Bill > H4000

This bill makes appropriations for the fiscal year 2026 for the maintenance of departments, boards, commissions, institutions, and certain activities of the commonwealth, as well as for interest, sinking fund, and serial bond requirements, and for certain permanent improvements. * **Judiciary:** * Supreme Judicial Court: $12,314,981 for operations. * Appeals Court: $16,126,966 for operations. * Trial Court: $358,597,713 for central administration, including various operational costs, and $90,824,456 for justices' salaries. * Committee for Public Counsel Services: $89,000,000 for operations, with provisions for public defender representation and reporting on caseloads and costs. * Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation: $51,000,000 for legal representation for indigent residents. * **District Attorneys:** Appropriations are made to each of the 11 District Attorneys' offices for operations, victim and witness assistance programs, and overtime costs for state police officers assigned to their offices. For example, the Suffolk District Attorney's office receives $29,078,956 for operations. * **Executive Offices and Departments:** * Office of the Governor: $6,482,282 for operations and extraordinary expenses. * Secretary of the Commonwealth: $8,639,411 for operations, with specific allocations for the archives division and museums. * Treasurer and Receiver General: $12,729,305 for office operations, $1,476,700 for financial literacy programs, and significant amounts for debt service payments totaling over $2.3 billion. * State Lottery Commission: $118,028,408 for operations, with 25% transferred to the General Fund. * Massachusetts Cultural Council: $26,045,152 for services and operations. * Executive Office for Administration and Finance: $4,911,475 for the secretary's office, $26,589,990 for facilities management, and $2,399,561,737 for the Group Insurance Commission's premium and plan costs. * Department of Revenue: $103,964,517 for operations, including tax collection and audits. * Department of Early Education and Care: $13,551,428 for administration, $46,903,765 for quality supports, $115,000,000 for operational grants, and substantial amounts for subsidized child care programs ($448,211,115 and $517,637,865). * Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: $7,121,968,717 for school aid, $484,677,484 for extraordinary special education costs, and $41,141,280 for student and school assessment. * Department of Higher Education: $4,200,965 for operations, $175,188,311 for student scholarships, and significant funding for state universities and community colleges. * Executive Office of Health and Human Services: Over $6 billion for MassHealth benefits, $655,073,456 for nursing facility Medicaid rates, and substantial amounts for various health and human services programs. * Department of Public Health: Over $31 million for infectious disease and laboratory sciences, and significant funding for substance addiction services ($194,452,031). * Department of Developmental Services: Over $105 million for administration and operations, and over $2 billion for community-based residential services. * Department of Correction: $815,508,325 for operations, $24,521,860 for the Massachusetts Alcohol and Substance Abuse Center, and $5,600,000 for prison industries. * Sheriffs' Offices: Various appropriations to each sheriff's office for operations, with specific amounts for each county, such as $60,011,322 for the Worcester Sheriff's Office. * **Local Aid:** $1,308,713,668 is appropriated for unrestricted general government aid to cities and towns, and for regional school districts. * **Federal Funds:** Section 2D details numerous appropriations from the General Federal Grants Fund for various federal grant programs across multiple agencies, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. * **Trust Funds:** Section 2E outlines operating transfers to various trust funds, including the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund ($10,000,000), State Retiree Benefits Trust Fund ($450,000,000), and Massachusetts Transportation Trust Fund ($577,620,163). * **Other Provisions:** The bill includes various amendments to existing laws related to the Massachusetts commission against discrimination, deferred compensation programs, and crime victim compensation. It also establishes a task force on vocational-technical education program admissions and a task force on telehealth.