Senator Lewis and Mass. Legislature Use Fair Share Revenue to Fund Districts Projects and State-wide Transportation and Education Initiatives

BOSTON—State Senator Jason Lewis joined his colleagues in the Massachusetts Legislature to pass a $1.56 billion supplemental budget primarily using Fair Share revenue from the state’s wealthiest earners to ease pressure caused by strained local school budgets and invest in education and transportation projects across the state, alongside new policy to lower housing costs and support immigrants.

Senator Lewis and the rest of the state delegation covering his district were able to include more than $2.3 million specifically allocated for projects in Malden, Melrose, Wakefield, Reading, Stoneham, and Winchester, including various public school upgrades and road and sidewalk construction and repairs.

The legislation increases local reimbursements for special education services, sends significant funding to cities and towns to help with the costs of major winter storms, cuts taxes to jumpstart housing construction, and supports the operation of the MBTA, including the low-income fare relief program.

“This bill once again shows the amazing success of the Fair Share Amendment in action,” said Senator Jason Lewis. “The legislature is providing cities and towns with increased funding to support their local budgets during a difficult time, equipping the MBTA with critical funds to keep trains and buses moving, and addressing the literacy crisis with additional resources to support our students.”

Highlights of the supplemental budget include:

• $595 million to the MBTA for operational funding, commuter rail improvements, and the low-income fare relief program.
• $152 million to municipalities to help with the cost of special education services.
• $150 million to support high-quality and accessible early education and care.
• $100 million to help towns and cities recover from an extraordinarily costly winter.
• $40 million for early literacy initiatives.
• $10 million to address Massachusetts’ shrinking primary care workforce through scholarships for UMass Chan Medical School students pursuing family medicine if they commit to remaining in Massachusetts and serving populations in need for five years after graduation.
• $10 million for the Tomorrow’s Teachers program to encourage young educators to work in Massachusetts by investing in scholarships and loan forgiveness to educators who commit to teaching in Massachusetts public schools.
• $1 million to help public schools implement bell-to-bell cell-phone free school policies.
• $1 million for free legal defense services for immigrants (allocated from the state’s general funds), following the success of the legislature’s initial $5 million investment that created the Massachusetts Access to Counsel Initiative.
• Incentivizing new affordable, moderate-income, and middle-income housing construction through a new targeted sales tax exemption for building materials in areas with the greatest need, designed to help offset rising costs driven by tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration.
• Encouraging the use of sustainable aviation fuel through a new tax credit to help Massachusetts work toward its goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

After passing in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, this legislation was signed into law on June 12, 2026 by Governor Maura Healey.