Malia: House Passes Balanced FY18 Budget

At the end of April, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a $40.4 billion FY18 budget. The spending bill protects vulnerable residents through investments in early education and care (EEC), higher education, mental health and substance use disorder initiatives, trauma prevention and intervention, homelessness programs, developmental disability services, veteran employment support, and anticipated criminal justice reforms.

This budget takes comprehensive action to promote sustained economic health in Massachusetts as we face uncertainty on the national level. It includes a $100 million deposit to the stabilization fund which will result in projected balance of more than $1.4 billion and help preserve the state’s AA+ bond rating, the highest in the Commonwealth’s history. The FY18 budget makes unprecedented investments to improve Massachusetts’ early education and care system, with a focus on supporting the EEC workforce and providing access to high-quality learning opportunities to ensure children are better prepared for academic success. It provides $20 million for the early educator rate reserve and $4 million for quality programming and workforce training.

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