% of calls trying to reach a SNAP worker. Since July 2025, the number of children on SNAP has fallen by more than 60,000. Instead of increasing funding so DTA can hire more workers, the Conference budget proposes to cut the funding. Insufficient staffing is driving a significant caseload decline – cutting critical federal nutrition dollars that support families, grocers, farmers and the local economy. Investment in the workforce is desperately needed. 
• Learnfare repeal: we applaud the Conference Committee’s proposal to repeal the state’s Learnfare law that cuts cash assistance for children struggling with school attendance.  The Learnfare law has been in place for over 30 years despite the total lack of evidence demonstrating that it helped a single child stay in school.  Instead of helping, Learnfare has pushed families deeper into  poverty  – aggravating a root cause of chronic absenteeism.   
• Children’s clothing allowance: with the maximum cash assistance grant for a family of three still only $861 a month, we are disappointed that neither the House nor the Senate provided any increase for FY 27, leaving grants frozen at the April 2025 level.  Still, we are pleased that the Conference Committee preserved the $500 annual children’s clothing allowance for children who receive cash assistance. The clothing allowance, paid in September, helps families buy clothes for their children at the start of the school year. 
• Removal of barriers to cash assistance early in pregnancy: we are also pleased that the Conference Committee proposal allows pregnant people to verify pregnancy before medical proof is available (typically the first two or three months of pregnancy) – fostering better infant and maternal health outcomes in the Commonwealth.    

Housing

• Access to Counsel in Evictions: funds the Access to Counsel line item (0321-1800) at $3 million, up from $2.5 million last year – a modest but important gain toward a permanent statewide ATC program. The House and Senate are expected to adopt the report today and send it to the Governor, who had originally proposed only $2.5 million. 
• Small Properties Acquisition Fund (SPAF) left unfunded: SPAF provides funding to purchase and rehab “naturally occurring affordable housing” (NOAH) and keep it affordable – but it did not make it into the Conference budget. NOAH makes up nearly half of all affordable housing in the state and is disappearing fast: Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies found Massachusetts lost more than 16,000 low-rent units per year from 2011 to 2021, as out-of-state corporate investors buy up NOAH properties, sharply raise rents, and displace longtime residents. 

Healthcare

• PCA protections: thanks to the efforts of disability rights advocates and 1199SEIU, the Conference budget prevents additional FY27 cuts to MassHealth Personal Care Attendant (PCA) services beyond the $32 million in cuts already agreed to (a 7-hour weekly cap on meal prep and a 60-hour weekly cap on total hours) – any further cuts would now require a majority vote of the PCA Working Group. The Working Group was created by the Legislature in 2024 after the Governor attempted direct cuts to the PCA program for FY25; the FY25 budget preserved existing eligibility and service levels but tasked the group with developing recommendations for the program’s long-term sustainability. Its first report (March 2025) identified about $7.4 million in savings; after its mandate was extended in the FY26 budget, its second report (November 2025) reached consensus on the $32 million in additional savings now being implemented. 

Looking Ahead

This budget reflects real progress alongside real gaps. The wins above show what’s possible when the Commonwealth invests in the people who need it most; the shortfalls show how far we still have to go. As the federal government works on shredding the safety net, and as H.R.1’s harms build during FY27, MLRI urges the Legislature and Governor to treat this budget as a floor, not a ceiling: restore the funding cuts identified above, invest in systemic solutions, and hold the line against any further reductions to safety net programs. MLRI will continue monitoring the FY 2027 budget process, including the Governor’s review and any supplemental budget action, and will keep advocating for the families we serve.