Today, as part of its action on COVID-19 emergency leave legislation, the House acted to address the steep increase in the solvency assessment that employers pay as part of their Unemployment Insurance premium.

The Senate Committee on Ways and Means (SWM) released its fiscal year (FY) 2022 budget today totaling $47.19 billion. Senators now have a chance to offer amendments. The plan will be debated and amended by the full Senate in two weeks and then reconciled with the House’s budget proposal that was…

Earlier today, the House completed three days of budget debate to finalize their fiscal year (FY) 2022 budget. This Bulletin summarizes notable changes made to the House Ways and Means (HWM) proposal and looks ahead to key issues to watch when the Senate Ways and Means Committee (SWM) releases its…

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation said its analysis of the budget found nearly 1,000 amendments that would increase the plan's cost by more than $1 billion.

If all the amendments were accepted, they could boost spending by another $1.04 billion, according to a Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation analysis. “It is likely that the final House budget will increase spending by a further $60-$80 million,” something state finances support, said the…

Today, the House Committee on Ways and Means (HWM) released its $47.6 billion spending plan for fiscal year (FY) 2022. House members will file amendments to the budget in the coming days, with debate scheduled for the week of April 26th. This Bulletin provides an overview of major spending and…

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which became law when President Biden signed H.R. 1319 on March 11, will provide approximately $350 billion to state and local governments to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic. Section 602(c)(2)(A) restricts states from using the funds…

In flagging the MassHealth issue of next week’s House budget rollout, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation pegged the fiscal 2022 MassHealth gross spending increase at about $1.45 billion over what the governor included in his initial budget recommendation.

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, in a report outlining issues to watch in the House budget, classified it as "highly unlikely" that the House Ways and Means proposal would adjust the underlying revenue estimate.  "An upgrade to FY 2022 tax revenues may ultimately be warranted, but…