The Massachusetts House plans to vote Wednesday to override several of Gov. Maura Healey’s fiscal year 2026 budget vetoes, aiming to restore funding for nursing homes, charter schools and economic development programs.
House leadership said the overrides would focus on spending it deemed “absolutely necessary” to meet the state’s needs, despite Healey’s warnings of fiscal strain and the implementation of cost-cutting measures.
Among the vetoes expected to be overridden are $25 million for supplemental nursing home rates, nearly $20 million in charter school reimbursements and $2 million to support the state’s manufacturing industry. Healey vetoed those and other items in the $60.9 billion budget she signed in July, citing fiscal discipline and alignment with her original spending plan.
House Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz in a statement Tuesday defended the House’s decision to pursue overrides, arguing the Legislature had already accounted for potential revenue volatility during budget negotiations.
“While the House shares the governor’s commitment to fiscal prudence amid the Trump Administration’s devastating budget cuts, we continue to believe that the FY26 budget investments that we will vote on tomorrow can be made in a financially responsible manner,” Michlewitz said.
The rapid-fire changes brought on under President Donald Trump were a focal point Monday as Beacon Hill worked toward a Massachusetts budget.
The Healey administration released new data Tuesday showing that budget cuts stemming from actions by President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans could have a $3.7 billion impact on the state over the next three years, through fiscal year 2028. That includes up to $3.3 billion in federal funding reductions approved by Congress and another $399 million in cuts resulting from executive actions by Trump.
Despite rising alarms around the fiscal picture and deep federal cuts, Wednesday will be only the second formal session the House has held since recessing at the end of July — and its agenda includes proposals to increase spending in the state budget.
Michlewitz continued, “This belief is supported by the hundreds of millions of dollars in expected revenue that we set aside during conference committee negotiations, providing the Commonwealth with the necessary flexibility to manage our finances through this ongoing period of economic uncertainty.”
Budget writers built $860 million in unallocated funds into the fiscal 2026 budget — perhaps with some foresight of looming fiscal challenges, but also reflecting the Legislature’s frequent practice of leaving room for future supplemental spending. But Michlewitz and other budget managers also heard last week from the commissioner of revenue that Massachusetts is expecting a state tax revenue reduction of at least $650 million this budget year as a result of a new federal law.
Healey vetoed $130.2 million across 28 budget line items in July, significantly less than the $317 million she cut from the fiscal 2025 budget.
The governor’s largest veto, $27.5 million, targeted the Group Insurance Commission, where she plans to implement midyear changes restricting coverage of high-cost GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. Michlewitz’s statement on overrides did not specifically mention that veto.
Lawmakers can override gubernatorial vetoes with a two-thirds majority in each chamber. Wednesday’s planned House votes mark the first signal that Democrats are ready to flex that authority this year.
They may have been waiting for September tax collections to come in to give them a clearer picture of the state’s fiscal health ahead of deciding whether and what to override.
The Department of Revenue reported that the state collected $4.6 billion in September, 3% more than the same month last year, though still 1.4% below expectations. Year-to-date, revenues are up $309 million compared to last year but lag the fiscal 2026 benchmark by $64 million, or 0.6%. Revenues from the state’s income surtax and capital gains taxes have so far helped stabilize the state’s fiscal outlook.
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