Massachusetts Ways and Means Holds First-Ever Budget Hearing in Mattapan

BOSTON — March 20, 2026 — Massachusetts Ways and Means holds its first-ever budget hearing in Mattapan, with eight agencies presenting more than $2 billion in combined FY27 requests. Co-chairs Representative Russell E. Holmes and Senator Lydia Edwards convened the March 20 hearing at the Mattapan branch of the Boston Public Library, a site Holmes said sits at the intersection of the Commonwealth's only two majority-Black legislative districts. Agency leaders uniformly flagged federal funding disruption as their paramount threat: MassAbility sought $93.3 million after receiving its federal award as late as March 5; the Department of Transitional Assistance warned potential SNAP payment-error penalties could reach $350 million if the state does not drive its error rate below 6 percent; and the Office for Refugees and Immigrants reported 697 individuals intaked and 461 assigned attorneys under the newly launched Massachusetts Access to Counsel Initiative, with full spend of roughly $4.1 million projected by June. The Department of Children and Families presented a just-under $1.5 billion budget, and the Executive Office of Veterans Services presented $210.9 million, including $45.96 million for the Chelsea Veterans Home and $39.84 million for Holyoke as it prepares to open a new 234-bed facility this fall. The Department of Transitional Assistance added nearly 80 SNAP caseworkers in January and is recruiting 42 more, and is on track to become one of the first three states in the nation to deploy chip-enabled EBT cards this summer.