Making appropriations for the fiscal year 2026 to provide for supplementing certain existing…

Full Bill Text

1 of 79 FILED ON: 10/22/2026 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 5700 House bill No. 5699, as amended and passed to be engrossed by the House. October 21, 2026. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts _______________ In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court (2025-2026) _______________ An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2026 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects. Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purposes, which are to make supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2026 and to make certain changes in law, each of which is immediately necessary to carry out those appropriations or to accomplish other important public purposes, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: 1 SECTION 1. To provide for supplementing certain items in the general appropriation act 2 and other appropriation acts for fiscal year 2026, the sums set forth in section 2 are hereby 3 appropriated from the General Fund or the Transitional Escrow Fund established in section 16 of 4 chapter 76 of the acts of 2021, as amended by section 4 of chapter 98 of the acts of 2022, unless 5 specifically designated otherwise in this act or in those appropriation acts, for the several 6 purposes and subject to the conditions specified in this act or in those appropriation acts, and 7 subject to the laws regulating the disbursement of public funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 8 2026. These sums shall be in addition to any amounts previously appropriated and made 9 available for the purposes of those items. These sums shall be made available through the fiscal 10 year ending June 30, 2027. 2 of 79 11 SECTION 2. 12 DISTRICT ATTORNEYS 13 Suffolk District Attorney’s Office 14 0340-0100 Suffolk District Attorney……..............................................................$654,507 15 Northwestern District Attorney’s Office 16 0340-0600 Northwestern District Attorney……....................................................$225,000 17 EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE 18 Office of the Secretary 19 1595-6153 No Cost Call Trust Fund Transfer………………………………...$22,520,889 20 Department of Revenue 21 1233-1818 Marijuana Social Equity Municipal Payment ......................................$725,000 22 Marijuana Regulation Fund …100% 23 1233-2401 Chapter 40S Education Payments……………………………...……..$731,409 24 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF VETERANS SERVICES 25 Massachusetts Veterans’ Home at Holyoke 26 4190-0100 Veterans’ Home in Holyoke Administration and Operations...........$2,475,763 27 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS 3 of 79 28 Department of Conservation and Recreation 29 2800-0501 DCR Seasonals ....................................................................................$230,000 30 2810-0100 State Parks and Recreation ..................................................................$855,000 31 2820-2000 Streetlighting .......................................................................................$300,000 32 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 33 Office of the Secretary 34 4000-0700 MassHealth Fee for Service Payments.......................................$1,802,124,837 35 Department of Transitional Assistance 36 4400-0709 SNAP Error Rate Enhancements.......................................................$7,356,048 37 Department of Public Health 38 4512-0200 Bureau of Substance Addiction Services…………………….……$14,071,288 39 4590-0915 Public Health Hospitals.....................................................................$9,820,526 40 4590-1503 Maternal and Child Health................................................................$2,000,000 41 Department of Mental Health 42 5042-5000 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.....................................$250,000 43 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HOUSING AND LIVABLE COMMUNITIES 44 Housing and Livable Communities 4 of 79 45 7004-0100 Operation of Homelessness Programs…………………………..….$8,181,007 46 7004-9315 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Fee Retained Revenue……….....$2,000,000 47 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY 48 Office of the Chief Medical Examiner 49 8000-0105 Office of the Chief Medical Examiner……………………………..$1,133,659 50 Department of State Police 51 8100-0102 Troop F Retained Revenue………………………………………..$3,000,000 52 8100-1001 Department of State Police................................................................$5,350,000 53 8100-1004 State Police Crime Laboratory…………………………………….$2,881,350 54 Military Division 55 8700-0001 Military Division...............................................................................$2,143,000 56 8700-1150 National Guard Tuition and Fee Waivers..........................................$2,500,000 57 Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency 58 8800-0001 Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency……………......…$9,470,266 59 Department of Correction 60 8900-0001 Department of Correction Facility Operations................................$27,699,043 61 SECTION 2A. To provide for certain unanticipated obligations of the commonwealth, to 62 provide for an alteration of purpose for current appropriations, and to meet certain requirements 5 of 79 63 of law, the sums set forth in this section are hereby appropriated from the General Fund or the 64 Transitional Escrow Fund established in section 16 of chapter 76 of the acts of 2021, as amended 65 by section 4 of chapter 98 of the acts of 2022, unless specifically designated otherwise in this 66 section, for the several purposes and subject to the conditions specified in this section, and 67 subject to the laws regulating the disbursement of public funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 68 2026. Except as otherwise stated, these sums shall be made available through the fiscal year 69 ending June 30, 2027. 70 MASSACHUSETTS DISTRICT ATTORNEYS’ ASSOCIATION 71 0340-0403 For technology costs related to Massachusetts Criminal Procedure Rule 14 72 implementation and other technology costs; provided, that funds may be transferred to the 73 district attorneys' offices for this purpose…………………………..$1,750,000 74 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 75 Victim and Witness Assistance Board 76 0840-2000 For victim services, including, but not limited to, grants for LGBTQIA+, 77 immigrant and culturally specific populations in the commonwealth…………..…….$13,825,550 78 EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE 79 Reserves 80 1599-0065 For a reserve to support the costs to implement chapter 65 of the acts of 81 2026 and other operational needs at the cannabis control commission; provided, that the 82 secretary of administration and finance may transfer funds from this item to state agencies as 6 of 79 83 defined in section 1 of chapter 29 of the General Laws; and provided further, that funds shall be 84 made available through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2028.........................................$5,955,000 85 1599-0911 For a reserve to support public safety in the 86 commonwealth……………………………………………………………………….…$2,000,000 87 1599-1623 For Baystate Health’s capital and infrastructure costs at Mercy Medical 88 Center in the city of Springfield……………………………………………...………..$10,000,000 89 1599-1725 For a reserve to support interest payments in accordance with the 90 settlement agreement entered into by the commonwealth and the United States Department of 91 Labor on January 17, 2025.............................................................................................$78,987,169 92 1599-1779 For a transfer to the Fair Housing Fund established in section 2JJJJJJ of 93 chapter 29 of the General Laws.......................................................................................$1,000,000 94 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF EDUCATION 95 Department of Early Education and Care 96 3000-4448 For a reserve to support a reimbursement rate increase for subsidized early 97 education center-based and family child care providers in the fiscal year ending on June 30, 98 2027................................................................................................................................$18,500,000 99 Education and Transportation Fund…100% 100 Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 101 7061-2701 For a community schools program to be administered by the department of 102 elementary and secondary education……………………………………………..…..$1,000,000 7 of 79 103 TRANSPORTATION 104 Massachusetts Department of Transportation 105 1596-2527 For the cost of snow and ice removal services incurred by the 106 Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the department of conservation and recreation; 107 provided, that funds in this item may be transferred to the Massachusetts Transportation Trust 108 Fund established in section 4 of chapter 6C of the General Laws; and provided further, that funds 109 in this item may be transferred to the department of conservation and 110 recreation…………………………………………………………………………..…$159,800,000 111 Education and Transportation Fund…100% 112 SECTION 2C.I. For the purpose of making available in fiscal year 2027 balances of 113 appropriations which otherwise would revert on June 30, 2026, the unexpended balances of the 114 appropriations listed below, not to exceed the amount specified below for each item, are hereby 115 re-appropriated for the purposes of and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding 116 item in section 2 or 2F of chapter 9 of the acts of 2025. However, for items which do not appear 117 in section 2 or 2F of the general appropriation act, the amounts in this section are re-appropriated 118 for the purposes of and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding item in section 2 or 119 2A of this act or in prior appropriation acts. Amounts in this section are re-appropriated from the 120 fund or funds designated for the corresponding item in section 2 or 2F of said chapter 9; 121 provided, however, that for items which do not appear in section 2 or 2F of said chapter 9, the 122 amounts in this section are re-appropriated from the fund or funds designated for the 123 corresponding item in section 2 through 2F of this act or in prior appropriation acts. The 124 unexpended balance of each appropriation in the Massachusetts management accounting and 8 of 79 125 reporting system with a secretariat code of 01 or 17 is hereby re-appropriated for the purposes of 126 and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding item in said section 2 of said chapter 9. 127 The sums reappropriated in this section shall be in addition to any amounts available for said 128 purposes. 129 JUDICIARY 130 Board of Bar Examiners 131 0321-0100 Board of Bar Examiners.......................................................................$125,000 132 Trial Court 133 0339-1001 Commissioner of Probation...............................................................$3,581,000 134 OFFICE OF THE STATE AUDITOR 135 0710-0000 Office of the State Auditor Administration.......................................$1,734,410 136 OFFICE OF THE CHILD ADVOCATE 137 0930-0101 Center on Child Wellbeing and Trauma...............................................$700,000 138 OFFICE OF THE VETERAN ADVOCATE 139 0960-1000 Office of the Veteran Advocate..............................................................$90,480 140 CENTER FOR HEALTH INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS 141 4100-0060 Center for Health Information and Analysis........................................$401,000 142 EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE 9 of 79 143 Reserves 144 1599-4448 Collective Bargaining Contract Costs.............................................$19,740,316 145 Department of Revenue 146 1233-2401 Chapter 40S Education Payments.........................................................$764,568 147 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY SERVICES AND SECURITY 148 1790-1700 Core Technology Services and Security............................................$1,686,073 149 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS 150 Office of the Secretary 151 2000-0100 Energy and Environmental Affairs Administration...........................$1,445,520 152 Department of Public Utilities 153 2100-5694 Energy Facilities Siting Division..........................................................$437,415 154 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 155 Office of the Secretary 156 1599-6903 Chapter 257 and Human Service Reserve.......................................$90,000,000 157 Department of Public Health 158 4516-1000 State Laboratory and Infectious Disease Control Services..................$900,000 159 Department of Mental Health 10 of 79 160 5011-0100 Department of Mental Health Administration and Operations............$500,000 161 Department of Transitional Assistance 162 4400-0709 SNAP Error Rate Enhancements.......................................................$7,593,752 163 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF VETERANS’ SERVICES 164 Veterans’ Services 165 1410-0010 Veterans’ Services Administration and Operations...........................$1,045,000 166 1410-0630 Agawam and Winchendon Veterans’ Cemeteries................................$102,210 167 MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 168 1596-2401 Federal Matching Funds..................................................................$15,900,000 169 1596-2406 Regional Transit Funding and Grants................................................$4,344,812 170 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HOUSING AND LIVABLE COMMUNITIES 171 7004-0102 Homeless Individual Shelters............................................................$1,200,000 172 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF EDUCATION 173 Department of Early Education and Care 174 3000-1000 Department of Early Education and Care..........................................$4,500,000 175 3000-1020 Quality Improvement............................................................................$122,015 176 3000-7066 EEC Provider Higher Education Opportunities....................................$683,796 11 of 79 177 Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 178 7010-0005 Department of Elementary and Secondary Education..........................$119,004 179 7035-0001 Career and Technical Education Program............................................$601,671 180 1596-2422 School Meals.....................................................................................$4,186,359 181 Department of Higher Education 182 1596-2425 DHE Endowment Match...................................................................$1,000,000 183 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY 184 Department of State Police 185 8100-0515 New State Police Class....................................................................$10,000,000 186 Department of Fire Services 187 8324-0000 Department of Fire Services Administration…....................................$300,000 188 SECTION 2C.II. For the purpose of making available in fiscal year 2027 balances of 189 retained revenue and intragovernmental chargeback authorizations which otherwise would revert 190 on June 30, 2026, the unexpended balances of the authorizations listed below, not to exceed the 191 amount specified below for each item, are hereby re-authorized for the purposes of and subject to 192 the conditions stated for the corresponding item in sections 2 to 2F, inclusive, of chapter 9 of the 193 acts of 2025; provided, however, that for items which do not appear in said sections 2 to 2F of 194 said chapter 9, the amounts in this section are re-authorized for the purposes of and subject to the 195 conditions stated for the corresponding item in sections 2 to 2F, inclusive, of this act or in prior 12 of 79 196 appropriation acts. Amounts in this section are re-authorized from the fund or funds designated 197 for the corresponding item in sections 2 to 2F, inclusive, of the general appropriation act; 198 provided, however, that for items which do not appear in sections 2 to 2F, inclusive, of the 199 general appropriation act, the amounts in this section are re-authorized from the fund or funds 200 designated for the corresponding item in sections 2 to 2F, inclusive, of this act or in prior 201 appropriation acts. The sums re-authorized in this section shall be in addition to any amounts 202 available for those purposes. 203 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF VETERANS SERVICES 204 Veterans Services 205 1410-0018 Agawam and Winchendon Cemeteries Retained Revenue..................$550,000 206 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 207 Office of the Secretary 208 7002-0018 Chargeback for Economic Development IT Costs............................$2,000,000 209 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY 210 Department of Correction 211 8900-0021 Chargeback for Prison Industries and Farm Program..........................$635,000 212 SECTION 3. Chapter 6 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 213 5 the following section:- 13 of 79 214 Section 5A. No constitutional officer shall knowingly spend or authorize the use of public 215 funds of the commonwealth to allow a constitutional officer to appear in any advertisement or 216 promotion using the constitutional officer’s name, voice or likeness to establish recognition for 217 the constitutional officer, including, but not limited to, television, radio, social media, billboards, 218 road signs, stickers, decals or other signage; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall 219 be construed to limit a constitutional officer’s ability to provide information or awareness on 220 programs offered in the commonwealth not related to establishing recognition of a constitutional 221 officer’s name, voice or likeness. 222 SECTION 4. Section 32 of chapter 9 of the General Laws is hereby repealed. 223 SECTION 5. Chapter 10 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 224 35, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following 225 section:- 226 Section 35. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a 227 separate fund, to be known as the State Lottery and Gaming Fund. Said fund shall consist of all 228 revenues received from the sale of lottery tickets or shares and all other monies credited or 229 transferred thereto from any other fund or source pursuant to law. 230 (b) In order to provide local property tax relief and continue services at the local level, 231 revenues of the lottery commission from sales pursuant to subsection (a) of section 25 shall be 232 expended only for the following purposes: 233 (i) for the payment of prizes to the holders of winning lottery tickets or shares; 14 of 79 234 (ii) for the expenses of the commission in administering and operating the lottery, as 235 certified by the secretary of administration and finance; provided, that the state treasurer shall 236 transfer the certified amount to the General Fund for said purposes; and 237 (iii) for budgeted aid to cities and towns as provided in section 18C of chapter 58, subject 238 to appropriation. 239 (c) In order to expand access to affordable, high-quality childcare, revenues of the lottery 240 commission from sales pursuant to subsection (b) of section 25 shall be expended only for the 241 following purposes: 242 (i) for the payment of prizes to the holders of winning lottery tickets or shares; 243 (ii) for the expenses of the commission in administering and operating the lottery; and 244 (iii) for the Early Education and Care Operational Grant Fund established in section 19 of 245 chapter 15D, subject to appropriation. 246 (d) For the purposes of accommodating discrepancies between the receipt of revenues 247 and related expenditures, the commission may incur expenses and the comptroller may certify 248 for payment expenses incurred in anticipation of revenues. 249 SECTION 6. Section 78 of said chapter 10, as so appearing, is hereby amended by 250 striking out subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:- 251 (a) As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires 252 otherwise, have the following meanings: 15 of 79 253 “Active service in the armed forces”, shall not include active duty for training in the 254 Army National Guard or Air National Guard or active duty for training as a reservist in the 255 armed forces of the United States. 256 “Armed forces”, the United States Army, Army of the United States, Army Reserves, 257 United States Navy, United States Naval Reserve, United States Marine Corps, United States 258 Marine Corps Reserve, United States Coast Guard, United States Coast Guard Reserve, Army 259 Nurse Corps, Navy Nurse Corps, United States Air Force, United States Air Force Reserve, 260 United States Space Force, Air National Guard and Army National Guard and including 261 women’s branches of said armed forces. 262 “Korean Emergency”, the period on or after June 25, 1950 to January 31, 1955. 263 “Persian Gulf War”, the period on or after August 2, 1990 to April 10, 1991. 264 “Vietnam Conflict”, the period on or after July 1, 1958 to May 17, 1975. 265 “World War II”, the period on or after September 16, 1940 to July 25, 1947. 266 SECTION 7. Said section 78 of said chapter 10, as so appearing, is hereby further 267 amended by inserting after the word “served”, in line 17, the following words:- , or is currently 268 serving,. 269 SECTION 8. Said section 78 of said chapter 10, as so appearing, is hereby further 270 amended by striking out, in lines 22 to 24, inclusive, the words “have been in the commonwealth 271 for a period of not less than 6 months before the time of the person’s entry into the service” and 272 inserting in place thereof the following words:- be in the commonwealth. 16 of 79 273 SECTION 9. Said section 78 of said chapter 10, as so appearing, is hereby further 274 amended by inserting after the word “Medal”, in line 49, the following words:- , or equivalent 275 Expeditionary Medal,. 276 SECTION 10. Said section 78 of said chapter 10, as so appearing, is hereby further 277 amended by striking out, in lines 55 to 57, inclusive, the words “have been in the commonwealth 278 for a period of not less than 6 months immediately before the time of the person’s entry into 279 service” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- be in the commonwealth. 280 SECTION 11. Subsection (b) of said section 78 of said chapter 10, as so appearing, is 281 hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:- 282 (6) Upon application, as provided in this section and as specified in rules and regulations 283 established by the state treasurer, there shall be allowed and paid out of the treasury of the 284 commonwealth, without further appropriation, the sums specified in such rules and regulations to 285 each person who has served in the armed forces of the United States in active service as part of 286 World War II, the Korean Emergency, the Vietnam Conflict or the Persian Gulf War; provided, 287 however, that the domicile of a person on account of whose service the application is filed shall 288 be the commonwealth. 289 SECTION 12. Said section 78 of said chapter 10, as so appearing, is hereby further 290 amended by striking out, in line 68, the word “(i)” and inserting in place thereof the following 291 word:- (ii). 292 SECTION 13. The first paragraph of subsection (e) of said section 78 of said chapter 10, 293 as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the fifth and sixth sentences. 17 of 79 294 SECTION 14. Said section 78 of said chapter 10, as so appearing, is hereby further 295 amended by striking out, in line 105, the word “section” and inserting in place thereof the 296 following word:- act. 297 SECTION 15. Said section 78 of said chapter 10, as so appearing, is hereby further 298 amended by striking out, in lines 111 and 112, the word “designed” and inserting in place thereof 299 the following word:- designated. 300 SECTION 16. Said section 78 of said chapter 10, as so appearing, is hereby further 301 amended by inserting after the word “service”, in line 123, the following words:- during the 302 enlistment period. 303 SECTION 17. Section 7 of chapter 15D of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby 304 amended by striking out, in lines 38 to 41, inclusive, the words “and all supported findings and 305 pending investigations of abuse or neglect available through the department of children and 306 families consistent with sections 51B, 51E, and 51F of chapter 119” and inserting in place 307 thereof the following words:- all supported findings and pending investigations of abuse or 308 neglect available through the department of children and families, consistent with sections 51B, 309 51E and 51F of chapter 119, and information contained in the registry established and 310 maintained by the commission for the protection of persons with disabilities pursuant to section 311 15 of chapter 19C. 312 SECTION 18. Paragraph (ii) of subsection (a) of said section 7 of said chapter 15D, as so 313 appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- The department shall further 314 obtain all information contained in the registry established and maintained by the commission for 315 the protection of persons with disabilities pursuant to section 15 of chapter 19C. 18 of 79 316 SECTION 19. Section 27 of chapter 23 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby 317 amended by striking out, in lines 6 to 9, inclusive, the words “subsection (c) of section 32 of 318 chapter 9 and provided to the executive office of labor and workforce development by the state 319 secretary pursuant to subsection (b) of said section 32 of said chapter 9” and inserting in place 320 thereof the following words:- section 105E of chapter 149. 321 SECTION 20. Section 3 of chapter 23I of the General Laws is hereby amended by 322 striking out, in lines 17 and 18, as so appearing, the words “a chief executive officer of a 323 Massachusetts-based life sciences corporation that is”. 324 SECTION 21. Section 5 of chapter 23J of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby 325 amended by striking out, in lines 10, 11 and 22, the words “August 15” and inserting in place 326 thereof, in each instance, the following words:- January 30. 327 SECTION 22. Section 9A of said chapter 23J, as so appearing, is hereby amended by 328 striking out, in lines 113 and 114, the words “or offshore wind organization” and inserting in 329 place thereof the following words:- , offshore wind organization or an entity engaged in port 330 infrastructure development or operation in support of the offshore wind industry. 331 SECTION 22A. Said chapter 23J is hereby further amended by adding the following 332 section:- 333 Section 17. (a) There shall be established and placed within the center a separate, non- 334 budgeted special revenue fund to be known as the Offshore Wind Pre-Development and Project 335 Acceleration Fund. Expenditures from the fund shall be to accelerate project timelines, 336 streamline the readiness of offshore wind generation projects and reduce project risks. The fund 337 shall be administered by the center, without further appropriation. All amounts credited to the 19 of 79 338 fund shall be used to fund the state-led offshore wind pre-development and project acceleration 339 program established pursuant to section 24 of chapter 25A. 340 (b) The center may make expenditures from the fund, in coordination with the department 341 of energy resources, for eligible pre-development activities, including, but not limited to: (i) 342 permitting and site assessment studies; (ii) fisheries and environmental science studies; (iii) pre- 343 front end engineering design; (iv) transmission planning; and (v) support for the timely 344 utilization of regional supply chain and port infrastructure. 345 (c) Eligibility for money from the fund shall be limited to offshore wind projects that can 346 demonstrate an ability to access federal tax credits for the benefit of commonwealth ratepayers. 347 (d) Any financial arrangement executed using monies from the fund shall include a 348 mechanism to ensure recovery of any co-investment capital provided by the commonwealth upon 349 the project reaching commercial operation. Revenues deposited in the fund that are unexpended 350 at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for 351 expenditure in the following fiscal year. 352 SECTION 23. Section 59 of chapter 23K of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby 353 amended by striking out, in line 29, the words “(c) of the second paragraph” and inserting in 354 place thereof the following words:- (iii) of subsection (b). 355 SECTION 24. Section 63 of said chapter 23K, as so appearing, is hereby amended by 356 striking out, in lines 10 and 11, the words “(c) of the second paragraph” and inserting in place 357 thereof the following words:- (iii) of subsection (b). 20 of 79 358 SECTION 25. Chapter 26 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the 359 following section:- 360 Section 13. (a) For the purposes of this section, “pharmacy benefit manager” shall have 361 the same meaning as defined in section 1 of chapter 176Y. 362 (b) The commissioner of insurance may make and collect an assessment against 363 pharmacy benefit managers licensed by the division of insurance pursuant to section 2 of chapter 364 176Y to pay for the expenses related to the regulation and oversight of pharmacy benefit 365 managers, including, but not limited to: (i) defraying the cost of salaries of any financial analysts, 366 licensing staff, market conduct specialists, attorneys, special investigators, staff with expertise in 367 pharmacy and pharmaceutical processes, senior health researchers, administrative staff or any 368 other staff as may be necessary, as determined by the commissioner; and (ii) compensating 369 consultants, as necessary, retained by the commissioner. Said assessment shall be made at a rate 370 sufficient to produce not less than $1,000,000 annually. The assessment amounts shall be 371 credited to the General Fund. The amount collected under this section shall be credited to the 372 funds to which the appropriations for the division of insurance are charged. 373 (c) The assessment shall be allocated on a fair and reasonable basis among all pharmacy 374 benefit managers licensed by the commissioner. The funds produced by said assessments shall be 375 expended by the division, in addition to any other funds which may be appropriated, to assist in 376 defraying the general operating expenses related to the regulation and oversight of pharmacy 377 benefit managers and may be used to compensate consultants retained by the commissioner. A 378 pharmacy benefit manager licensed by the commissioner shall pay the amount so assessed 379 against it within 30 days after the date of the notice of assessment from the commissioner. 21 of 79 380 SECTION 26. Section 39R of chapter 30 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024 381 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 5 and 6, 12 and 13 and 60 and 61 the 382 words “thirty-eight A½ to thirty-eight O, inclusive, of chapter seven” and inserting in place 383 thereof, in each instance, the following words:- 44 to 57, inclusive, of chapter 7C. 384 SECTION 27. The first paragraph of subdivision (4) of section 16 of chapter 32 of the 385 General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following 6 sentences:- If the 386 chair of the board determines that the volume of appeals has resulted in a backlog, the chair may, 387 in writing, inform the attorney general, the public employee retirement administration 388 commission and the governor of the backlog and the need for additional board members to 389 address the backlog. If the backlog involves matters related to disability retirement or interim 390 benefits, the chair may also, in writing, inform the secretary of health and human services. Upon 391 notification by the chair of a backlog of appeals to the board, the attorney general, the public 392 employee retirement administration commission, the governor and, if such backlog involves 393 matters related to disability retirement or interim benefits, the secretary of health and human 394 services, each shall, subject to availability of staffing, designate or appoint such number of 395 additional members as determined by the chair, but not more than 4 additional members each; 396 provided, however, that the public employee retirement administration commission shall 397 designate or appoint additional members only to the extent necessary to address a backlog of 398 cases that do not pertain to disability retirement or interim benefits. The secretary of health and 399 human services may designate qualified staff from agencies within the executive office. The 400 additional members shall be designated or appointed in the manner and ratio of the board itself to 401 serve on the contributory retirement appeal board for not more than 3 years. The chair of the 402 board shall organize such additional members into panels assigned to each matter pending before 22 of 79 403 the contributory retirement appeal board, and a panel so organized shall be empowered to decide 404 and resolve the appeal; provided, that each panel so organized shall consist of 3 members 405 reflecting the membership of the board with a chair of the panel as determined by the chair of the 406 board. 407 SECTION 28. Section 33 of chapter 36 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby 408 amended by striking out, in lines 7 to 8, inclusive, the words “Register: A sum equivalent to 409 seventy-five per cent of the salary of an associate justice of the superior court.” and inserting in 410 place thereof the following words:- 411 Register: A sum equivalent to the salary of the clerk of the superior court department for 412 criminal business in the county of Suffolk. 413 SECTION 29. Section 1 of chapter 50 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby 414 amended by inserting after the definition of “Aldermen” the following definition:- 415 “Artificial intelligence” or “AI”, the capability of a computer system to perform tasks that 416 normally require human intelligence, including, but not limited to, visual perception, speech 417 recognition, content generation and decision-making. 418 SECTION 30. Said section 1 of said chapter 50, as so appearing, is hereby further 419 amended by inserting after the definition of “Ballot labels” the following definition:- 420 “Candidate”, as defined in section 1 of chapter 55. 421 SECTION 31. Said section 1 of said chapter 50, as so appearing, is hereby further 422 amended by inserting after the definition of “Federal act” the following definition:- 23 of 79 423 “Generative artificial intelligence”, artificial intelligence technology capable of creating 424 content, including, but not limited to, text, audio, image or video based on patterns learned from 425 large volumes of data rather than being explicitly programmed with rules. 426 SECTION 32. Said section 1 of said chapter 50, as so appearing, is hereby further 427 amended by inserting after the definition of “Majority” the following 2 definitions:- 428 “Materially deceptive audio or visual media”, an image or audio or video recording 429 concerning the safety or regular operations of an election or candidate’s appearance, speech or 430 conduct that has been fabricated or intentionally manipulated in a manner such that the image or 431 audio or video recording would: (i) falsely appear to a reasonable person to be authentic; and (ii) 432 cause a reasonable person to have a fundamentally different understanding or impression of the 433 expressive content of such image or audio or video recording than that person would have if the 434 person were hearing or seeing an unaltered, original image or audio or video recording. 435 “Materially deceptive election-related communication”, communication in any media, 436 including, but not limited to, written, audio, visual or synthetic media, that contains verifiably 437 false information regarding: (i) the date, time or place of an election; (ii) the requirements, 438 methods and deadlines for voting; (iii) any certification related to an election; or (iv) the express 439 endorsement of a candidate or ballot initiative by a political party, elected official, nonprofit 440 organization or other person. 441 SECTION 33. Said section 1 of said chapter 50, as so appearing, is hereby further 442 amended by inserting after the definition of “Official ballot” the following definition:- 443 “Person”, an individual, corporation, political committee, association, operation, firm, 444 partnership, trust or other form of business or personal association. 24 of 79 445 SECTION 34. Said section 1 of said chapter 50, as so appearing, is hereby further 446 amended by inserting after the definition of “State officer” the following definition:- 447 “Synthetic media”, audio or video content substantially produced by generative artificial 448 intelligence. 449 SECTION 35. Chapter 56 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the 450 following 2 sections:- 451 Section 70. (a) Any audio or video communication that: (i) is paid for by a candidate 452 campaign committee, political action committee, political issues committee, political party or a 453 person using a contribution; (ii) is intended to influence voting for or against a candidate or 454 ballot proposition in an election or primary; and (iii) contains synthetic media shall include: (1) 455 at the beginning and end of the communication, the words “contains content generated by AI” in 456 legible writing or, for audio-only communications, in a clearly spoken manner; and (2) for video 457 communications, throughout the duration of each portion of the communication containing 458 synthetic media, in legible writing, the words: (A) “This video content was generated by AI”, if 459 the communication includes only video synthetic media; (B) “This audio content was generated 460 by AI”, if the communication includes only audio synthetic media; or (C) “This content was 461 generated by AI”, if the communication includes both video and audio synthetic media. 462 (b) A violation of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000. 463 Compliance with this section shall not exempt a person from civil or criminal liability for a 464 violation of other applicable law. 465 (c) This section shall not apply to a radio or television broadcasting station, including, but 466 not limited to, a cable or satellite television operator, programmer, producer or mobile 25 of 79 467 application or streaming service when it is paid to broadcast materially deceptive audio or visual 468 media or materially deceptive election-related communication. 469 Section 71. (a)(1) A person, candidate, campaign committee, political action committee, 470 political issues committee, political party or other entity shall not, within 90 days of an election 471 at which a candidate for elective office will appear on the ballot, distribute with actual malice 472 materially deceptive audio or visual media: (i) depicting the candidate with the intent to injure 473 the candidate’s reputation or deceive a voter into voting for or against the candidate; or (ii) 474 concerning the safety or regular operations of an election intended to disrupt the integrity of the 475 electoral process. 476 (2) A person, candidate, campaign committee, political action committee, political issues 477 committee, political party or other entity shall not, within 90 days of an election at which a 478 candidate for elective office will appear on the ballot, distribute with actual malice materially 479 deceptive election-related communication with the intent to mislead voters as to the date, time or 480 place of an election, the requirements, methods and deadlines for voting, any certification related 481 to an election or the express endorsement of a candidate or ballot initiative by a political party, 482 elected official, nonprofit organization or other person. 483 (b)(1) A candidate for elective office whose voice or likeness appears in a materially 484 deceptive audio or visual media or person whose voice or likeness appears in a materially 485 deceptive election-related communication distributed in violation of this section or the attorney 486 general may seek injunctive or other equitable relief prohibiting the distribution of such audio or 487 visual media. 26 of 79 488 (2) A candidate for elective office whose voice or likeness appears in a materially 489 deceptive audio or visual media or person whose voice or likeness appears in a materially 490 deceptive election-related communication distributed in violation of this section may bring an 491 action for general or special damages against a person, candidate, campaign committee, political 492 action committee, political issues committee, political party or other entity that distributed the 493 materially deceptive audio or visual media or materially deceptive election-related 494 communication. A court may also award a prevailing party reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. 495 This subsection shall not limit or preclude a plaintiff from securing or recovering any other 496 available legal remedy. 497 (3) In any civil action alleging a violation of this section, the plaintiff shall bear the 498 burden of establishing the violation through clear and convincing evidence. 499 (c)(1) This section shall not alter or negate any rights, obligations or immunities of an 500 interactive service provider under 47 U.S.C. section 230. 501 (2) This section shall not apply to a radio or television broadcasting station, including, but 502 not limited to, a cable or satellite television operator, programmer, producer or mobile 503 application or streaming service that broadcasts materially deceptive audio or visual media or 504 materially deceptive election-related communication prohibited by this section if: (i) part of a 505 bona fide newscast, news interview, news documentary or on-the-spot coverage of bona fide 506 news events; and (ii) the broadcast clearly acknowledges through content or a disclosure, in a 507 manner that can be easily heard or read by the average listener or viewer, that there are questions 508 about the authenticity of the materially deceptive audio or visual media or materially deceptive 509 election-related communication. 27 of 79 510 (3) This section shall not apply to: (i) a radio or television broadcasting station, including, 511 but not limited to, a cable or satellite television operator, programmer, producer or mobile 512 application or streaming service when it is paid to broadcast materially deceptive audio or visual 513 media or materially deceptive election-related communication; (ii) an internet website or a 514 regularly published newspaper, magazine or other periodical of general circulation, including an 515 internet or electronic publication, that routinely carries news and commentary of general interest, 516 and that publishes materially deceptive audio or visual media or materially deceptive election- 517 related communication prohibited by this section, if the publication clearly states that the 518 materially deceptive audio or visual media or materially deceptive election-related 519 communication does not accurately represent the speech or conduct of the candidate; or (iii) 520 materially deceptive audio or visual media or materially deceptive election-related 521 communication that constitute satire or parody. 522 SECTION 36. Subsection (b) of section 90 of chapter 62C of the General Laws, as 523 appearing in section 13 of chapter 101 of the acts of 2026, is hereby amended by inserting after 524 the word “income”, the first time it appears, the following words:- pursuant to said chapter 62. 525 SECTION 37. Said subsection (b) of said section 90 of said chapter 62C, as so appearing, 526 is hereby further amended by inserting after the figure “62”, the second time it appears, the 527 following words:- , gross income pursuant to section 1 of said chapter 63, net income pursuant to 528 section 1 of said chapter 63. 529 SECTION 38. Section 1 of chapter 63 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024 530 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “commonwealth”, in line 113, the 531 following words:- ; provided, however, that: (i) for purposes of applying section 1400Z-2 of the 28 of 79 532 Code, “qualified opportunity zone” shall mean an area located entirely within the commonwealth 533 that is designated as a qualified opportunity zone under said section 1400Z-2; and (ii) any 534 individual Code amendments as referenced in section 90 of chapter 62C shall have no force or 535 effect. 536 SECTION 39. Said section 1 of said chapter 63, as so appearing, is hereby further 537 amended by inserting after the word “year”, in line 173, the following words:- ; provided further, 538 that any individual amendments to the Code as referenced in section 90 of chapter 62C shall 539 have no force or effect. 540 SECTION 40. Said section 1 of said chapter 63, as so appearing, is hereby further 541 amended by striking out, in lines 205 to 207, inclusive, the words “or (g) the deductions allowed 542 by sections 245A, 250, and 965(c) of the Code” and inserting in place thereof the following 543 words:- 544 (g) the deductions allowed by sections 245A, 250 and 965(c) of the Code; 545 (h) the deductions allowed by section 70302(f) of Pub. L. 119-21; or 546 (i) the deductions allowed by section 174A of the Code; provided, however, that any 547 research or experimental expenditures paid or incurred may be deducted as permitted under 548 section 174 of the Internal Revenue Code as in effect on July 3, 2025. 549 SECTION 41. Said section 1 of said chapter 63, as amended by section 40, is hereby 550 further amended by striking out clauses (g) to (i), inclusive, and inserting in place thereof the 551 following 2 clauses:- 552 (g) the deductions allowed by sections 245A, 250, and 965(c) of the Code; or 29 of 79 553 (h) the deductions allowed by section 70302(f) of Pub. L. 119-21. 554 SECTION 42. Section 7 of chapter 70B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024 555 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 3, the figure “$1,200,000,000” and 556 inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $1,400,000,000. 557 SECTION 43. Said section 7 of said chapter 70B, as so appearing, is hereby further 558 amended by adding the following paragraph:- 559 Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, for each fiscal year starting in fiscal year 2027, 560 following the authority’s review of its financial health and audited financial statements, the 561 authority may vote to award additional grants up to 10 per cent over the limit set forth in this 562 section. The amount of any such additional grants shall be calculated separately and shall not 563 impact the calculation of the annual limit in subsequent fiscal years. The authority may 564 periodically adopt guidelines and policies related to the administration of the annual limit and 565 additional grants. 566 SECTION 44. Section 10 of said chapter 70B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by 567 striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following 2 sentences:- The grant 568 percentage for approved school projects shall be applied to eligible costs, as determined by the 569 authority in accordance with this chapter and any applicable regulations, policies or procedures 570 set forth by the authority to implement this chapter. Such grant percentage shall be calculated 571 based on the following formula; provided, however, that no grant percentage shall be greater 572 than 80 per cent, unless any such percentage reimbursement points in excess of 80 per cent are 573 earned by an eligible applicant for achieving the standards necessary to be awarded incentive 574 percentage points by the authority in accordance with paragraph (C) of subsection (a). 30 of 79 575 SECTION 45. Section 17 of said chapter 70B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by 576 striking out subsections (a) and (b) and inserting in place thereof the following 2 subsections:- 577 (a) The authority shall submit an annual report to the governor, the house and senate 578 committees on ways and means and the joint committee on education. 579 (b) The authority shall conduct a periodic survey of the cities, towns and regional school 580 districts to determine the need for new school facility construction to meet demand. Such 581 periodic surveys shall include a listing of each school building within the commonwealth, 582 together with a description of its size, capacity, age and state of maintenance and whether such 583 school is likely to require construction, enlargement, reconstruction, rehabilitation or 584 improvement due to such factors, including, but not limited to, deterioration, anticipated 585 increases in school-age population or lack of adequate facilities to meet educational standards. 586 Upon completion, the authority shall make such periodic surveys publicly available and shall 587 submit such periodic surveys to the governor, the house and senate committees on ways and 588 means and the joint committee on education. 589 SECTION 45A. Section 89 of chapter 71 of the General Laws, as most recently amended 590 by section 65 of chapter 137 of the acts of 2026, is hereby further amended by inserting after 591 subsection (n) the following subsection:- 592 (n 1/2)(a) Notwithstanding subsection (n) or any other general or special law to the 593 contrary, a Horace Mann charter school may, through a reservation of seats or a weighted lottery, 594 establish the following preferences for admission, subject to the procedures set forth in this 595 subsection: 31 of 79 596 (i) annually, any Horace Mann charter school may reserve up to 20 per cent of the 597 available seats for admission in each class year for eligible applicants who reside within a 598 geographic preference area determined by the school; provided, that any unallocated seats shall 599 be released to the general admissions lottery; provided further, that the reservation of seats and 600 the subsequent admissions preferences shall be administered as follows: (A) to be eligible for a 601 reserved seat, an applicant must submit an application for admission within an enrollment 602 window established by the school; (B) if the number of applicants with an admissions preference 603 exceeds the number of reserved seats, the school shall conduct a randomized lottery among those 604 applicants to fill the reserved seats; (C) any eligible applicant who is not selected for a reserved 605 seat under clause (B) shall automatically be entered into the general admissions lottery for the 606 school’s remaining available seats; and (D) in the general admissions lottery for the school’s 607 remaining available seats, the school shall conduct the lottery in accordance with the enrollment 608 preference categories established in subsection (n); provided, however, that any eligible 609 applicant who is not selected for a reserved seat may be granted a statistical advantage by means 610 of a weighted lottery; 611 (ii) the school district and the Horace Mann charter school may adopt a plan to enroll a 612 comparable population of students with disabilities, including students that require a full 613 continuum of support and may make assignments to the school consistent with the plan; or 614 (iii) in the event of a school closure, merger or comparable event, the school district and 615 the Horace Mann charter school may adopt a plan to enroll impacted students through a 616 reservation of seats, a weighted lottery or both. 32 of 79 617 (b) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to supersede the enrollment preference 618 granted to siblings of students currently attending the charter school under subsection (n). 619 (c) The department may issue guidance and administrative procedures as necessary to 620 assist districts and Horace Mann charter schools in implementing the weighted lottery and 621 geographic preference. 622 SECTION 46. Subsection (a1/2) of section 4 of chapter 94G of the General Laws is 623 hereby amended by striking out clauses (xxxix) and (xl), as appearing in section 24 of chapter 65 624 of the acts of 2026, and inserting in place thereof the following 3 clauses:- 625 (xxxix) equivalency and conversion standards for marijuana products pursuant to 626 subsection (a) of section 7; provided, however, that such standards shall consider potency and 627 form; 628 (xl) criteria for determining whether a person or entity has direct or indirect control over 629 a license pursuant to subsection (b) of section 16; and 630 (xli) procedures and criteria for issuing a registration card to a veteran pursuant to 631 paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of section 2 of chapter 94I. 632 SECTION 47. Section 1 of chapter 94I of the General Laws is hereby amended by 633 inserting after the word “sclerosis”, in line 23, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, the 634 following words:- , post-traumatic stress disorder, a medical condition that produces chronic 635 pain, opioid use disorder. 33 of 79 636 SECTION 48. Section 2 of said chapter 94I, as amended by section 46 of chapter 65 of 637 the acts of 2026, is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (a) and inserting in place 638 thereof the following subsection:- 639 (a)(1) The commission shall operate a medical use of marijuana program, which shall 640 permit a qualifying patient with a debilitating medical condition to obtain a written or electronic 641 certification from a healthcare professional with whom the patient has a bona fide healthcare 642 professional-patient relationship to purchase medical use marijuana from a medical marijuana 643 establishment. Upon issuance of a written certification from a healthcare professional, the 644 commission shall issue a registration card to the qualifying patient. A medical marijuana 645 establishment licensed and authorized by the commission to deliver, sell or otherwise transfer 646 medical use marijuana to consumers may sell medical use marijuana to a card holder. 647 (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the commission may issue a registration card to a 648 veteran receiving their health care at a federal Veterans Administration facility who provides 649 official documentation from the federal Veterans Administration indicating a diagnosis of a 650 debilitating medical condition; provided, that the commission shall not require a written or 651 electronic certification from a healthcare professional. 652 SECTION 49. Section 72W of chapter 111 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024 653 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the fifth paragraph the following 654 paragraph:- 655 The department may, without a prior hearing, suspend or refuse to renew the certification 656 of a nurses’ aide who poses an immediate and serious threat to the public health, safety or 657 welfare; provided, that a hearing shall be afforded to the nurses’ aide, pursuant to chapter 30A, 34 of 79 658 not later than 7 days after the department’s action to determine whether such summary action 659 was warranted. 660 SECTION 50. Section 72W½ of said chapter 111, as so appearing, is hereby amended by 661 striking out subsection (g) and inserting in place thereof the following 2 subsections:- 662 (g) The department may, without a prior hearing, suspend or refuse to renew the 663 certification of a certified medication aide who poses an immediate and serious threat to the 664 public health, safety or welfare; provided, that a hearing shall be afforded to the certified 665 medication aide, pursuant to chapter 30A, not later than 7 days after the department’s action to 666 determine whether such summary action was warranted. 667 (h) The department shall promulgate rules and regulations to carry out this section. 668 SECTION 51. Chapter 112 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after 669 section 61A the following section:- 670 Section 61B. A board of registration under the supervision of the department of public 671 health may, without a prior hearing, suspend or refuse to renew the license of a licensee who 672 poses an immediate and serious threat to the public health, safety or welfare; provided, that a 673 hearing shall be afforded to the licensee, pursuant to chapter 30A, not later than 7 days after the 674 board’s action to determine whether such summary action was warranted. 675 SECTION 52. Subsection (c) of section 10AA of chapter 118E of the General Laws, as 676 appearing in section 72 of chapter 137 of the acts of 2026, is hereby amended by inserting after 677 the word “medications” the following words:- ; and provided further, that nothing in this 678 subsection shall be construed to prohibit the division or any entity described in this subsection 35 of 79 679 from requiring the prescribing health care provider to be enrolled with the division, including, 680 but not limited to, as an ordering, referring or prescribing provider, or to otherwise meet 681 applicable federal and state enrollment and screening requirements, to the extent necessary to 682 comply with federal law and secure federal financial participation. 683 SECTION 53. Chapter 138 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out 684 section 12E, inserted by section 1 of chapter 213 of the acts of 2026, and inserting in place 685 thereof the following section:- 686 Section 12E. (a) For the purposes of this section, “licensed establishment” shall mean an 687 establishment holding a license for the sale of alcoholic beverages to be drunk on the premises 688 pursuant to this chapter. 689 (b)(1) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the local licensing 690 authority in a city or town that votes to authorize the granting of licenses for the sale of alcoholic 691 beverages may grant temporary licenses for the sale of alcoholic beverages to be drunk on the 692 premises to applicants that are nonprofit charitable corporations organized under chapter 180 and 693 registered with the non-profit organizations and public charities division of the office of the 694 attorney general. 695 (2) A temporary license shall describe the premises to which it applies and shall be 696 granted only for the premises that are the principal place of business or headquarters of the 697 nonprofit applicant and that are legally zoned to allow such sales or that are the premises of a 698 licensed establishment. The temporary license shall be valid for not more than 20 total days in a 699 calendar year. A holder of a temporary license under this subsection may conduct such sales 36 of 79 700 during the period for which the license was granted on any day and at any time permitted under 701 section 12 and may exercise such license rights on non-consecutive days during such period. 702 (3) Alcoholic beverages sold under this subsection may be donated at no charge to the 703 license holder by: (i) an individual; (ii) a person licensed to manufacture alcoholic beverages; or 704 (iii) a person licensed to sell alcoholic beverages at wholesale or retail pursuant to this chapter. 705 Any alcoholic beverages donated may be dispensed without compensation for the dispensing 706 services by: (A) employees or agents of the donor of such beverages; (B) employees of the 707 licensed establishment; or (C) employees of a management company approved by the 708 commission on the licensed premises, if applicable. All proceeds from such sales shall be used 709 for the license holder’s charitable purpose. 710 (4) The fee for the temporary license shall not exceed the minimum fee provided for 711 holders of licenses to sell alcoholic beverages under section 14. The application procedures 712 under section 15A shall not apply to temporary licenses under this subsection; provided, 713 however, that a temporary license under this subsection may be granted by the local licensing 714 authority according to the local procedures for granting licenses under section 14. 715 (c)(1) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the local licensing 716 authority in a city or town that votes to authorize the granting of licenses for the sale of alcoholic 717 beverages may grant temporary licenses for the sale of alcoholic beverages to be drunk on the 718 premises to joint applicants; provided, however, that at least 1 such joint applicant shall be a 719 nonprofit charitable corporation organized under chapter 180 and registered with the non-profit 720 organizations and public charities division of the office of the attorney general and a licensed 721 establishment. 37 of 79 722 (2) A temporary license shall describe the premises to which it applies and shall be 723 granted only for the premises of the joint applicant that is a licensed establishment. The 724 temporary license shall be valid for not more than 20 total days in a calendar year. A holder of a 725 temporary license under this subsection shall be permitted to conduct such sales during the 726 period for which the license was granted on any day and at any time permitted under section 12 727 and may exercise such license rights on non-consecutive days during such period. 728 (3) Alcoholic beverages sold under this section may be donated at no charge to the 729 license holder by: (i) an individual; (ii) a person licensed to manufacture alcoholic beverages; or 730 (iii) a person licensed to sell alcoholic beverages at wholesale or retail pursuant to this chapter. 731 Any alcoholic beverages donated may be dispensed without compensation for the dispensing 732 services by: (A) employees or agents of the donor of such beverages; (B) employees of the 733 licensed establishment; or (C) employees of a management company approved by the 734 commission on the licensed premises. A majority of the proceeds from such sales shall be used 735 for the charitable corporation license holder’s charitable purposes. 736 (4) The fee for such temporary license shall not exceed the minimum fee provided for 737 holders of licenses to sell alcoholic beverages at retail under section 14. The application 738 procedures under section 15A shall not apply to such temporary licenses under this subsection; 739 provided, however, that a temporary license under this section may be granted by the local 740 licensing authority according to the local procedures for granting licenses under section 14. 741 SECTION 54. Said chapter 138 is hereby further amended by striking out section 14A, 742 inserted by section 2 of said chapter 213, and inserting in place thereof the following section:- 38 of 79 743 Section 14A. (a) For the purposes of this section, “licensed establishment” shall mean: (i) 744 an establishment holding a license pursuant to section 15; and (ii) an establishment holding a 745 license for the sale of alcoholic beverages to be drunk on the premises pursuant to this chapter. 746 (b)(1) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the licensing authority 747 in any city or town that votes to authorize the sale of alcoholic beverages may grant licenses for 748 the sale of alcoholic beverages at auctions not to be drunk on the premises to an applicant that is 749 licensed as an auctioneer pursuant to chapter 100; provided, however, that such applicant shall 750 have been licensed as an auctioneer for not less than 10 years. 751 (2) A license granted under this subsection shall describe the premises to which it applies 752 and shall be granted only for the premises which are either the principal place of business or 753 headquarters of the applicant and legally zoned to allow such sales or which are the premises of a 754 licensed establishment. 755 (3) The fee for the license shall not exceed the minimum fee for holders of licenses under 756 section 14. A holder of a license for the sale of alcoholic beverages at auctions may conduct any 757 such auction during the period for which the license was granted on any day and at any time 758 permitted under section 12. Applications shall be granted by the licensing authority according to 759 the local procedure for granting licenses under section 14. 760 (4) A licensee who holds a license under this subsection may provide, without charge, on- 761 premises sample alcoholic beverages tastings for prospective customers if such beverages shall 762 be available for sale at auction on those premises; provided, however, that no single serving of 763 wine shall exceed 1 ounce, no single serving of malt beverages shall exceed 3 ounces and no 39 of 79 764 single serving of distilled spirits shall exceed 1/4 of an ounce; and provided further, that the 765 licensee shall control the dispensing of the alcoholic beverages. 766 (c)(1) The local licensing authority in a city or town that votes to authorize the granting 767 of licenses for the sale of alcoholic beverages may grant temporary licenses for the sale of 768 alcoholic beverages at auction not to be drunk on the premises to applicants that are nonprofit 769 charitable corporations organized under chapter 180 and registered with the non-profit 770 organizations and public charities division of the office of the attorney general. 771 (2) A temporary license shall describe the premises to which the license applies and shall 772 be granted only for premises that are the principal place of business or headquarters of the 773 applicant or a location owned or leased by the applicant from which the applicant regularly 774 conducts business and which is legally zoned to allow such sales or which are the premises of a 775 licensed establishment. A temporary license shall be valid for not more than 20 total days in a 776 calendar year and a holder of a temporary license shall not be granted more than 5 such 777 temporary licenses in a calendar year. A holder of a temporary license under this subsection may 778 conduct such auctions during the period for which such license was granted on any day and at 779 any time permitted under section 12 and may exercise such license rights on non-consecutive 780 days during such period. 781 (3) Alcoholic beverages sold under this subsection may be donated at no charge to the 782 license holder by: (i) an individual; (ii) a person licensed to manufacture alcoholic beverages; or 783 (iii) a person licensed to sell alcoholic beverages at wholesale or retail pursuant to this chapter; 784 provided, however, that all proceeds from such sales shall be used for the license holder’s 785 charitable purposes. 40 of 79 786 (4) The fee for a temporary license under this subsection shall not exceed the minimum 787 fee provided for holders of licenses to sell alcoholic beverages at retail under section 14. The 788 application procedures under section 15A shall not apply to temporary licenses under this 789 subsection; provided, however, that a temporary license under this section may be granted by the 790 local licensing authority according to the local procedures for the granting of licenses under 791 section 14. 792 (d)(1) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the local licensing 793 authority in a city or town that votes to authorize the granting of licenses for the sale of alcoholic 794 beverages may grant temporary licenses for the sale of alcoholic beverages at auctions not to be 795 drunk on the premises to applicants that are licensees under section 15. 796 (2) A temporary license shall describe the premises to which it applies and shall be 797 granted only for premises that are the principal place of business or headquarters of the applicant 798 and which are legally zoned to allow such sales or which are the premises of a licensee under 799 section 15. A temporary license shall be valid for not more than 20 total days in a calendar year 800 and a holder of any such temporary license shall not be granted more than 2 such temporary 801 licenses in a calendar year. A holder of a temporary license under this subsection shall be 802 permitted to conduct such auctions during the period for which the license was granted on any 803 day and at any time permitted under said section 15 during such period and may exercise such 804 license rights on non-consecutive days during such period. 805 (3) The fee for the temporary license shall not exceed the minimum fee provided for 806 holders of licenses to sell alcoholic beverages at retail under section 14. The application 807 procedures under section 15A shall not apply to temporary licenses under this subsection; 41 of 79 808 provided, however, that a temporary license under this section may be granted by the local 809 licensing authority according to the local procedures for granting licenses under section 14. 810 (e)(1) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the local licensing 811 authority in a city or town that votes to authorize the granting of licenses for the sale of an 812 alcoholic beverage may grant temporary licenses for the sale of alcoholic beverages at auction 813 not to be drunk on the premises to joint applicants; provided, however, that at least 1 such joint 814 applicant shall be a nonprofit charitable corporation organized under chapter 180 and registered 815 with the non-profit organizations and public charities division of the office of the attorney 816 general and a licensed establishment. 817 (2) A temporary license shall describe the premises to which it applies and shall be 818 granted only for the premises of the joint applicant that is a licensed establishment. A temporary 819 license shall be valid for not more than 20 total days in a calendar year and a holder of any such 820 temporary license shall not be granted more than 2 such licenses in a calendar year. A holder of a 821 temporary license under this subsection shall be permitted to conduct such sales during the 822 period for which the license was granted on any day and at any time permitted under section 12 823 during such period and may exercise such license rights on non-consecutive days during such 824 period. 825 (3) Alcoholic beverages sold under this subsection may be donated at no charge to the 826 license holder by: (i) an individual; (ii) a person licensed to manufacture alcoholic beverages; or 827 (iii) a person licensed to sell alcoholic beverages at wholesale or retail pursuant to this chapter. A 828 majority of the proceeds from such sales shall be used for the charitable corporation license 829 holder’s charitable purposes. 42 of 79 830 (4) The fee for such temporary license shall not exceed the minimum fee provided for 831 holders of licenses to sell alcoholic beverages at retail under section 14. The application 832 procedures under section 15A shall not apply to such temporary licenses under this subsection; 833 provided, however, that such temporary license granted under this subsection may be granted by 834 the local licensing authority according to the local procedures for granting licenses under section 835 14. 836 SECTION 55. Said chapter 138 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 22A 837 the following section:- 838 Section 22B. (a) Any parcel delivery service, general express or trucking business 839 holding a permit issued pursuant to section 22 that delivers, carries or transports alcoholic 840 beverages into the commonwealth for delivery to a person other than a holder of a license or 841 permit issued under this chapter shall prepare and file monthly with the commission a report of 842 all such alcoholic beverage shipments. The report shall be filed in a form prescribed by the 843 commission and shall include: (i) the name and address of the consignor; (ii) the weight of the 844 package shipped; (iii) the name and address of the consignee; (iv) the date of delivery; and (v) a 845 unique tracking number for the shipment. 846 (b) A permit holder who knowingly violates this section or any of the rules and 847 regulations of the commission for the administration and enforcement of this section shall be 848 subject to permit suspension or revocation at the commission’s discretion. 849 (c) The name and address of a consignee and the unique tracking numbers included in 850 reports submitted pursuant to this section shall not be public records and shall be exempt from 851 disclosure pursuant to clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4 and chapter 66. 43 of 79 852 SECTION 56. Subsection (a) of section 105E of chapter 149 of the General Laws, as 853 appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the definition of 854 “Covered employer” and inserting in place thereof the following definition:- 855 “Covered employer”, an employer with not less than 100 employees in the 856 commonwealth at any time during the prior calendar year. 857 SECTION 57. Said subsection (a) of said section 105E of said chapter 149, as so 858 appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the definitions of “EEO-1 data report”, 859 “EEO-3 data report”, “EEO-4 data report” and “EEO-5 data report” and inserting in place 860 thereof the following 4 definitions:- 861 “EEO-1 data report”, (i) a completed copy of all required components of an employer’s 862 Employer Information Report, as issued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity 863 Commission, including any successor report containing the same or substantially similar 864 workforce demographic and pay data categorized by race, ethnicity, sex and job category; or (ii) 865 a completed report in a similar format issued by the executive office of labor and workforce 866 development containing the same workforce demographic and pay data categorized by race, 867 ethnicity, sex and job category. 868 “EEO-3 data report”, (i) a completed copy of all required components of a local union’s 869 Local Union Report, as issued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 870 including any successor report containing the same or substantially similar workforce 871 demographic and pay data categorized by race, ethnicity, sex and job category; or (ii) a 872 completed report in a similar format issued by the executive office of labor and workforce 44 of 79 873 development containing the same workforce demographic and pay data categorized by race, 874 ethnicity, sex and job category. 875 “EEO-4 data report”, (i) a completed copy of a State and Local Governmental 876 Information Report, as issued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 877 including any successor report containing the same or substantially similar workforce 878 demographic and pay data categorized by race, ethnicity, sex and job category; or (ii) a 879 completed report in a similar format issued by the executive office of labor and workforce 880 development containing the same workforce demographic and pay data categorized by race, 881 ethnicity, sex and job category. 882 “EEO-5 data report”, (i) a completed copy of an Elementary–Secondary Staff 883 Information Report, as issued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 884 including any successor report containing the same or substantially similar workforce 885 demographic and pay data categorized by race, ethnicity, sex and job category; or (ii) a 886 completed report in a similar format issued by the executive office of labor and workforce 887 development containing the same workforce demographic and pay data categorized by race, 888 ethnicity, sex and job category. 889 SECTION 58. Said subsection (a) of said section 105E of said chapter 149, as so 890 appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the definition of “State secretary”. 891 SECTION 59. Said section 105E of said chapter 149, as so appearing, is further hereby 892 amended by striking out, in lines 35, 39 and 44 the words “state secretary” and inserting in place 893 thereof, in each instance, the following words:- executive office of labor and workforce 894 development. 45 of 79 895 SECTION 60. Said section 105E of said chapter 149, as so appearing, is hereby further 896 amended by striking out, in lines 36, 41 and 45 and 46, each time they appear, the words 897 “pursuant to section 32 of chapter 9”. 898 SECTION 61. Said section 105E of said chapter 149, as so appearing, is hereby further 899 amended by striking out, in lines 38 and 43, each time it appears, the word “federal”. 900 SECTION 62. Said section 105E of said chapter 149, as so appearing, is hereby further 901 amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:- 902 (c)(1) The executive office of labor and workforce development shall accept wage data 903 reports filed by covered employers subject to the filing requirements of an EEO-1 data report, 904 EEO-3 data report, EEO-4 data report or EEO-5 data report through the least restrictive means 905 available, including, but not limited to, web portals, email submissions or paper forms. 906 (2) The executive office of labor and workforce development may establish a web portal, 907 sample email submission or paper form to facilitate the submission of the wage data reports by 908 covered employers. 909 SECTION 63. Chapter 152 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out 910 section 25A, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:- 911 Section 25A. In order to promote the health, safety and welfare of employees, every 912 employer shall provide for the payment to their employees of the compensation provided for by 913 this chapter in the following manner: 914 (1) By insurance with an insurer or by membership in a workers’ compensation self- 915 insurance group, established pursuant to the provisions of sections 25E to 25U, inclusive; or 46 of 79 916 (2) Subject to the rules of the department, by obtaining from the department annually a 917 license as a self-insurer by conforming to either subparagraph (a) or (b) and to subparagraph (c) 918 if required. Every employer desiring to be licensed as a self-insurer shall make application for 919 such license on a form provided by the department. The application shall contain: (i) a sworn 920 itemized statement of the assets and liabilities of the applicant; (ii) a payroll report for the 921 preceding fiscal year of the applicant; and (iii) a detailed description of the nature and kind of 922 business carried on. 923 (a) By keeping on deposit with the state treasurer in trust for the benefit and security of 924 employees such amount of securities, not less in market value than $100,000, as may be required 925 by the department, said securities to be in the form of cash, bonds, stocks or other evidences of 926 indebtedness as the department may require, and to be used, liquidated and disbursed only upon 927 order of the department for the purposes of paying the benefits provided for by this chapter. The 928 department shall, at least annually, and at its discretion more frequently, determine the liabilities 929 of a self-insurer both incurred or to be incurred because of personal injuries to employees under 930 this chapter. The department shall require an additional deposit or further security when the sum 931 of the self-insurer’s liability both incurred or to be incurred exceeds the deposit or any required 932 reinsurance, or permit a decrease of said deposit provided the value of said deposit in no case 933 shall be less than $100,000. The department may permit a substitution of securities in place of 934 those deposited. Interest, dividends and other income from said deposit or deposits shall be 935 payable to the employer that deposited them, unless the department directs otherwise. The 936 deposit or deposits may be returned to the employer if the employer shall: (i) insure with an 937 insurer under paragraph (1); (ii) qualify as a self-insurer under subparagraph (b); or (iii) cease to 938 transact business in the commonwealth; provided, that the employer shall demonstrate, to the 47 of 79 939 satisfaction of the department that they are not under any obligation to pay compensation under 940 this chapter, or, if the department so requires, they furnish the department with a single premium 941 non-cancellable policy, insuring the employer against any liability that may have arisen under 942 this chapter, or with a bond executed as surety by some company with a rating of “A” or higher 943 authorized to transact the business of workers’ compensation insurance in this commonwealth, in 944 an amount and form approved by the department, guaranteeing the payment of any liability on 945 the employer’s part that may have arisen under this chapter. No deposit so deposited shall be 946 assignable or subject to attachment or be liable in any way for the debt of the self-insurer. If an 947 employer engaged in interstate or foreign commerce certifies that the laws of the United States 948 provide for liability for injury to or death of its employees, the deposit shall be returned to the 949 employer less such amount as determined by the department as necessary to satisfy against 950 liability that may already have arisen under this chapter; provided, that such determination by the 951 department shall be reviewable by the superior court for the county in which the employer 952 resides, or, in the case of a corporation, where said corporation has a principal place of business. 953 Any bond issued pursuant to this subparagraph shall remain in full force and effect until a new 954 bond is issued on the same conditions as a bond issued under subparagraph (b) and with an 955 effective date approved by the department and shall be subject to all provisions of this chapter 956 and 452 C.M.R. 5.00. 957 (b) By furnishing annually a bond running to the commonwealth, with a surety company 958 with a rating of “A” or higher authorized to transact business in the commonwealth as surety, in 959 such form as may be approved by the department and in such amount not less than $100,000 as 960 may be required by the department. The bond shall be upon the condition that if the license of 961 the principal shall be revoked, or if the principal shall cease to transact business in the 48 of 79 962 commonwealth, or if the department shall refuse to renew the license, or if the principal shall 963 insure with an insurer, then the department may, in its discretion, demand, and the principal then 964 shall deposit with the state treasurer 1 of the following: (i) an amount of securities equal to the 965 penal sum of the bond; (ii) a single premium non-cancellable policy issued by some insurance 966 company authorized to transact the business of workers’ compensation insurance in the 967 commonwealth, insuring the principal against any liability that may have arisen under this 968 chapter; or (iii) a bond executed as surety by some company with an “A” rating or above 969 authorized to transact the business aforesaid in the commonwealth, in an amount and form 970 approved by the department, guaranteeing the payment of any liability on the principal’s part that 971 may have arisen under this chapter. Unless the department has made such demand and the 972 principal has made such deposit with the treasurer, such bond shall remain in full force and effect 973 for any and all liabilities of the self-insurer under this chapter. No deposit with the state treasurer 974 under this section shall be assignable or subject to attachment or be liable in any way for the debt 975 of the self-insurer. 976 The department shall, at least annually, determine the liabilities of a self-insurer both 977 incurred or to be incurred because of personal injuries to employees under this chapter. The 978 department may at any time require an additional bond, similarly conditioned, or further security 979 or permit a decrease in the amount of said bond; provided, that the amount of the bond or the 980 bonds in no case shall be less than $100,000. The liability of the surety shall not exceed in the 981 aggregate the penal sum or sums stated in any such annual bond or bonds or in any endorsements 982 giving effect to any such increase or reduction. The department may permit a substitution of a 983 new bond or bonds for the bond or bonds that have been furnished and shall return the old bond 984 or bonds to the self-insurer as soon as a new annual bond has been obtained. Any bond for which 49 of 79 985 the department permits or requires substitution shall remain in full force and effect until a new 986 bond is obtained with an effective date approved by the department. When a surety bond is 987 activated under this chapter, the surety bond company shall, within 10 days of the activation, 988 commence payment of any liabilities that may arise or have arisen under this chapter on behalf of 989 the principal. 990 (c) As a further guarantee of a self-insurer’s ability to pay the benefits provided for by 991 this chapter to injured employees, every self-insurer shall make arrangements satisfactory to the 992 department, by reinsurance, to protect it from extraordinary losses or losses caused by 1 disaster. 993 Such reinsurance shall be: (i) in such amounts and form as the department may approve; 994 and (ii) effected with a company as provided in section 20 of chapter 175; provided, that the 995 minimum amount shall be not less than $500,000. Such reinsurance shall provide that the use or 996 disposition of any money received by a self-insurer or former self-insurer under any such 997 reinsurance shall be subject to the approval of the department, and no such money shall be 998 assignable or subject to attachment or be liable in any way for the debt of the self-insurer unless 999 incurred under this chapter. In the event that a surety bond is activated under this section, such 1000 reinsurance shall continue and such reinsurer shall continue to make payments on claims for 1001 which payments have already commenced, commence payment on claims that reach the 1002 retention level set in the applicable reinsurance policy and, upon exhaustion of the surety bond or 1003 development of any deficiency in the bond, commence or continue payments for any liabilities 1004 that may arise or have arisen under this chapter. 1005 The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to common carriers by railroad that are 1006 subject to the provisions of the Federal Employers Liability Act. 50 of 79 1007 (3) The department may: (i) make rules governing self-insurers; and (ii) revoke or refuse 1008 to renew the license of a self-insurer because of the failure of such self-insurer promptly to make 1009 payments of compensation provided for by this chapter, or for any other reasonable cause. Any 1010 person aggrieved by the action of the department in refusing to grant a license or in revoking, or 1011 refusing to renew, a license of a self-insurer under this section or by the action of the department 1012 in requiring an additional deposit or further security under paragraph (a) of this section, or in 1013 requiring a further bond or security for an additional sum under paragraph (b) of this section, 1014 may demand a hearing before the department, and if, after said hearing, the department denies 1015 their petition, the person may within 10 days after receipt of a notice stating reasons for such 1016 denial, file a petition in the superior court for Suffolk county for a review thereof; but the filing 1017 of such a petition shall not suspend the action of the department unless a stay thereof shall be 1018 allowed by the justice pending a final determination by the court. The court shall summarily hear 1019 the petition and may make any appropriate order or decree. 1020 (4)(a) The commissioner of insurance shall require each insurer issuing a policy under 1021 this chapter to offer, as a part of the policy or as an optional endorsement to the policy, 1022 deductibles, including reasonable small deductibles optional to the policyholder for benefits 1023 payable under this chapter. Deductible amounts offered shall be fully disclosed to the prospective 1024 policyholders in writing in amounts determined by the commissioner. The policyholder 1025 exercising the deductible option shall choose only 1 deductible amount. 1026 (b) If the policyholder exercises the option and chooses a deductible, the insured 1027 employer shall be liable for the amount of the deductible for benefits paid for each compensable 1028 claim of work injury suffered by an employee or, at the option of the policyholder, an aggregate 1029 deductible as determined by the commissioner. The insurer shall pay all or part of the deductible 51 of 79 1030 amount, whichever is applicable, to a compensable claim, to the person or medical provider 1031 entitled to the benefits conferred by this chapter and then seek reimbursement from the insured 1032 employer for the applicable deductible amount. The payment or nonpayment of deductible 1033 amounts by the insured employer to the insurer shall be treated under the policy insuring the 1034 liability for workers’ compensation in the same manner as payment or nonpayment of premiums. 1035 (c) Optional deductibles shall be offered in each policy insuring liability for workers’ 1036 compensation that is issued, delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed under this chapter on or 1037 after a date to be determined by the commissioner, unless an insured employer and insurer agree 1038 to renegotiate a workers’ compensation policy in effect, so as to include a provision allowing for 1039 a deductible. 1040 (d) Premium reductions for deductibles shall be determined by the commissioner of 1041 insurance. The commissioner of insurance may adopt rules or promulgate regulations to enforce 1042 this section relative to workers’ compensation insurance deductibles. 1043 (e) This subsection shall not apply to employers who are approved to self-insure against 1044 liability for workers’ compensation or group self-insurance funds for workers’ compensation 1045 established pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. 1046 (f) The commissioner of insurance may promulgate regulations to enforce the provisions 1047 of this section. 1048 SECTION 64. Section 7 of chapter 175M of the General Laws is hereby amended by 1049 striking out, in lines 26, 68, 72 and 77, as so appearing, the figure “140” and inserting in place 1050 thereof, in each instance, the following figure:- 120. 52 of 79 1051 SECTION 65. Chapter 731 of the acts of 1945 is hereby repealed. 1052 SECTION 66. Chapter 210 of the acts of 1946 is hereby repealed. 1053 SECTION 67. Chapter 581 of the acts of 1946 is hereby repealed. 1054 SECTION 68. Chapter 440 of the acts of 1953 is hereby repealed. 1055 SECTION 69. Chapter 646 of the acts of 1968 is hereby repealed. 1056 SECTION 70. Chapter 325 of the acts of 1969 is hereby repealed. 1057 SECTION 71. Subsection (e) of section 9 of chapter 152 of the acts of 1997 is hereby 1058 amended by inserting after the word “Fund” the following words:- ; and provided further, that 1059 the additional surcharge shall not apply to vehicular rental transaction contracts entered into with 1060 a car-sharing organization, as defined in section 32J of chapter 90 of the General Laws. 1061 SECTION 72. Section 16 of chapter 130 of the acts of 2005 is hereby repealed. 1062 SECTION 73. Chapter 162 of the acts of 2013 is hereby amended by striking out sections 1063 1 to 5, inclusive, and inserting in place thereof the following 10 sections:- 1064 Section 1. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the 1065 commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, in consultation with the 1066 commissioner of conservation and recreation, may convey certain land currently under the care 1067 and control of the department of conservation and recreation to the city of Boston to be placed 1068 under the care and control of the city of Boston’s public works department for general municipal 1069 purposes, including, but not limited to, a street light facility. The conveyance shall be subject to 1070 sections 2 to 4, inclusive, and to such additional terms and conditions as the commissioner of 53 of 79 1071 capital asset management and maintenance may prescribe in consultation with the commissioner 1072 of conservation and recreation; provided, however, that such additional terms and conditions 1073 shall be consistent with this act. 1074 (b) The parcel of land that may be conveyed pursuant to subsection (a) includes a portion 1075 of a certain parcel of land located in the city of Boston described in a deed recorded in the 1076 Suffolk county registry of deeds in book 8773, page 674. The exact boundaries of the parcel to 1077 be conveyed shall be determined by the commissioner of capital asset management and 1078 maintenance in consultation with the commissioner of conservation and recreation after 1079 completion of a survey. 1080 Section 2. (a) The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority shall convey to the 1081 commonwealth, as consideration for the conveyance authorized in section 1, certain easements 1082 upon land located near the Neponset river, to be placed under the care and control of the 1083 department of conservation and recreation for conservation and recreation purposes associated 1084 with the Neponset river greenway. If the conveyance authorized in said section 1 has not been 1085 completed within 180 days of the effective date of this act, the department of conservation and 1086 recreation may agree to accept said easements at any time thereafter and the conveyance 1087 authorized in said section 1 may proceed independently and the commonwealth may waive any 1088 claim of failure of consideration against the city of Boston. The easements shall allow the 1089 department of conservation and recreation to construct, operate, maintain and repair a public 1090 recreational corridor and to authorize public access to such recreational facilities, subject to the 1091 rules and regulations of the department of conservation and recreation. 54 of 79 1092 (b) The easement areas are approximately shown on sketch plans on file with the division 1093 of capital asset management and maintenance entitled: (i) “DCR Proposed Easement – 1094 Emergency Access & Egress, Boston, MA”; (ii) “DCR Proposed Easements - A-1a and A-1b, 1095 Boston, MA”; (iii) “DCR Proposed Easement A-2, Boston, MA”; (iv) “ DCR Proposed 1096 Easement B-1, Milton, MA”; (v) “DCR Proposed Easement B-2, Milton, MA”; (vi) “DCR 1097 Proposed Easement B-3, Milton, MA”; (vii) “DCR Proposed Easement C-1, Milton, MA”; and 1098 (viii) “DCR Proposed Easement D-1, Boston, MA”. The exact boundaries of the easement areas 1099 shall be determined by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, in 1100 consultation with the commissioner of conservation and recreation, after completion of a survey. 1101 (c) Notwithstanding subsection (b), the commissioner of capital asset management and 1102 maintenance, in consultation with the commissioner of conservation and recreation, may accept 1103 any easements near the Neponset river that accomplish the purposes described in subsection (a) 1104 as determined by the commissioner of capital asset management, in consultation with the 1105 commissioner of conservation and recreation. 1106 Section 3. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the city of Boston 1107 shall be responsible for all costs and expenses related to the conveyance authorized in sections 1 1108 and 2, including, but not limited to, costs associated with any engineering, surveys, appraisals 1109 and deed preparation, as such costs may be determined by the commissioner of capital asset 1110 management and maintenance. 1111 Section 4. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the city of Boston 1112 shall accept the new alignment of Canterbury street from Canterbury street to Morton street as a 1113 city street upon the completion of the conveyance authorized in section 1; provided, that the 55 of 79 1114 aligned street has been constructed, inspected and approved in accordance with the standards and 1115 specifications of the city of Boston’s department of public works and its public improvements 1116 commission and shall maintain the street as a city street immediately upon such conveyance. The 1117 city of Boston may at any time release any easement in the discontinued portions of the street 1118 and the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may at any time grant a 1119 recordable street easement to the city of Boston over land owned by the commonwealth to the 1120 extent that it lies within the area of the newly-aligned street as may be determined by the 1121 commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance and approved by the city of Boston. 1122 Section 5. (a) Notwithstanding sections 32 to 37, inclusive, of chapter 7C of the General 1123 Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the commissioner of capital asset 1124 management and maintenance, in consultation with the commissioner of conservation and 1125 recreation, may convey to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority a certain parcel of land 1126 located at 430 Canterbury street in the city of Boston for water conveyance purposes and 1127 purposes related thereto. The parcel is more particularly shown as “FEE-1” on a draft plan of 1128 land entitled, “Massachusetts Water Resources Authority – Metropolitan Water Tunnel Program 1129 Contract Package 2 – American Legion Receiving Shaft Site Acquisition Plan of Land – Boston, 1130 Massachusetts,” dated April 29, 2026, prepared by Martinez Couch & Associates, LLC and on 1131 file with the department of conservation and recreation. 1132 (b) The parcel that may be conveyed pursuant to subsection (a) is a portion of a certain 1133 parcel of land located in the city of Boston described in a deed recorded in the Suffolk county 1134 registry of deeds in book 8773, pages 673 and 674. The exact boundaries and location of the 1135 parcel shall be determined by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, in 1136 consultation with the commissioner of the department of conservation and recreation. The 56 of 79 1137 commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may convey any portion of the said 1138 parcel described in said book 8773, said pages 673 and 674 that accomplishes the purposes of 1139 this act as determined by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, in 1140 consultation with the commissioner of conservation and recreation and the Massachusetts Water 1141 Resources Authority. 1142 Section 6. (a) Notwithstanding sections 32 to 37, inclusive, of chapter 7C of the General 1143 Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the commissioner of capital asset 1144 management and maintenance, in consultation with the commissioner of conservation and 1145 recreation, may convey to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority a permanent easement 1146 on a parcel of land located at 430 Canterbury street in the city of Boston for water conveyance 1147 purposes and purposes related thereto. The easement is more particularly shown as “PE-1” on a 1148 draft plan of land entitled “Massachusetts Water Resources Authority – Metropolitan Water 1149 Tunnel Program Contract Package 2 – American Legion Receiving Shaft Site Acquisition Plan 1150 of Land – Boston, Massachusetts,” dated April 29, 2026, prepared by Martinez Couch & 1151 Associates, LLC and on file with the department of conservation and recreation. 1152 (b) The easement that may be conveyed pursuant to subsection (a) is a portion of a certain 1153 parcel of land located in the city of Boston described in a deed recorded in the Suffolk registry of 1154 deeds in book 8773, pages 673 and 674. The exact boundaries and location of the easement shall 1155 be determined by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, in 1156 consultation with the commissioner of conservation and recreation. The commissioner of capital 1157 asset management and maintenance may convey any portion of said parcel described in said 1158 book 8773, said pages 673 and 674 that accomplishes the purposes of this act, as determined by 57 of 79 1159 the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, in consultation with the 1160 commissioner of conservation and recreation and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. 1161 Section 7. (a) Notwithstanding sections 32 to 37, inclusive, of chapter 7C of the General 1162 Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the commissioner of capital asset 1163 management and maintenance, in consultation with the commissioner of youth services, may 1164 convey to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority a permanent access easement on a 1165 parcel of land located at 450 Canterbury street in the city of Boston for water conveyance 1166 purposes and purposes related thereto. The permanent easement consists of approximately 8,503 1167 square feet and is more particularly shown as “PE-2” on a draft plan of land entitled 1168 “Massachusetts Water Resources Authority – Metropolitan Water Tunnel Program Contract 1169 Package 2 – American Legion Receiving Shaft Site Acquisition Plan of Land – Boston, 1170 Massachusetts,” dated April 29, 2026, prepared by Martinez Couch & Associates, LLC and on 1171 file with the department of conservation and recreation. 1172 (b) The easement that may be conveyed pursuant to subsection (a) is a portion of a certain 1173 parcel of land located in the city of Boston described in a deed recorded in the Suffolk county 1174 registry of deeds in book 6902, pages 248 and 249. The exact boundaries and location of the 1175 easement shall be determined by the commissioner of capital asset management and 1176 maintenance, in consultation with the commissioner of youth services. The commissioner of 1177 capital asset management and maintenance may convey any portion of said parcel described in 1178 said book 6902, said pages 248 and 249 that accomplishes the purposes of this act, as determined 1179 by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, in consultation with the 1180 commissioner of youth services and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. 58 of 79 1181 Section 8. The value of the property described in sections 5, 6 and 7 shall be determined 1182 by an independent professional appraisal of its fair market value and value in use prepared in 1183 accordance with the usual and customary professional appraisal practice by a qualified appraiser 1184 commissioned by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, in 1185 consultation with the commissioner of conservation and recreation and the commissioner of 1186 youth services. The commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall submit the 1187 appraisal and a report thereon to the inspector general for review and comment. The inspector 1188 general shall review and approve the appraisal, and the review shall include an examination of 1189 the methodology utilized for the appraisal. The inspector general shall prepare a report of the 1190 review and file the report with the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance. 1191 After receiving the report, the commissioner shall submit copies of the appraisal, the report 1192 thereon and the inspector general’s review and approval and comments, if any, to the house and 1193 senate committees on ways and means and the chairs of the joint committee on state 1194 administration and regulatory oversight at least 15 days prior to the execution of the conveyance 1195 authorized in said sections 5, 6 and 7. 1196 Section 9. (a) As consideration for the conveyances authorized in sections 5 and 6, the 1197 Massachusetts Water Resources Authority shall compensate the commonwealth in an amount 1198 equal to the full and fair market value or the value in use, whichever is greater, as determined by 1199 the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance. The department of conservation 1200 and recreation shall deposit such funds into the Conservation Trust established in section 1 of 1201 chapter 132A of the General Laws. 1202 (b) As consideration for the conveyance authorized in section 7, the Massachusetts Water 1203 Resources Authority shall compensate the commonwealth by making a payment to the General 59 of 79 1204 Fund in an amount equal to the full and fair market value or the value in use, whichever is 1205 greater, as determined by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance. 1206 Section 10. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Massachusetts 1207 Water Resources Authority shall be responsible for all costs and expenses related to the 1208 conveyances authorized in sections 5, 6 and 7, including, but not limited to, costs associated with 1209 any engineering, surveys, appraisals and deed preparation as such costs may be determined by 1210 the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance. 1211 SECTION 74. Section 71 of chapter 10 of the acts of 2015, as amended by chapter 146 of 1212 the acts of 2020, is hereby further amended by striking out the figure “2026” and inserting in 1213 place thereof the following figure:- 2032. 1214 SECTION 75. Section 75 of chapter 260 of the acts of 2020, as amended by section 31 of 1215 chapter 248 of the acts of 2024, is hereby further amended by striking out the figure “2027” and 1216 inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2029. 1217 SECTION 75A. Item 1599-0026 of section 2 of chapter 24 of the acts of 2021 is hereby 1218 amended by striking out the figure “2025”, as appearing in section 32 of chapter 248 of the acts 1219 of 2024, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2027. 1220 SECTION 76. Subsection (b) of section 16 of chapter 76 of the acts of 2021, as amended 1221 by section 4 of chapter 98 of the acts of 2022, is hereby further amended by striking out the 1222 figure “2027” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2028. 1223 SECTION 76A. Item 1599-2032 of section 2A of chapter 102 of the acts of 2021 is 1224 hereby amended by striking out the words “initiate a water merger feasibility study in the town 60 of 79 1225 of Great Barrington” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- the town of Great 1226 Barrington to protect drinking water quality or for drinking water distribution and such funds 1227 shall be made available December 31, 2028. 1228 SECTION 77. Chapter 183 of the acts of 2022 is hereby amended by striking out section 1229 4 and inserting in place thereof the following section:- 1230 Section 4. The parcels of land that may be transferred to the department of agricultural 1231 resources pursuant to section 3 contain approximately 175 acres and are shown as the 1232 agricultural fields numbered 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14A, 14C, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 22 on the 1233 plan entitled “Plan of Land in Templeton, MA” prepared by Northeast Survey Consultants and 1234 dated July 27, 2017 on file with the division of capital asset management and maintenance, 1235 subject to modifications pursuant to section 3 and the parcel shown as AF13 and the western 1236 portion of AF1, both of which are owned by the commonwealth and currently used as 1237 agricultural fields, containing approximately 54 acres on the plan entitled “Plan of Land in 1238 Templeton, MA & Phillipston, MA” prepared by Northeast Survey Consultants and dated March 1239 18, 2025 and recorded in Worcester county registry of deeds in book 983, page 11. 1240 SECTION 78. Said chapter 183 is hereby further amended by striking out section 6 and 1241 inserting in place thereof the following section:- 1242 Section 6. The agricultural fields and parcels that may be conveyed pursuant to section 5 1243 are the agricultural fields numbered 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 14B and the parcels labeled LA 2, LA 3 1244 and LA 4 on the plan entitled “Plan of Land in Templeton, MA” prepared by Northeast Survey 1245 Consultants and dated July 27, 2017 on file with the division of capital asset management and 1246 maintenance, subject to modifications pursuant to section 5, and the parcels shown as SP2, SP6 61 of 79 1247 and the eastern portion of AF1 containing approximately 10 acres on the plan entitled “Plan of 1248 Land in Templeton, MA & Phillipston MA” prepared by Northeast Survey Consultants and dated 1249 March 18, 2025 and recorded in Worcester county registry of deeds book 983, page 11. 1250 SECTION 78A. Section 213 of chapter 140 of the acts of 2024, as amended by section 1251 156 of chapter 73 of the acts of 2025, is hereby further amended by striking out the words 1252 “December 31, 2026” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- December 31, 2028. 1253 SECTION 78B. Item 4000-0054 of section 2 of chapter 28 of the acts of 2023 is hereby 1254 amended by striking out the figure “2027”, as appearing in section 35 of chapter 206 of the acts 1255 of 2024, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2028. 1256 SECTION 78C. Item 0640-0300 of section 2 of chapter 140 of the acts of 2024 is hereby 1257 amended by striking out the figure “2026”, as appearing in section 89 of chapter 73 of the acts of 1258 2025, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2027. 1259 SECTION 78D. Item 1599-0026 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended 1260 by striking out the figure “2026”, as appearing in section 94 of said chapter 73, and inserting in 1261 place thereof the following figure:- 2027. 1262 SECTION 78E. Item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended 1263 by striking out the figure “2026”, as appearing in section 114 of said chapter 73, and inserting in 1264 place thereof the following figure:- 2027. 1265 SECTION 79. Item 1596-2511 of section 2A of chapter 7 of the acts of 2025 is hereby 1266 amended by adding the following words:- ; and provided further, that the commissioner of early 1267 education and care may transfer funds from this item to items 3000-3060 and 3000-4060. 62 of 79 1268 SECTION 79A. Item 1599-0026 of section 2 of chapter 9 of the acts of 2025 is hereby 1269 amended by striking out the words “town of Townsend for the completion of the fitness court 1270 project” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- North Middlesex Regional School 1271 District for the completion of a fitness court and such funds shall be made available until June 1272 30, 2027. 1273 SECTION 79B. Said item 1599-0026 of said section 2 of said chapter 9 is hereby further 1274 amended by inserting after the word “regulations” the following words:- and such funds shall be 1275 made available until June 30, 2027. 1276 SECTION 79C. Said item 1599-0026 of said section 2 of said chapter 9 is hereby further 1277 amended by inserting after the word “thereto” the following words:- and such funds shall be 1278 made available until June 30, 2027. 1279 SECTION 79D. Said item 1599-0026 of said section 2 of said chapter 9 is hereby further 1280 amended by inserting after the word “communications” the following words:- and such funds 1281 shall be made available until June 30, 2027. 1282 SECTION 79E. Said item 1599-0026 of said section 2 of said chapter 9 is hereby further 1283 amended by inserting after the words “library building” the following words:- and such funds 1284 shall be made available until June 30, 2027. 1285 SECTION 79F. Item 5911-2000 of said section 2 of said chapter 9 is hereby amended by 1286 inserting after the words “Berkshire County” the following words:- and such funds shall be made 1287 available until June 30, 2027. 63 of 79 1288 SECTION 80. Item 5920-2000 of said section 2 of said chapter 9 is hereby amended by 1289 striking out the figure “$5,000,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 1290 $16,000,000. 1291 SECTION 80A. Item 7002-0010 of said section 2 of said chapter 9 is hereby amended by 1292 inserting after the words “community organization” the following words:- and such funds shall 1293 be made available until June 30, 2027. 1294 SECTION 80B. Item 7004-3036 of said section 2 of said chapter 9 is hereby amended by 1295 inserting after the words “in the city known as the town of Barnstable” the following words:- and 1296 such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2027. 1297 SECTION 81. Item 7004-9315 of said section 2 of said chapter 9 is hereby amended by 1298 striking out the figure “$3,571,512”, each time it appears, and inserting in place thereof, in each 1299 instance, the following figure:- $5,571,512. 1300 SECTION 81A. Item 7008-0900 of said section 2 of said chapter 9 is hereby amended by 1301 inserting after the word “Eagles” the following words:- and such funds shall be made available 1302 until June 30, 2027. 1303 SECTION 81B. Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 9, as so amended, 1304 is hereby further amended by inserting after the words “Chamber’s community outreach” the 1305 following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2027. 1306 SECTION 81C. Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 9, as so amended, 1307 is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “van” the following words:- and such 1308 funds shall be made available until June 30, 2027. 64 of 79 1309 SECTION 81D. Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 9, as so amended, 1310 is hereby further amended by inserting after the words “Master Plan” the following words:- and 1311 such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2027. 1312 SECTION 81E. Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 9, as so amended, 1313 is hereby further amended by inserting after the words “preparation facilities” the following 1314 words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2027. 1315 SECTION 81F. Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 9, as so amended, 1316 is hereby further amended by inserting after the words “West Boylston” the following words:- 1317 and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2027. 1318 SECTION 81G. Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 9, as so amended, 1319 is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “fieldhouse” the following words:- and 1320 such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2027. 1321 SECTION 81H. Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 9, as so amended, 1322 is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “Westford” the following words:- and such 1323 funds shall be made available until June 30, 2027. 1324 SECTION 81I. Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 9, as so amended, is 1325 hereby further amended by inserting after the words “route 24” the following words:- and such 1326 funds shall be made available until June 30, 2027. 1327 SECTION 81J. Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 9, as so amended, is 1328 hereby further amended by inserting after the word “Wellesley”, the first time it appears, the 1329 following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2027. 65 of 79 1330 SECTION 82. Item 8100-0102 of said section 2 of said chapter 9 is hereby amended by 1331 striking out the figure “$52,000,000”, each time it appears, and inserting in place thereof, in each 1332 instance, the following figure:- $55,000,000. 1333 SECTION 82A. Item 8324-0050 of said section 2 of said chapter 9 is hereby amended by 1334 inserting after the word “cisterns” the following words:- and such funds shall be made available 1335 until June 30, 2027. 1336 SECTION 82B. Said item 8324-0050 of said section 2 of said chapter 9 is hereby further 1337 amended by inserting after the words “town of Weston” the following words:- and such funds 1338 shall be made available until June 30, 2027. 1339 SECTION 83. Said chapter 9 is hereby further amended by striking out section 121. 1340 SECTION 84. Item 1599-1778 of section 2 of chapter 14 of the acts of 2025 is hereby 1341 amended by inserting after the word “community”, the second time it appears, the following 1342 words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2027. 1343 SECTION 84A. Item 1596-2507 of section 2A of chapter 101 of the acts of 2026 is 1344 hereby amended by inserting after the words “Highland Street” the following words:- and such 1345 funds shall be made available until June 30, 2027. 1346 SECTION 84B. Item 7002-0025 of section 2 of chapter 137 of the acts of 2026 is hereby 1347 amended by striking out the figure “$3,000,000” and inserting in place thereof the following 1348 figure:- $5,000,000. 1349 SECTION 85. Section 38 of said chapter 101 is hereby repealed. 66 of 79 1350 SECTION 86. Section 2 of chapter 137 of the acts of 2026 is hereby amended by 1351 inserting after item 1599-4417 the following item:- 1352 1599-4448 For a reserve to meet the costs of salary adjustments and other economic 1353 benefits authorized by the ratified collective bargaining agreements.........................$30,000,000 1354 SECTION 87. Item 4000-0641 of said section 2 of said chapter 137 is hereby amended 1355 by inserting after the word “workers” the following words:- ; provided further, that not less than 1356 $52,000,000 shall be expended in base rates for payments to fund nursing facility resident care 1357 and workforce costs, including wages, increased resident acuity and hiring of staff, over the rates 1358 in effect October 1, 2026; provided further, that not less than $900,000 shall be expended for the 1359 costs for a nursing facility located in the city of Boston that maintains a program for specialized 1360 ventilator services in accordance with MassHealth requirements. 1361 SECTION 88. Said item 4000-0641 of said section 2 of said chapter 137 is hereby further 1362 amended by striking out the figure “$650,073,456” and inserting in place thereof the following 1363 figure:- $702,973,456. 1364 SECTION 89. Item 4000-0700 of said section 2 of said chapter 137 is hereby amended 1365 by inserting after the word “plan”, the second time it appears, the following words:- ; provided 1366 further, that not less than $8,000,000 shall be expended to the non-state, government public 1367 hospital system established in chapter 147 of the acts of 1996. 1368 SECTION 90. Item 4400-1100 of said section 2 of said chapter 137 is hereby amended 1369 by striking out the figure “$121,991,351” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 1370 $176,572,340. 67 of 79 1371 SECTION 91. Item 4405-2000 of said section 2 of said chapter 137 is hereby amended 1372 by striking out the words “provided further, that rates for residential care facilities and rest 1373 homes effective July 1, 2026, established in section 13D of chapter 118E of the General Laws, 1374 shall cumulatively total not less than rates effective January 1, 2026” and inserting in place 1375 thereof the following words:- provided further, that rates for residential care facilities and rest 1376 homes effective July 1, 2026, established in section 13D of chapter 118E of the General Laws, 1377 shall cumulatively total not less than $3,000,000 more than rates effective January 1, 2026. 1378 SECTION 92. Said item 4405-2000 of said section 2 of said chapter 137 is hereby further 1379 amended by striking out the figure “$186,937,185” and inserting in place thereof the following 1380 figure:- $189,937,185. 1381 SECTION 93. Item 4408-1000 of said section 2 of said chapter 137 is hereby amended 1382 by striking out the words “provided further, that rates for residential care facilities and rest 1383 homes effective July 1, 2026, established in section 13D of chapter 118E of the General Laws, 1384 shall cumulatively total not less than rates effective January 1, 2026” and inserting in place 1385 thereof the following words:- provided further, that rates for residential care facilities and rest 1386 homes effective July 1, 2026, established in section 13D of chapter 118E of the General Laws, 1387 shall cumulatively total not less than $1,000,000 more than rates effective January 1, 2026. 1388 SECTION 94. Said item 4408-1000 of said section 2 of said chapter 137 is hereby further 1389 amended by striking out the figure “$204,024,252” and inserting in place thereof the following 1390 figure:- $205,024,252. 68 of 79 1391 SECTION 95. Item 5042-5000 of said section 2 of said chapter 137 is hereby amended 1392 by striking out the figure “$4,375,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 1393 $4,625,000. 1394 SECTION 96. Said item 5042-5000 of said section 2 of said chapter 137 is hereby further 1395 amended by striking out the figure “$675,000” and inserting in place thereof the following 1396 figure:- $925,000. 1397 SECTION 97. Item 7006-0011 of said section 2 of said chapter 137 is hereby amended 1398 by striking out the word “shall”, the first time it appears, and inserting in place thereof the 1399 following word:- may. 1400 SECTION 98. Item 7008-0900 of said section 2 of said chapter 137 is hereby amended 1401 by inserting after the word “program”, the third time it appears, the following words:- ; provided 1402 further, that not less than $2,850,000 shall be expended to the city of Boston for police overtime 1403 costs related to summer events in the commonwealth. 1404 SECTION 99. Said item 7008-0900 of said section 2 of said chapter 137 is hereby further 1405 amended by striking out the figure “$4,155,000” and inserting in place thereof the following 1406 figure:- $7,005,000. 1407 SECTION 100. Item 7070-0065 of said section 2 of said chapter 137 is hereby amended 1408 by inserting after the word “continued” the following words:- ; provided further, that not less 1409 than $238,000 shall be expended to the Washington Center to support academic internship 1410 scholarships. 69 of 79 1411 SECTION 101. Said item 7070-0065 of said section 2 of said chapter 137 is hereby 1412 further amended by striking out the figure “$177,188,311” and inserting in place thereof the 1413 following figure:- $177,426,311. 1414 SECTION 102. Item 9700-0000 of said section 2 of said chapter 137 is hereby amended 1415 by inserting after the word “legislature” the following words:- ; provided, that not less than 1416 $75,000 shall be expended for programming, convenings, events, printed and digital materials, 1417 public education and related operational activities of the Massachusetts Black and Latino 1418 Legislative Caucus. 1419 SECTION 103. Said item 9700-0000 of said section 2 of said chapter 137 is hereby 1420 further amended by striking out the figure “$10,724,566” and inserting in place thereof the 1421 following figure:- $10,799,566. 1422 SECTION 104. Item 1595-1068 of section 2E of said chapter 137 is hereby amended by 1423 striking out the figure “$494,800,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 1424 $519,800,000. 1425 SECTION 105. Said item 1595-1068 of said section 2E of said chapter 137 is hereby 1426 further amended by striking out the figure “$548,032,400” and inserting in place thereof the 1427 following figure:- $716,582,400. 1428 SECTION 105A. Notwithstanding sections 32 to 37, inclusive, of chapter 7C of the 1429 General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the commissioner of capital 1430 asset management and maintenance may, in consultation with University of Massachusetts, 1431 Bridgewater State University and Massasoit Community College, transfer the care and control of 1432 226-236B Main street in the city of Brockton from the University of Massachusetts, Bridgewater 70 of 79 1433 State University and Massasoit Community College to the executive office of labor and 1434 workforce development. The parcel of land to be transferred to the executive office of labor and 1435 workforce development is more particularly described in a deed recorded in the Plymouth county 1436 registry of deeds in certificate of title number 121531, document number 728933. 1437 SECTION 105B. Notwithstanding chapter 40 and chapter 30B of the General Laws or 1438 any other general or special law to the contrary, the city of Quincy may extend the lease of a 1439 certain parcel of land comprised of approximately 241.78 acres of land, together with any 1440 improvements thereon, located in the city of Quincy, Norfolk county, Massachusetts, known as 1441 the former municipal sanitary landfill and adjacent parcels thereto, as authorized by chapter 50 of 1442 the acts of 1994, to Quarry Hills Associates, Limited Partnership for a period of up to 50 years. 1443 SECTION 106. Notwithstanding section 23 of chapter 59 of the General Laws, section 31 1444 of chapter 44 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, with the 1445 approval of the director of accounts, a city or town may amortize over the subsequent 3 fiscal 1446 years, in equal installments or more rapidly, the amount of its deficit related to the outbreak of 1447 the 2019 novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, and subsequent variants. The 1448 commissioner of revenue shall issue guidelines or instructions for reporting the amortization of 1449 deficits authorized by this section. The local appropriating authority, as defined in section 21C of 1450 said chapter 59, shall adopt a deficit amortization schedule in accordance with the department of 1451 revenue’s guidelines or instructions under this section before setting the municipality’s next 1452 fiscal year tax rate. 1453 SECTION 107. Notwithstanding chapters 62B, 62C and 63B of the General Laws or any 1454 other general or special law to the contrary, interest and penalties shall not be imposed on an 71 of 79 1455 underpayment or late payment of tax for taxable years open for assessment pursuant to section 1456 26 of said chapter 62C where: (i) a taxpayer filed a return with the commissioner of revenue for 1457 such taxable years prior to enactment of this act that did not accord with sections 8, 16, 37 and 1458 39 of chapter 101 of the acts of 2026 and paid the tax due by the due date, and the taxpayer files 1459 a subsequent return with the commissioner of revenue to adjust the previous return to accord 1460 with said sections 8, 16, 37 and 39 and pays any additional tax due no later than March 1, 2027; 1461 or (ii) a taxpayer had a valid extension as of the due date of the return but their tax liability 1462 increased due to the enactment of said sections 8, 16, 37 and 39, the taxpayer files a return by the 1463 due date as extended and the taxpayer pays the additional tax due no later than March 1, 2027. 1464 Only interest and penalties that would directly result from the enactment of said sections 8, 16, 1465 37 and 39 shall be impacted by this section. 1466 SECTION 108. Notwithstanding chapters 62B, 62C and 63B of the General Laws or any 1467 other general or special law to the contrary, interest and penalties shall not be imposed on an 1468 underpayment or late payment of tax for taxable years open for assessment pursuant to section 1469 26 of said chapter 62C where: (i) a taxpayer filed a return with the commissioner of revenue for 1470 such taxable years prior to enactment of this act that did not accord with sections 40, 119 and 1471 120 and paid the tax due by the due date, and the taxpayer files a subsequent return with the 1472 commissioner of revenue to adjust the previous return to accord with said sections 40, 119 and 1473 120 and pays any additional tax due by March 1, 2027; or (ii) a taxpayer had a valid extension as 1474 of the due date of the return but their tax liability increased due to the enactment of said sections 1475 40, 119 and 120, the taxpayer files a return by the due date as extended and the taxpayer pays the 1476 additional tax due no later than March 1, 2027. Only interest and penalties that would directly 1477 result from the enactment of said sections 40, 119 and 120 shall be impacted by this section. 72 of 79 1478 SECTION 108A. (a) Notwithstanding section 13L of chapter 118E of the General Laws, 1479 or any other general or special law to the contrary, the executive office of health and human 1480 services shall not, directly or through a managed care entity, implement or enforce, a general 1481 exclusion from coverage of, or a general limitation on reimbursement for, drugs acquired 1482 through the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program under 42 U.S.C. §256b and dispensed through a 1483 pharmacy to MassHealth members enrolled in a managed care entity, including any exclusion or 1484 limitation achieved by removing pharmacy coverage from or otherwise transferring to 1485 MassHealth all or substantially all of the pharmacy benefit under a MassHealth managed-care 1486 arrangement, until: (i) expenditure authority under section 1115 of the Social Security Act, 42 1487 U.S.C. §1315, for a 340B hospital access stabilization payment program, or a program 1488 substantially similar in purpose, as requested in the commonwealth’s request to extend the 1489 MassHealth Section 1115 Demonstration beyond December 31, 2027, has been approved by the 1490 federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and has taken effect; and (ii) the executive 1491 office of health and human services has submitted the report required under subsection (b). 1492 Nothing in the subsection shall prohibit the continued implementation or enforcement of any 1493 policy in effect on October 1, 2026. 1494 (b) Not less than 180 days before the effective date of any proposed general exclusion, 1495 limitation or transfer described in subsection (a), the executive office of health and human 1496 services shall submit a report to the chairs of the joint committee on health care financing and the 1497 house and senate committees on ways and means that shall include the following information: (i) 1498 the fiscal, operational and patient access impacts of the proposed change; (ii) the projected gross 1499 and net state and federal fiscal effects of the proposed change, including all underlying 1500 assumptions, methodology and anticipated timeframes; (iii) the estimated financial and 73 of 79 1501 operational impact on federally qualified community health centers and hospitals, including, but 1502 not limited to, changes in drug acquisition costs, cash flow implications, reimbursement 1503 variability, associated risks to providers, including potential financial losses, and the 1504 administrative and operational burdens of implementation; and (iv) the manner in which the 1505 executive office of health and human services plans to mitigate the impacts described in clause 1506 (iii), including the amount, source, duration and federal matching treatment of any mitigation 1507 funding, including the 340B hospital access stabilization payment authority. 1508 (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to: (i) limit the executive office of health 1509 and human services in negotiations with, making commitments to or seeking any approval from 1510 the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; or (ii) prohibit the executive office of 1511 health and human services from implementing any changes other than the general exclusion, 1512 limitation or transfer described in subsection (a) that the executive office of health and human 1513 services deems necessary to maintain the fiscal sustainability of the MassHealth program, 1514 including the designation of specific drugs acquired through the federal 340B Drug Pricing 1515 Program, on a drug-by-drug basis, for exclusion from coverage or reimbursement; provided, that 1516 such changes shall not, in the aggregate, have substantially the same effect as a general 1517 exclusion, limitation or transfer described in subsection (a). 1518 SECTION 109. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, after 1519 satisfying the transfer required under clause (i) of section 117 of chapter 9 of the acts of 2025, up 1520 to $600,000,000, at the direction of the secretary of administration and finance, the comptroller 1521 shall make tax revenue collected from capital gains income above the threshold established in 1522 section 5G of chapter 29 of the General Laws in fiscal year 2026 available to the General Fund in 1523 the amount necessary to eliminate any deficits in the budgetary funds pursuant to section 5C of 74 of 79 1524 said chapter 29. After satisfying the previous provision, the comptroller shall transfer any 1525 remaining excess capital gains income as follows: (i) 85 per cent to the Transitional Escrow 1526 Fund established in section 16 of chapter 76 of the acts of 2021, as amended by section 4 of 1527 chapter 98 of the acts of 2022; and (ii) 15 per cent to the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund 1528 established in section 2H of said chapter 29. 1529 SECTION 110. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, for fiscal year 1530 2026, the comptroller shall transfer an amount equal to the amounts expended for items 1596- 1531 2452 and 1596-2411 in section 2 of chapter 9 of the acts of 2025 and item 1596-2427 in section 1532 2 of chapter 7 of the acts of 2025 in fiscal year 2026 from the Education and Transportation Fund 1533 established in section 2BBBBBB of chapter 29 of the General Laws to the General Fund to 1534 support the fulfillment of the purposes of said items. 1535 SECTION 111. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, for fiscal year 1536 2026, all abandoned property net revenue, as defined by section 5H of chapter 29 of the General 1537 Laws, shall remain in the General Fund. 1538 SECTION 112. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in fiscal year 1539 2026, the comptroller shall transfer $10,000,000 from the General Fund to the Massachusetts 1540 Life Sciences Center established in section 3 of chapter 23I of the General Laws for 1541 programming and operations that advance efforts related to life sciences and spur economic 1542 growth in the commonwealth. 1543 SECTION 113. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary 1544 of administration and finance shall estimate the amount of any federal reimbursements claimed 1545 or anticipated to be claimed but not yet received in connection with costs incurred in fiscal year 75 of 79 1546 2026. For the purposes of certifying the amount of the consolidated net surplus in the budgetary 1547 funds at the close of fiscal year 2026 pursuant to section 5C of chapter 29 of the General Laws, 1548 at the direction of the secretary, the comptroller shall record the estimates for each budgetary 1549 fund made pursuant to this section as statutory receivables in fiscal year 2026. 1550 SECTION 113A. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, grants from 1551 the amounts collected pursuant to subsection (a) of section 13T of chapter 23A of the General 1552 Laws allocated to regional tourism councils pursuant to clause (ii) of subsection (d) of said 1553 section 13T of said chapter 23A for fiscal year 2027 shall be distributed not later than December 1554 1, 2026 pursuant to a transfer schedule determined by the executive office for administration and 1555 finance. 1556 SECTION 113B. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, grants from 1557 the amounts collected pursuant to subsection (b) of section 13T of chapter 23A of the General 1558 Laws allocated to regional tourism councils pursuant to clause (ii) of subsection (d) of said 1559 section 13T of said chapter 23A for fiscal year 2026 shall be distributed not later than December 1560 1, 2026 pursuant to a transfer schedule as determined by the executive office for administration 1561 and finance. 1562 SECTION 114. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the 1563 comptroller shall, after making the required transfer pursuant to section 122 of chapter 9 of the 1564 acts of 2025, transfer the fiscal year 2026 consolidated net surplus pursuant to section 5C of 1565 chapter 29 of the General Laws to the Transitional Escrow Fund established in section 16 of 1566 chapter 76 of the acts of 2021, as amended by section 4 of chapter 98 of the acts of 2022. 76 of 79 1567 SECTION 115. Notwithstanding section 2BBBBBB of chapter 29 of the General Laws or 1568 any other general or special law to the contrary, section 18 of chapter 28 of the acts of 2023 shall 1569 not be in effect for the purposes of establishing the annual spending threshold set pursuant to 1570 subsection (f) of said section 2BBBBBB of said chapter 29 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1571 2028. 1572 SECTION 116. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in each of 1573 fiscal years 2026 and 2027, the comptroller, at the direction of the secretary of administration 1574 and finance, shall transfer from the General Fund to the Massachusetts Offshore Wind Industry 1575 Investment Trust Fund established in section 9A of chapter 23J of the General Laws an amount 1576 not to exceed $35,000,000; provided, that not less than 15 days in advance of the transfer, the 1577 secretary shall certify the amount to be transferred to the chairs of the house and senate 1578 committees on ways and means. 1579 SECTION 117. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, for fiscal year 1580 2026, the secretary of administration and finance shall transfer funds from the Communications 1581 Access Trust Fund established pursuant to section 2XXXXX of chapter 29 of the General Laws 1582 for the purpose of making payments to the department of correction and the sheriffs for 1583 providing voice communication services, in the following manner: $10,000,000 to the 1584 department of correction; $1,653,987 to the Bristol sheriff’s office; $108,712 to the Hampshire 1585 sheriff’s office; $429,193 to the Berkshire sheriff’s office; $567,296 to the Barnstable sheriff’s 1586 office; $15,152 to the Dukes County sheriff’s office; $1,552,291 to the Essex sheriff’s office; 1587 $392,076 to the Franklin sheriff’s office; $538,188 to the Hampden sheriff’s office; $1,525,788 1588 to the Middlesex sheriff’s office; $784,043 to the Norfolk sheriff’s office; $1,199,999 to the 1589 Plymouth sheriff’s office; $2,191,927 to the Suffolk sheriff’s office; and $1,562,237 to the 77 of 79 1590 Worcester sheriff’s office; provided, however, that the secretary may amend transfer amounts 1591 based on actual costs incurred and shall certify final transfer amounts to the house and senate 1592 committees on ways and means not fewer than 15 days before making any such transfers. 1593 SECTION 118. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, to account for 1594 any timing discrepancy presented by the initial application of clause (i) of subsection (b) of 1595 section 2EEEEEE of chapter 29 of the General Laws relating to the Commonwealth Federal 1596 Matching and Debt Reduction Fund, said section 2EEEEEE of said chapter 29 shall not apply to 1597 the determination of the applicability of fiscal year 2026 interest transfers. 1598 SECTION 119. Notwithstanding the definition of “Gross income” in section 1 of chapter 1599 63 of the General Laws, a taxpayer shall, for taxable years beginning in 2025 or 2026, apply 1600 section 1400Z-2 of the Internal Revenue Code as in effect for taxable years beginning prior to 1601 January 1, 2026. 1602 SECTION 120. Notwithstanding the definition of “Net income” in section 1 of chapter 63 1603 of the General Laws, the following deductions shall be disallowed for taxable years beginning in 1604 2025 and 2026: (i) the deduction allowed by section 168(n) of the Internal Revenue Code, as 1605 amended and in effect for the current tax year; (ii) the deduction described by section 179 of the 1606 Internal Revenue Code to the extent it is increased by amendments to sections 179(b)(1) and 1607 179(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code inserted by section 70306 of Pub. L. 119-21; and (iii) the 1608 deduction described by section 163(j) of the Internal Revenue Code to the extent that the 1609 definition of “adjusted taxable income” is modified by an amendment to section 163(j)(8)(A)(v) 1610 of the Internal Revenue Code inserted by section 70303 of Pub. L. 119-21. 78 of 79 1611 SECTION 121. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, any 1612 improvements, construction, alterations or renovations to the real property of the Massachusetts 1613 Technology Park Corporation located in the town of Westborough delegated to Kopin 1614 Corporation, as a lessee or a licensee of the corporation, which are estimated to cost $2,250,000 1615 or less, shall not be subject to subsection (c) of section 4A of chapter 40J of the General Laws. 1616 SECTION 121A. The courthouse of the Dorchester division of the Boston municipal 1617 court located at 510 Washington street in the city of Boston shall be designated and known as the 1618 Judge Leslie E. Harris Courthouse, in honor of the late Honorable Leslie Earl Harris, a former 1619 judge of the Suffolk juvenile court, for his many contributions to his community, the judiciary 1620 and the commonwealth. The division of capital asset management and maintenance shall erect 1621 and maintain suitable markers bearing the designation in compliance with any applicable 1622 standards. 1623 SECTION 121B. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the 1624 comptroller shall transfer not less than $10,000,000 to the Offshore Wind Pre-Development and 1625 Project Acceleration Fund established in section 17 of chapter 23J of the General Laws, inserted 1626 by section 22A, from 1 or a combination of the following sources: (i) alternative compliance 1627 payments collected pursuant to sections 11F, 11F1/2 and 17 of chapter 25A of the General Laws 1628 and any portfolio standard adopted by the department of environmental protection pursuant to 1629 chapter 21N of the General Laws, currently held by the Massachusetts clean energy center; or (ii) 1630 funds made available pursuant to section 2EEEEEE of chapter 29 of the General Laws. 79 of 79 1631 SECTION 122. The salary adjustments and other economic benefits authorized by the 1632 following collective bargaining agreements shall be effective for the purposes of section 7 of 1633 chapter 150E of the General Laws: 1634 (1) the agreement between the commonwealth of Massachusetts and the State Police 1635 Association of Massachusetts (SPAM), Unit 5A; and 1636 (2) the agreement between the commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts 1637 Officers Federated Union (MCOFU), Unit 4. 1638 SECTION 123. Section 121 is hereby repealed. 1639 SECTION 124. Sections 36 to 39, inclusive, and section 41 shall take effect for taxable 1640 years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. 1641 SECTION 125. Section 40 shall take effect for taxable years beginning on or after 1642 January 1, 2022. 1643 SECTION 126. Sections 7, 17 and 18 shall take effect July 1, 2027. 1644 SECTION 127. Section 44 shall take effect for any school project approved by the 1645 Massachusetts school building authority on or after July 1, 2026. 1646 SECTION 128. Section 123 shall take effect on December 31, 2027.