House Rejects Senate Budget Substitute, Names Three Conferees for FY2027 Talks

BOSTON — May 28, 2026 — The Massachusetts House rejected the Senate's substitute amendment to the fiscal year 2027 state budget and appointed a conference committee, with less than five weeks before the July 1 fiscal deadline. The House voted not to concur with Senate document 3100, which had replaced the full text of House bill 5501, the chamber's comprehensive appropriations measure for state departments and institutions. Representative Mike Lewitz of Boston, Kip A. Diggs of Barnstable, and Todd M. Smola of Warren were named to negotiate on the House's behalf. In other business, the House passed to be enacted bills waiving police officer age requirements in Stoneham and Newton, engrossed local-option measures for Tewksbury, Monterey, Norwood, and Westfield, and extended the Health Care Financing Committee's reporting deadline to December 31, 2026 under House 5460.