Senate, October 20, 2025 -- The committee on Ways and Means to whom was referred House Bill making appropriations for the fiscal year 2025 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects (House, No. 4615),-- reports, recommending that the same ought to pass, with an amendment striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting in place thereof the text of Senate document numbered 2655.
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An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2026 for the maintenance of the departments, boards, commissions, institutions, and certain activities of the commonwealth, for interest, sinking fund, and serial bond requirements, and for certain permanent improvements
An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2027 for the maintenance of the departments, boards, commissions, institutions, and certain activities of the commonwealth, for interest, sinking fund, and serial bond requirements, and for certain permanent improvements
An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2026 for the maintenance of the departments, boards, commissions, institutions, and certain activities of the commonwealth, for interest, sinking fund, and serial bond requirements, and for certain permanent improvements
An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2026 for the maintenance of the departments, boards, commissions, institutions, and certain activities of the commonwealth, for interest, sinking fund, and serial bond requirements, and for certain permanent improvements
An Act making appropriations for fiscal year 2025 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects
An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2025 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects
An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2025 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects
An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2025 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects.
An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2025 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects.
An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2025 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects.
An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2025 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects
An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2026 for the maintenance of the departments, boards, commissions, institutions and certain activities of the Commonwealth, for interest, sinking fund and serial bond requirements, and for certain permanent improvements
An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2026 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects
An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2025 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects
An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2025 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects
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To provide for supplementing certain items in the general appropriation act and other appropriation acts for fiscal year 2025, the sums set forth in section 2 are hereby appropriated from the General Fund or the Transitional Escrow Fund established in section 16 of chapter 76 of the acts of 2021, as amended by section 4 of chapter 98 of the acts of 2022, unless specifically designated otherwise in this act or in those appropriation acts, for the several purposes and subject to the conditions specified in this act or in those appropriation acts, and subject to the laws regulating the disbursement of public funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. These sums shall be in addition to any amounts previously appropriated and made available for the purposes of those items. These sums shall be made available through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.
▸SECTION 2
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS
Suffolk District Attorney's Office
0340-0100 Suffolk District Attorney..............................$700,000
District Attorneys’ Association
0340-8908 District Attorneys’ Wide Area Network....................$90,663
EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
1595-6153 Communications Access Trust Fund Transfer....................$12,500,000
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF EDUCATION
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
1596-2422 School Meals..............................$12,000,000
Education and Transportation Fund…100%
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS
Office of the Secretary
1599-0093 Clean Water Trust Contract Assistance....................$6,779,246
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
4000-0700 MassHealth Fee for Service Payments....................$2,046,164,359
Department of Public Health
4590-0915 Public Health Hospitals....................$18,500,000
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
Department of State Police
8100-1001 Department of State Police..............................$3,500,255
Department of Correction
8900-0001 Department of Correction Facility Operations....................$7,184,865
▸SECTION 2A
To provide for certain unanticipated obligations of the commonwealth, to provide for an alteration of purpose for current appropriations, and to meet certain requirements of law, the sums set forth in this section are hereby appropriated from the General Fund or the Transitional Escrow Fund established in section 16 of chapter 76 of the acts of 2021, as amended by section 4 of chapter 98 of the acts of 2022, unless specifically designated otherwise in this section, for the several purposes and subject to the conditions specified in this section, and subject to the laws regulating the disbursement of public funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. Except as otherwise stated, these sums shall be made available through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
Department of Revenue
1233-1818 For fiscal year 2023 and fiscal year 2024 payments due to cities and towns pursuant to section 5 of chapter 64N of the General Laws..............................$1,250,000
Marijuana Regulation Fund…100%
Reserves
1599-1214 For a reserve for expansion, upgrades or enhancements to staffing, operations or infrastructure for new and existing facilities that treat men with an alcohol or substance use disorder under sections 1 and 35 of chapter 123 of the General Laws; provided, that the secretary of administration and finance may transfer funds from this item to state agencies as defined in section 1 of chapter 29 of the General Laws....................$14,000,000
OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER
Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities
1595-0604 For an operating transfer to the Housing Preservation and Stabilization Trust Fund established in section 60 of chapter 121B of the General Laws.............$75,000,000
MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
1596-2527 For the cost of snow and ice removal services incurred by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation; provided, that funds in this item may be transferred to the Massachusetts Transportation Trust Fund established in section 4 of chapter 6C of the General Laws $60,727,344
Education and Transportation Fund…100%
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
4000-0010 For direct supports to reproductive health care providers to maintain continuity of access to services at risk of federal funding reductions including, but not limited to, Medicaid reimbursements..............................$5,000,000
Department of Transitional Assistance
4400-0709 For operational enhancements at the department of transitional assistance in response to upcoming changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; provided, that the department shall expend funds for enhancements including, but not limited to, information technology and infrastructure improvements to reduce the commonwealth’s payment error rate; provided further, that at the direction of the commissioner of transitional assistance, funds may be transferred from this item to item 4400-1000 of section 2 of the general appropriation act for fiscal year 2026 and fiscal year 2027; provided further, that not later than March 15, 2026, the department shall submit a report to the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities and the house and senate committees on ways and means detailing strategies for reducing payment error rates and summarizing departmental responses to recent policy changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; and provided further, that funds appropriated in this item shall be made available until June 30, 2027..............................$10,000,000
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF EDUCATION
Department of Higher Education
1596-2528 For a reserve to provide financial assistance to Massachusetts students enrolled in and pursuing a program of higher education at any public institutions of higher education in the commonwealth; provided, that funds shall be expended to restore financial aid allocations to public institutions of higher education in fiscal year 2026 at an amount not less than that allocated in fiscal year 2025; provided further, that funds shall be expended to increase awards for MassGrant recipients in fiscal year 2026 at an amount not less than that allocated in fiscal year 2025; provided further, that funds shall be expended to increase award allowances for Pell Grant recipients in fiscal year 2026 at an amount not less than that allocated in fiscal year 2025; provided further, that funds shall be expended to restore the allowance of up to $1,200 per academic year, adjusted by number of credits, for books, supplies and other expenses for students whose household income is at or below 125 per cent of the standard median income and who are attending a community college program pursuant to section 5B of chapter 15A of the General Laws; provided further, that funds may be expended for programs or activities during summer months; and provided further, that at the discretion of the secretary of education, funds may be transferred from this item to items 7070-0065, 1596-2414 and 1596-2501 of the general appropriation act........................................$18,300,000
Education and Transportation Fund…100%
▸SECTION 2B
To provide for supplementing certain intragovernmental chargeback authorizations in the general appropriation act and other appropriation acts for fiscal year 2025, to provide for certain unanticipated intragovernmental chargeback authorizations, to provide for an alteration of purpose for current intragovernmental chargeback authorizations and to meet certain requirements of law, the sum set forth in this section is hereby authorized from the Intragovernmental Service Fund established in section 2Q of chapter 29 of the General Laws for the several purposes specified in this section or in the appropriation acts and subject to the provisions of law regulating the disbursement of public funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. This sum shall be in addition to any amounts previously authorized and made available for the purposes of this item. These sums shall be made available through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.
TREASURER AND RECEIVER-GENERAL
Office of the Treasurer and Receiver-General
0699-0018 Agency Debt Service Programs........................................$21,000,000
▸SECTION 2C
I. For the purpose of making available in fiscal year 2026 balances of appropriations which otherwise would revert on June 30, 2025, the unexpended balances of the appropriations listed below, not to exceed the amount specified below for each item, are hereby re-appropriated for the purposes of and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding item in sections 2 or 2F of chapter 140 of the acts of 2024; provided, however, that for items which do not appear in said sections 2 or 2F of said chapter 140 of the general appropriation act, the amounts in this section are re-appropriated for the purposes of and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding item in sections 2 or 2A of this act or in prior appropriation acts. Amounts in this section are re-appropriated from the fund or funds designated for the corresponding item in said sections 2 or 2F of said chapter 140; provided, however, that for items which do not appear in said sections 2 or 2F of said chapter 140, the amounts in this section are re-appropriated from the fund or funds designated for the corresponding item in sections 2 to 2F, inclusive, of this act or in prior appropriation acts. The unexpended balance of each appropriation in the Massachusetts management accounting and reporting system with a secretariat code of 01 or 17 is hereby re-appropriated for the purposes of and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding item in said section 2 of said chapter 140. The sums re-appropriated in this section shall be in addition to any amounts available for said purposes.
JUDICIARY
Supreme Judicial Court
0320-0003 Supreme Judicial Court........................................$400,000
Appeals Court
0322-0100 Appeals Court..................................................$175,000
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS
Northwestern District Attorney
0340-0600 Northwestern District Attorney........................................$225,000
District Attorneys’ Association
0340-9111 District Attorneys’ Association........................................$307,101
TREASURER AND RECEIVER-GENERAL
Office of the Treasurer and Receiver-General
0610-2000 Welcome Home Bill Bonus Payments..............................$600,000
POLICE REFORM COMMISSIONS
0800-0000 Massachusetts Police Officer Standards and Training Commission..............................$73,853
OFFICE OF THE CHILD ADVOCATE
0930-0100 Office of the Child Advocate..................................................$200,000
0930-0101 Center on Child Wellbeing and Trauma..............................$1,900,000
CENTER FOR HEALTH INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS
4100-0060 Center for Health Information and Analysis..............................$693,500
4100-0063 Betsy Lehman Center............................................................$395,450
EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
Health Policy Commission
1450-1200 Health Policy Commission........................................$750,000
Reserves
1599-4448 Collective Bargaining Reserve..............................$34,000,000
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY SERVICES AND SECURITY
1790-1700 Core Technology Services and Security..............................$355,089
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
4125-0100 Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing..............................$170,000
Department of Transitional Assistance
4400-1000 Department of Transitional Assistance Administration and Operation....................$2,813,484
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF VETERANS’ SERVICES
Veterans’ Services
1410-0630 Agawam and Winchendon Veterans’ Cemeteries........................................$185,000
Veterans’ Home in Chelsea
4180-0100 Veterans’ Home in Chelsea Administration and Operations..............................$916,018
Veterans’ Home in Holyoke
4190-0100 Veterans’ Home in Holyoke Administration and Operations..............................$150,018
MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
1596-2401 Federal Matching Funds............................................................$23,000,000
1596-2406 Regional Transit Funding and Grants........................................$11,155,416
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Division of Insurance
7006-0020 Division of Insurance............................................................$1,274,008
Massachusetts Marketing Partnership
7008-0900 Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism..............................$100,000
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HOUSING AND LIVABLE COMMUNITIES
7004-0102 Homeless Individual Shelters........................................$2,100,000
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF EDUCATION
Department of Early Education and Care
3000-1000 Department of Early Education and Care..............................$7,500,000
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
7061-9805 Teacher Diversity Initiative..................................................$8,300,000
1596-2436 Mental Health Supports and Wraparounds..............................$4,657,078
Department of Higher Education
7066-0025 Performance Management Set Aside........................................$2,000,000
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
Department of State Police
8100-0515 New State Police Class..................................................$9,600,000
Department of Fire Services
8324-0000 Department of Fire Services Administration..............................$560,750
8324-0050 Local Fire Department Projects and Grants..............................$250,000
▸SECTION 2C
II. For the purpose of making available in fiscal year 2026 balances of retained revenue and intragovernmental chargeback authorizations which otherwise would revert on June 30, 2025, the unexpended balances of the authorizations listed below, not to exceed the amount specified below for each item, are hereby re-authorized for the purposes of and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding item in sections 2 to 2F, inclusive, of chapter 140 of the acts of 2024; provided, however, that for items which do not appear in said sections 2 to 2F, inclusive, of said chapter 140, the amounts in this section are re-authorized for the purposes of and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding item in sections 2 through 2F, inclusive, of this act or in prior appropriation acts. Amounts in this section are re-authorized from the fund or funds designated for the corresponding item in sections 2 to 2F, inclusive, of the general appropriation act; provided, however, that for items which do not appear in sections 2 to 2F, inclusive, of the general appropriation act, the amounts in this section are re-authorized from the fund or funds designated for the corresponding item in sections 2 to 2F, inclusive, of this act or in prior appropriation acts. The sums re-authorized in this section shall be in addition to any amounts available for those purposes.
MASSACHUSETTS COMMISSION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION
0940-0103 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Retained Revenue....................$1,205,504
EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
Operational Services Division
1775-0800 Chargeback for Purchase Operation and Repair of State Vehicles....................$200,000
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Office of the Secretary
7002-0018 Chargeback for Economic Development IT Costs..............................$3,846,468
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
Department of Correction
8900-0021 Chargeback for Prison Industries and Farm Program..............................$430,000
▸SECTION 3
Section 10H of chapter 21A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 33, the words “of $10 per fish” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- for a recreational fisher of $10 per fish or $5 per pound of striped bass or for a commercial fisher of the market value of all catch seized and labeled pursuant to section 12 not to exceed $10,000.
▸SECTION 4
Section 3 of chapter 23I of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 42, the word “Six” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- Five.
▸SECTION 5
Section 2HHHH of chapter 29 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the figure “71”, in lines 6 and 15, the following words:- , section 74E of chapter 112, section 18 of chapter 112A.
▸SECTION 6
Section 2YYYY of said chapter 29, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the second paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-
The secretary may expend, without further appropriation: (i) not more than $160,000,000 per fiscal year from the fund to expand and support the residential treatment system to treat individuals with a substance use disorder or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder and to expand and increase access to the 24-hour diversionary system; (ii) not more than $135,000,000 per fiscal year from the fund to reduce stigma, expand access, support implementation and increase competencies for medications for substance use disorder; (iii) not more than $35,000,000 per fiscal year from the fund to support access to evidence-based recovery services through peer and paraprofessional services; and (iv) not more than $85,000,000 per fiscal year from the fund to ensure appropriate assessment for levels of care utilizing American Society of Addiction Medicine or other evidence-based modalities and to support integration of physical health, mental health and substance use disorder care across all provider settings. To accommodate timing discrepancies between the receipt of revenues and related expenditures, the fund may incur expenses, and the comptroller shall certify for payment, amounts not to exceed the most recent revenue estimate as certified by the MassHealth director, as reported in the state accounting system. Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to further appropriation and money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in the subsequent fiscal year.
▸SECTION 7
Section 2AAAAA of said chapter 29, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the second paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-
There shall be credited to the fund: (i) any transfers from the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in section 66 of chapter 118E; (ii) any revenue from appropriations or other money authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (iii) an amount equal to any federal financial participation revenues claimed and received by the commonwealth for eligible expenditures made from the fund; and (iv) interest earned on any money in the fund. Money from the fund shall be expended for payments to providers that qualify under an approved federal waiver and in accordance with said waiver. Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to further appropriation. At the end of each fiscal year, the secretary of health and human services shall determine, in the secretary's sole discretion, the amount of any money in the fund that is in excess of the money needed to make payments from the fund in accordance with said waiver; provided, however, that the money needed to make such payments shall include any money needed to make any payments that are unearned as of the end of such year but potentially earned in a subsequent year. Subject to the terms of said waiver: (i) for periods applicable to the waiver beginning on or after January 1, 2025, the secretary of health and human services shall transfer to the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in said section 66 of said chapter 118E the state share of any such excess money, excluding any federal funds; and (ii) for periods applicable to the waiver through December 31, 2024, the secretary of health and human services shall transfer to said Health Safety Net Trust Fund the state share of any such excess money, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is $62,500,000 and the denominator of which is the total amount transferred to or deposited in the fund for such fund year, excluding federal funds. Money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years. To accommodate timing discrepancies between the receipt of revenue and related expenditures, the comptroller may certify for payment amounts not to exceed the most recent revenue estimates as certified by the secretary of health and human services to be transferred, credited or deposited under this section.
▸SECTION 8
Section 2TTTTT of said chapter 29 is hereby amended by striking out subsection (c), as appearing in section 51 of chapter 140 of the acts of 2024, and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(c)(1) The secretary shall expend money in the fund, including all amounts credited to the fund, for payments to qualifying acute hospital providers under contract with the executive office of health and human services or under subcontracts with care organizations that contract with the executive office in connection with the MassHealth program as provided in this subsection.
(2) The secretary shall annually expend amounts from the fund averaging, for the 2-year period from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2027, inclusive, not less than $2,264,500,000 per year; provided, however, that all such payments shall fall into 1 of the following categories: (i) health equity incentive payments; (ii) clinical quality incentive payments; (iii) other incentive payments; (iv) rate payments for services provided to MassHealth members; or (v) targeted payments to: (A) freestanding pediatric acute hospitals; (B) nonprofit teaching acute hospitals that provide medical, surgical, emergency and obstetrical services and are affiliated with a state-owned medical school; (C) freestanding cancer hospitals; (D) the acute hospital that had the lowest statewide commercial relative price in fiscal year 2019 as reported by the center for health information and analysis; (E) the independent group 1 safety net hospital that had the largest percentile of operating loss in fiscal year 2022 as reported by the center for health information and analysis; (F) the acute hospital that had the highest statewide public payer mix in fiscal year 2023 as determined by the secretary; (G) the acute hospital affiliated with a health system with 2 or more critical access hospitals operating in the commonwealth in calendar year 2025, as determined by the secretary; or (H) to any non-state-owned public hospital in the commonwealth, as determined by the secretary. The secretary may determine funding allocations among and within each such category within a given year; provided, however, that such allocations shall be consistent with all approved federal waivers and state plan provisions; and provided further, that the secretary shall allocate an average of not less than $1,280,000,000 per year, for the 2-year period from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2027, inclusive, for the rate payments described in clause (iv), with an average of not less than $92,000,000 allocated for group 1 safety net hospitals for such 2-year period, an average of not less than $460,000,000 allocated for group 2 safety net hospitals for such 2-year period and an average of not less than $728,000,000 allocated across all acute hospitals for such 2-year period.
(3) Of the targeted payments described in clause (v) of paragraph (2), the secretary shall expend annually from the fund: (i) $70,000,000 to freestanding pediatric acute hospitals, of which at least 98 per cent shall be paid to the freestanding pediatric hospital that had the largest volume of inpatient discharges in fiscal year 2019; (ii) $35,000,000 to nonprofit teaching acute hospitals that provide medical, surgical, emergency and obstetrical services and are affiliated with a state-owned medical school; (iii) $14,000,000 to the acute hospital that had the lowest statewide commercial relative price in fiscal year 2019 as reported by the center for health information and analysis; (iv) $6,000,000 to freestanding cancer hospitals; (v) $10,000,000 to the independent group 1 safety net hospital that had the largest operating percentile loss in fiscal year 2022 as reported by the center for health information and analysis; (vi) $6,000,000 to the acute hospital that had the highest statewide public payer mix in fiscal year 2023, as determined by the secretary; (vii) $6,000,000 to the acute hospital affiliated with a health system with 2 or more critical access hospitals operating in the commonwealth in calendar year 2025, as determined by the secretary; and (viii) $2,000,000 to any non-state-owned public hospital in the commonwealth, as determined by the secretary.
(4) Of the incentive payments described in clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (2), the secretary shall make interim payments to qualifying hospitals based on the secretary’s estimate of each such hospital’s final payment for the measurement period. As soon as practicable after the close of the measurement period, the secretary shall determine the final amount of each qualifying hospital’s incentive payments and shall reconcile each hospital’s interim payment with its final payment.
(5) If, in any fiscal year, the commonwealth fails to secure federal financial participation necessary to make expenditures described in this section, or if the total hospital assessment amount described in section 67 of chapter 118E is insufficient to support the distributions to the fund required to be made from the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in section 66 of said chapter 118E, or if such distributions are otherwise not made due to limitations on federal matching, applicable payment ceilings or other restrictions under state or federal law, then the expenditures otherwise required to be made from the fund shall be reduced proportionally based on the total amount available for expenditure.
▸SECTION 9
Subsection (c) of section 2UUUUU of said chapter 29, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-
(3) If, in any fiscal year, the commonwealth fails to secure federal financial participation necessary to make expenditures described in this section, or if the total hospital assessment amount described in section 67 of chapter 118E is insufficient to support the distributions to the fund required to be made from the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in section 66 of said chapter 118E, or if such distributions are otherwise not made due to limitations on federal matching, applicable payment ceilings, or other restrictions under state or federal law, then the expenditures otherwise required to be made from the fund shall be reduced proportionally based on the total amount available for expenditure.
▸SECTION 10
Section 2FFFFFF of said chapter 29, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(c) The secretary shall annually expend money in the fund, including all amounts credited to the fund, for payments to Medicaid managed care organizations, as such term is defined in section 64 of chapter 118E; provided, however, that such amounts expended annually shall be not less than the Medicaid managed care organization revenue amount, as such term is defined in said section 64 of said chapter 118E; and provided further, that such expenditures shall be consistent with all approved federal waivers and state plan provisions.
▸SECTION 11
Said chapter 29 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 2LLLLLL the following 2 sections:-
▸SECTION 2M
MMMMM. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund known as the Deficiency Reserve Fund. The fund shall be credited with: (i) appropriations or other money authorized or transferred by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) funds from public and private sources, including, but not limited to, gifts, grants and donations; and (iii) interest earned on any money in the fund. Amounts credited to the fund shall be expended, subject to appropriation, to fulfill existing financial obligations of the commonwealth with unanticipated deficiencies. Money remaining in the fund at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund. The fund shall not be subject to section 5C.
▸SECTION 2N
NNNNN. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate, non-budgeted special revenue fund known as the Public Higher Education Student Support Fund, which shall be administered by the secretary of education. The fund shall be credited with: (i) appropriations or other money authorized or transferred by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) funds from public and private sources, including, but not limited to, gifts, grants and donations; and (iii) interest earned on any money in the fund.
(b) Amounts credited to the fund shall be expended, without further appropriation, to: (i) supplement financial aid awards to students at public institutions of higher education to prevent a reduction in aid relative to the amount awarded in the prior fiscal year or relative to amounts established subject to appropriation in statute or regulation, which shall include, but not be limited to, the maintenance of the no cost community college program under section 5B of chapter 15A of the General Laws; (ii) supplement allocations to public institutions of higher education for financial aid programs to prevent a reduction in allocation from the prior fiscal year; or (iii) otherwise maintain financial aid benefits to students relative to prior year benefit levels. The secretary of education shall provide notice to the secretary of administration and finance, the clerks of the house of representatives and senate and the house and senate committees on ways and means not less than 15 days prior to expending funds from the Public Higher Education Student Support Fund, including, but not limited to, the purpose and amount of each expenditure.
(c) The unexpended balance in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall remain available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years. No expenditure made from the fund shall cause the fund to be in deficit.
▸SECTION 12
Chapter 31 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
▸SECTION 79
Following their original appointment and oath as a permanent full-time environmental police officer in the police force of the office of law enforcement under section 10A of chapter 21A, a person shall perform the duties of such position on a full-time basis for a probationary period of 12 months before they shall be considered a full-time tenured employee in such position. The administrator, with the approval of the commission, may establish procedures to ensure the evaluation by appointing authorities, prior to the end of such probationary period, of the performance of persons appointed as police officers in such force. Unless otherwise provided by civil service rule, and with appropriate adjustments to the timing of performance evaluations called for therein, the second paragraph of section 34 shall apply to persons covered by this section.
▸SECTION 13
Section 1 of chapter 32 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out the definition of “Violent act injury”, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-
“Violent act injury”, a catastrophic or life-threatening permanent bodily injury sustained as a direct and proximate result of a violent attack upon a person by means of a dangerous weapon, which is used in a manner intended to cause serious injury or death, including, but not limited to, a firearm, knife, automobile or explosive device.
▸SECTION 14
Paragraph (a) of subdivision (2) of section 26 of said chapter 32, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- This subdivision shall not apply to a member in service who is physically unable to perform the essential duties of the member’s job by reason of violent act injury.
▸SECTION 15
Said section 26 of said chapter 32, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after subdivision (2) the following subdivision:-
(2½) Section 7 shall apply to any member in service classified in Group 3 who is an officer of the department of state police if the rating board, after an examination of such officer by a registered physician appointed by the board, reports in writing to the state board of retirement that such officer is physically incapacitated for the performance of duty by reason of a violent act injury occurring during the performance and within the scope of the officer’s duty and without contributory negligence on the officer’s part and that such incapacity is likely to be permanent.
▸SECTION 16
Section 56 of chapter 41 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 38 to 41, inclusive, the words “or (ii) the payment of software licenses, software maintenance agreements or online subscription services for school curriculum prior to the fiscal year in which services shall be rendered” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- (ii) the payment of software licenses, software maintenance agreements or online subscription services for school curriculum prior to the fiscal year in which services shall be rendered; or (iii) the payment of estimates issued by utilities for make-ready work to facilitate access to utility poles, conduits, ducts or rights-of way related to broadband infrastructure projects.
▸SECTION 17
Section 7 of chapter 66 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- Subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, P.L. 104–191, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, P.L. 111–5, 42 C.F.R. Part 2, 42 U.S.C. 290dd-2 and 45 C.F.R. Parts 160, 162 and 164, all records from state institutions for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities or mental health conditions in the commonwealth shall be open to public inspection and available for copying after the expiration of 75 years from creation of the record.
▸SECTION 18
Subsection (a) of section 24N of chapter 111 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the definition of “Routine childhood immunizations” and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-
“Routine childhood immunizations”, immunizations for children until their nineteenth birthday as determined by the commissioner.
▸SECTION 19
Subsection (c) of said section 24N of said chapter 111, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the last 5 sentences and inserting in place thereof the following 6 sentences:- The council shall recommend the list of routine childhood immunizations, including types of vaccines to be purchased and shall take into account provider preference, cost, availability and other factors as determined by the council. The commissioner shall recommend the amount of funding needed each fiscal year by calculating the total non-federal program cost. The council shall make recommendations to the commissioner on whether the commissioner may authorize provider choice of more than 1 comparable brand or type for a routine childhood immunization vaccine. In its recommendations, the council shall examine the feasibility, costs and benefits of authorizing provider choice, provide a schedule of the cost of each comparable brand or type of a vaccine recommended for provider choice and demonstrate that the estimated vaccine cost of authorizing provider choice would not be substantially greater than the estimated vaccine cost of purchasing a single brand or type of a vaccine. The commissioner of public health shall determine the final list of routine childhood immunizations and vaccines to be purchased. The council shall also consider other vaccine-related questions presented by the commissioner.
▸SECTION 20
Said section 24N of said chapter 111, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 109 to 111, inclusive, the words “Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- commissioner.
▸SECTION 21
Chapter 112 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 74D the following section:-
▸SECTION 74E
(a) The board of registration in nursing may obtain a state and national fingerprint-based criminal background check, as authorized by Public Law 92-544, to determine the suitability of an applicant for a license to practice nursing pursuant to sections 74, 74A, 76 and 80B, including, but not limited to, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and advanced practice registered nurses.
(b) Registered nurses subject to background checks pursuant to this section shall be individuals who hold ultimate responsibility for direct and indirect nursing care and are seeking: (i) licensure as a registered nurse pursuant to this chapter; and (ii) to provide nursing care, health maintenance, teaching, counseling, planning and restoration for optimal functioning and comfort of patients they serve within the commonwealth. For the purposes of this section, “advanced practice registered nurse” shall mean a registered nurse authorized by the board of registration in nursing to perform an expanded scope of practice when caring for patients in the commonwealth consistent with section 80B.
(c) Licensed practical nurses subject to background checks pursuant to this section shall be individuals who are seeking: (i) licensure as a practical nurse pursuant to this chapter; and (ii) to provide nursing care and health maintenance services to patients within the commonwealth.
(d) An individual applying to the board of registration in nursing for a license to practice nursing shall submit a full set of fingerprints to the identification section of the department of state police to obtain a state and national fingerprint-based criminal background check, as authorized by Public Law 92-544, to determine the suitability of any applicant for licensure.
(e) Fingerprints submitted pursuant to this section shall be used by the department of state police to conduct a state criminal history check and forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history check in accordance with the policies and procedures established by the state identification section of the department of state police and by the department of criminal justice information services. Fingerprint submissions may be retained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the state identification section of the department of state police and the department of criminal justice information services to assist the board of registration in nursing to ensure the continued suitability of these licensees and persons subject to criminal background checks under this section. The department of criminal justice information services may disseminate the results of the state and national criminal background checks to authorized staff employed by the department of public health and board of registration in nursing.
(f) Each applicant shall pay a fee, as established by the secretary of administration and finance, in consultation with the secretary of public safety and security, to offset the costs of operating and administering a fingerprint-based criminal background check system. The secretary of administration and finance, in consultation with the secretary of public safety and security, may increase the fee accordingly if the Federal Bureau of Investigation increases its services fees for processing fingerprint background checks. Any fees collected from fingerprinting activity under this section shall be deposited into the Fingerprint-Based Background Check Trust Fund established in section 2HHHH of chapter 29.
(g) The board of registration in nursing may use the results of the criminal history record check solely for the purpose of determining the applicant’s eligibility for a license to practice nursing pursuant to sections 74, 74A, 76 and 80B. The department of public health and board of registration in nursing shall not disseminate the criminal history record check information to any other entity.
(h) The department of public health and board of registration in nursing may receive all available criminal offender record information, juvenile adjudications and delinquency matters, sealed records and the results of checks of state and national criminal history information databases under Public Law 92-544. Upon receipt of the results of the state and national criminal background checks, the department of public health, board of registration in nursing and authorized staff shall treat the information according to sections 167 to 178, inclusive, of chapter 6 and the regulations thereunder regarding criminal offender record information.
(i) The board of registration in nursing may promulgate regulations necessary to carry out this section.
▸SECTION 22
Sections 1 to 5, inclusive, of chapter 113 of the General Laws are hereby repealed.
▸SECTION 23
Section 64 of chapter 118E of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the definition of “Assessed charges” and inserting in place thereof:-
''Assessed charges'', gross patient service revenue attributable to all patients less gross patient service revenue attributable to Title XVIII, XIX and XXI programs, as such revenues are reported to the center for health information and analysis and as determined by the secretary.
▸SECTION 24
Said section 64 of said chapter 118E, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the definition of “Managed care organization reinvestment revenue amount” and inserting in place thereof the following 3 definitions:-
“Managed care organization services assessment rate”, the rate calculated annually by dividing the non-Medicaid managed care organization revenue amount by the total managed care organization services subject to assessment that are not Medicaid managed care organization services subject to assessment.
“Medicaid managed care organization revenue amount”, an amount calculated annually by multiplying the Medicaid managed care organization services subject to assessment by the managed care organization services assessment rate.
“Non-Medicaid managed care organization revenue amount”, an amount equal, for each calendar year, to the sum of the following in the same year less $20,000,000: (i) the health safety net managed care organization revenue amount; (ii) the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project revenue amount; (iii) the immunization revenue amount; (iv) the health policy commission revenue amount; (v) the center for health information and analysis revenue amount; (vi) the amount transferred, pursuant to section 66, to the Behavioral Health Access and Crisis Intervention Trust Fund established in section 2WWWWW of chapter 29; and (vii) the amounts necessary to incorporate prospectively all adjustments or reconciliations to account for under-assessments in the prior year.
▸SECTION 25
Said section 64 of said chapter 118E, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the definition of “Total managed care organization services assessment amount” and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-
“Total managed care organization services revenue amount”, an amount equal, for each calendar year, to the sum of the following in the same year: (i) the Medicaid managed care organization revenue amount; and (ii) the non-Medicaid managed care organization revenue amount.
▸SECTION 26
Said section 64 of said chapter 118E, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 189, the figure “$1,484,050,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $1,534,050,000.
▸SECTION 27
Section 66 of said chapter 118E is hereby amended by striking out subsection (b), as so appearing, and inserting in its place thereof the following 2 subsections:-
(b) The fund shall consist of: (i) all amounts paid by hospitals and managed care organizations under sections 67 and 68; (ii) all appropriations for the purpose of payments to acute hospitals or community health centers for health services provided to uninsured and underinsured residents; (iii) any transfers from the Commonwealth Care Trust Fund established in section 2OOO of chapter 29; (iv) any transfers from the Safety Net Provider Trust Fund established in section 2AAAAA of chapter 29; (v) any transfers from the Hospital Investment and Performance Trust Fund established in section 2TTTTT of chapter 29; (vi) any transfers from the Managed Care Organization Services Reinvestment Fund established in section 2FFFFFF of chapter 29; and (vii) all property and securities acquired by and through the use of money belonging to the fund and all interest thereon. There shall also be credited to the fund an amount equal to any federal financial participation claimed and received by the commonwealth for eligible expenditures made from the fund and financed by money transferred from the Hospital Investment and Performance Trust Fund established in section 2TTTTT of chapter 29, the Managed Care Organization Services Reinvestment Fund established in section 2FFFFFF of chapter 29, or from the Safety Net Provider Trust Fund established in section 2AAAAA of chapter 29. To accommodate timing discrepancies between the receipt of such revenue and related expenditures, the comptroller may certify for payment amounts not to exceed the most recent revenue estimates as certified by the secretary of health and human services to be transferred, credited or deposited under this subsection. Annually, the office shall transfer from the non-federal money in the fund: (A) $149,300,000 to the Safety Net Provider Trust Fund established in section 2AAAAA of chapter 29; (B) $1,041,170,000 to the Hospital Investment and Performance Trust Fund established in section 2TTTTT of chapter 29; (C) $115,500,000 to the Population Health Investment Trust Fund established in section 2UUUUU of chapter 29; (D) $ 33,169,685 to the Non-Acute Care Hospital Reimbursement Trust Fund established in section 2WWWW of chapter 29; (E) an amount equal to the Medicaid managed care organization revenue amount to the Managed Care Organization Services Reinvestment Fund established in section 2FFFFFF of chapter 29; (F) an amount equal to the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project revenue amount to the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project Fund established in section 2EEEEEE of chapter 29; (G) an amount equal to the health policy commission revenue amount to the Healthcare Payment Reform Fund established in section 100 of chapter 194 of the acts of 2011; (H) an amount equal to the immunization revenue amount to the Vaccine Purchase Fund established in section 24N of chapter 111; (I) $33,700,000 to the Behavioral Health Access and Crisis Intervention Trust Fund established in section 2WWWWW of chapter 29; (J) an amount equal to the center for health information and analysis revenue amount to the Center for Health Information and Analysis Fund established in section 7A of chapter 12C; and (K) $35,000,000 to the Essential Community Provider Trust Fund established in section 2PPP of chapter 29. The office shall expend amounts in the fund, except for amounts transferred to the Safety Net Provider Trust Fund, the Hospital Investment and Performance Trust Fund, the Population Health Investment Trust Fund, the Non-Acute Care Hospital Reimbursement Trust Fund, the Managed Care Organization Services Reinvestment Fund, the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project Fund, the Vaccine Purchase Fund, the Center for Health and Information Analysis Fund, the Healthcare Payment Reform Fund and the Behavioral Health Access and Crisis Intervention Trust Fund, for payments to hospitals and community health centers for reimbursable health services provided to uninsured and underinsured residents, consistent with the requirements of this section, section 69 and the regulations adopted by the office. The amount collected pursuant to clause (vii) of the definition of non-Medicaid managed care organization revenue amount in section 64 shall be dedicated to reducing the shortfall, as described in subsection (b) of section 69, for the year prior to the assessment year. The office shall also annually expend money from the fund for the expenses of the executive office, including the health safety net office under subsection (a), for the administration of the health safety net and related assessments. The office shall also expend not more than $6,000,000 annually from the fund for demonstration projects that use case management and other methods to reduce the liability of the fund to acute hospitals. Any annual balance remaining in the fund after these payments have been made shall be retained in the fund and shall not revert to the General Fund. All interest earned on the amounts in the fund shall be deposited or retained in the fund. The director shall from time-to-time requisition from the fund amounts that the director considers necessary to meet the current obligations of the office for the purposes of the fund and estimated obligations for a reasonable future period.
(c) For each fiscal year, in the event that federal financial participation is not available for any of the Medicaid expenditures made or to be made from this fund or from amounts transferred from the fund pursuant to paragraphs (A), (B), (C), (D) or (K) of subsection (b), or hospital assessment funding serving as the non-federal share of such expenditures is not available due to the application of any federal law, regulation or policy, such as federal expenditure limits or federal health care-related tax rules, or for any other reason, the amount of each such forementioned transfer from the fund shall be reduced on a pro-rata basis by multiplying each such expenditure or transfer by a fraction, the numerator of which is the aggregate amount of the transfers from the fund pursuant to paragraphs (A), (B), (C), (D) or (K) of subsection (b)for which federal financial participation will be available and the denominator of which is the aggregate amount the expenditures and transfers from the fund pursuant to paragraphs (A), (B), (C), (D) or (K) of subsection (b) that would otherwise be made.
▸SECTION 28
Said chapter 118E is hereby further amended by striking out section 67, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
▸SECTION 67
(a) Subject to all required federal approvals, including any required waivers under 42 CFR 433.68, a hospital’s annual liability to the fund shall be calculated in accordance with this section. The annual aggregate liability of all hospitals to the fund shall equal the total hospital assessment amount.
(b) [reserved].
(c) The office shall promulgate regulations establishing an appropriate mechanism for enforcing each hospital’s liability to the fund if a hospital does not make a scheduled payment to the fund.
(d) For the purposes of the assessment in this section, all hospitals in the commonwealth shall be divided into the following groups, as determined by the secretary: (i) large group 1 safety net hospitals which, for the purposes of this section, shall mean, any group 1 safety net hospital that had not less than 355 staffed beds in fiscal year 2022, as reported by the center for health information and analysis; (ii) small group 1 safety net hospitals which, for the purposes of this section, shall mean any group 1 safety net hospital that had less than 355 staffed beds in fiscal year 2022 as reported by the center for health information and analysis; (iii) large group 2 safety net hospitals which, for the purposes of this section, shall mean any group 2 safety net hospital that had not less than 355 staffed beds in fiscal year 2022 as reported by the center for health information and analysis; (iv) small group 2 safety net hospitals which, for the purposes of this section, shall mean any group 2 safety net hospital that had less than 355 staffed beds in fiscal year 2022 as reported by the center for health information and analysis; (v) freestanding pediatric acute hospitals; (vi) academic, teaching and specialty hospitals which, for the purposes of this section, shall mean an academic medical center, teaching hospital or specialty hospital as determined by the center for health information and analysis as of September 30, 2019, but excluding any high public payer hospital; (vii) private acute hospitals which, for the purposes of this section, shall mean a private hospital licensed under section 51 of chapter 111 that contains a majority of medical-surgical, pediatric, obstetric and maternity beds as defined by the department of public health and operating as of September 30, 2019, but excluding any safety net hospital or academic, teaching and specialty hospital; (viii) non-state public hospitals which, for the purposes of this section, shall mean any non-state-owned public hospital in the commonwealth as determined by the secretary; and (ix) non-acute hospitals which, for the purposes of this section shall mean any nonpublic hospital licensed by the department of public health under said section 51 of said chapter 111; provided, however, that non-acute hospital shall not include an acute care hospital under section 25B of said chapter 111 or a nonpublic hospital licensed as an inpatient facility by the department of mental health under section 19 of chapter 19 and regulations promulgated thereunder but not categorized as a class VII licensee under the regulations.
(e) Each of the groups described in subsection (d) shall be subject to the following assessment rates: (i) large group 1 safety net hospitals shall be subject to a rate of 16.510per cent for inpatient services and 8.000 per cent for outpatient services; (ii) small group 1 safety net hospitals shall be subject to a rate of 14.500 per cent for inpatient services and 5.500 per cent for outpatient services; (iii) large group 2 safety net hospitals shall be subject to a rate of 8.100 per cent for inpatient services and 16.200 per cent for outpatient services; (iv) small group 2 safety net hospitals shall be subject to a rate of 16.450 per cent for inpatient services and 9.100 per cent for outpatient services; (v) freestanding pediatric acute hospitals shall be subject to a rate of 3.300 per cent for inpatient services and 2.600 per cent for outpatient services; (vi) academic, teaching and specialty hospitals shall be subject to a rate of 4.675 per cent for inpatient services and 1.290 per cent for outpatient services; (vii) private acute hospitals shall be subject to a rate of 8.299 per cent for inpatient services and 0.720 per cent for outpatient services; (viii) non-state public hospitals shall be subject to a rate of 1.250 per cent for inpatient services and 1.250 per cent for outpatient services; and (ix) non-acute hospitals shall be subject to a rate of 3.300 per cent for inpatient services and 3.300 per cent for outpatient services; provided, however, that the office shall increase each such rate by the amount necessary to generate 50 per cent of the estimated cost as determined by the secretary of administration and finance, of administering the health safety net and related assessments in accordance with sections 65 to 69, inclusive. If hospital closures or hospital changes in status to a different type of provider would result in a reduction of total hospital assessment amount, the secretary may, by regulation, adjust the assessment rates to ensure the total hospital assessment amount is not reduced by more than $10,000,000 on an annual basis; provided, however, that any such adjustments to the rates shall ensure the rates remain in the same proportion to each other as established herein. If the total hospital assessment amount collected for the hospital assessment year exceeds the amount necessary to support the non-federal share of amounts transferred pursuant to paragraphs (A), (B), (C), (D) or (K) of subsection (b) of section 66, the secretary shall, by regulation, adjust the assessment rates for the subsequent hospital assessment year to ensure the total hospital assessment amount does not exceed the amount necessary to support such expenditures; provided, however, that any such adjustments shall ensure the rates remain in the same proportion to each other as established herein and provided that any such adjustment does not jeopardize federal financial participation. In order to adjust the assessment rates by regulation as described in this subsection, the secretary of health and human services shall seek all required federal approvals the secretary deems necessary.
(f) The assessment rates described in subsection (e) shall be applied to each hospital’s fiscal year 2023 assessed charges for inpatient and outpatient services as determined by the secretary of health and human services; provided, however, that the term “assessed charges” shall have the meaning ascribed to it in section 64. The total of the resulting products shall equal a hospital’s annual assessment liability.
(g) Subject to receipt of all required federal approvals, the executive office shall implement the assessment structure described in this section and shall promulgate regulations, after consultation with Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, Inc., necessary to support implementation of said assessment structure. In promulgating such regulations, and in consultation with Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, Inc., the executive office shall, at a minimum: (i) specify an appropriate mechanism for determination and payment of an acute hospital's liability to the fund; (ii) identify the hospitals that belong to each group identified in subsection (d); (iii) specify an appropriate mechanism for the determination of a hospital’s liability in cases of merger or transfer of ownership; and (iv) specify an appropriate mechanism by which any amounts paid by a hospital in excess of a hospital’s total annual assessment liability may be refunded or otherwise credited to the hospital. The executive office shall also publish or otherwise make available to Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, Inc. the data and methodology used in setting the tax rates and group classification prior to the promulgation of any such regulations.
(h) The secretary of health and human services may enforce the payment of required assessments under this section: (i) for hospitals licensed by the department of health, by notifying the department of the unpaid assessments and such information shall be considered by the department in determining suitability in accordance with section 51 of chapter 111 for the hospital or its affiliate provider entities; (ii) by offsetting payments from the office of Medicaid against the claims for payment by the delinquent hospital, against other hospitals or MassHealth-contracted entities under common ownership as the delinquent hospital or against any successor in interest to the hospital or such provider entities under common ownership, in the amount of the delinquent fees owed, including any interest, penalties and reasonable attorneys’ fees, and by transferring such funds into the fund; or (iii) creating, after demand for payment, a lien in favor of the commonwealth in an amount not to exceed the delinquent fees owed, including any interest, penalties and reasonable attorneys’ fees, encumbering the building in which the delinquent hospital is located, encumbering the real property upon which the delinquent hospital is located, including fixtures, equipment or goods used in the operation of the delinquent hospital, or encumbering any real property in which the delinquent hospital holds an interest.
▸SECTION 29
Section 74 of said chapter 118E, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (k) and inserting in place thereof the following 2 subsections:-
(k) The council may contract with a provider of a pooled employer plan, as defined in 29 U.S.C. § 1002(43), on behalf of consumers and their personal care attendants.
(l) The council may perform other acts necessary or convenient to execute the powers expressly granted to it.
▸SECTION 30
Section 36 of chapter 123 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the second sentence the following 3 sentences:- There shall be a rebuttable presumption that disclosure of patient records more than 50 years after the death of the patient is in the best interest of the patient; provided, however, that: (i) the records are facility records; and (ii) the requestor is a close relative or engaged in academic research. The department shall make best efforts to redact any personal identifying information of living individuals in such patient records in order to avoid undue invasion of privacy. The department shall promulgate regulations in collaboration with the department of developmental services to implement this rule.
▸SECTION 31
Section 17 of chapter 123B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the second sentence the following 3 sentences:- There shall be a rebuttable presumption that disclosure of patient records more than 50 years after the death of the patient is in the best interest of the patient; provided, that the: (i) records are facility records; and (ii) requestor is a close relative or engaged in academic research. The department shall make best efforts to redact any personal identifying information of living individuals in such patient records in order to avoid undue invasions of privacy. The department shall promulgate regulations in collaboration with the department of mental health to implement this rule.
▸SECTION 32
Said section 17 of said chapter 123B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following 3 sentences:- Each facility, subject to this chapter and section 7 of chapter 19B, shall maintain resident records for not less than 20 years after the closing of the record due to discharge, death or last date of service. A facility shall not destroy such records until after the retention period has elapsed and only upon notifying the department of public health that the records will be destroyed; provided, however, that the department shall promulgate regulations further defining an appropriate notification process. Each notice of privacy practices by a facility shall include, but not be limited to: (i) information concerning the provisions of this section; and (ii) the facility’s records termination policy.
▸SECTION 33
Section 2 of chapter 130 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “chapter”, in line 39, the following words:- or any rule or regulation made under authority of this chapter.
▸SECTION 34
The second paragraph of section 21 of said chapter 130, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- The refusal or failure to submit a statistical report, or the knowing submission of a false statistical report, shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
▸SECTION 35
The first paragraph of section 80 of said chapter 130, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the first sentence the following sentence:- No person shall fish for or take fish for commercial purposes in the coastal waters, or land raw fish, whether frozen or unfrozen, in the commonwealth, for the purpose of sale, in violation of a commercial fisherman permit.
▸SECTION 36
Section 12 of chapter 159A1/2 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “protection”, in line 66, the following words:- , the department of energy resources, the Massachusetts clean energy technology center
▸SECTION 37
Section 69O1/2 of chapter 164 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 8, the word “62H” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- 62L.
▸SECTION 38
Section 69T of said chapter 164, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 7, the words “petition to construct such” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- application for a consolidated permit for the clean energy infrastructure
▸SECTION 39
Section 69U of said chapter 164, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 28, the word “(d)” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- (e).
▸SECTION 40
Section 69V of said chapter 164, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 21, the word “(g)” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- (h).
▸SECTION 41
Chapter 210 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 13, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
▸SECTION 13
(a) The court shall, before decreeing a change of name, request a report from the commissioner of probation on the person filing the petition, and, upon entry of a decree, the name as established thereby shall be the legal name of the petitioner. The register may issue a certificate, under the seal of the court, of the name as so established. The court may, for good cause shown, require public notice of the petition to be given and any person to be heard thereon.
No decree shall be entered, however, until there has been filed in the court a copy of the birth record of the person whose name is sought to be changed, and, in case such person's name has previously been changed by decree of court or at marriage pursuant to section 1D of chapter 46, either a copy of: (i) the record of such person’s birth amended to conform to the previous decree changing the person’s name; (ii) such decree; or (iii) the record of marriage; provided, however, that the filing of any such copy may be dispensed with if the judge is satisfied that it cannot be obtained.
(b) The petition for name change, all pleadings, papers or documents filed in connection therewith and docket entries in the permanent docket and record books, online and otherwise, shall not be available for inspection unless the court, for good cause shown, otherwise orders or unless requested by the petitioner. The petition, reports, pleadings, papers, documents and permanent docket and record books shall be segregated.
▸SECTION 42
Section 33 of chapter 268 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “revenue”, in line 10, the following words:- or an officer or employee acting under the authority of the United States or any department, agency or officer thereof.
▸SECTION 43
Said section 33 of said chapter 268, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 11 to 13, inclusive, the words “shall be punished by a fine of not more than four hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 2 1/2 years.
▸SECTION 44
The fifth sentence of subsection (b) of section 83C of chapter 169 of the acts of 2008, as appearing in section 61 of chapter 179 of the acts of 2022, is hereby amended by striking out the following words:- and shall specify that any subsequent solicitation shall occur within 24 months of a previous solicitation.
▸SECTION 45
Chapter 209 of the acts of 2018, as most recently amended by chapter 364 of the acts of 2024, is hereby further amended by striking out section 89 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
▸SECTION 89
There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate, non-budgeted special revenue fund called the Woodlands Partnership of Northwest Massachusetts Fund, which shall be administered by the Woodlands Partnership of Northwest Massachusetts Board established pursuant to section 91. Amounts credited to the fund shall be expended without further appropriation. There shall be credited into the fund revenues or other financing sources directed to the fund by appropriation or other monies authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund, any income derived from the investment of amounts credited to the fund and monies from the repayment of loans from the fund, funds from public or private sources, including, but not limited to, gifts, federal, state or private grants, donations, rebates and settlements received by the commonwealth that are specifically designated to be credited to the fund and all other amounts credited or transferred into the fund from any other source. Amounts credited to said fund shall be used solely for implementing the purposes and administration of the Woodlands Partnership of Northwest Massachusetts established pursuant to section 91. The unexpended balance in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall remain available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years. No expenditure from the fund shall cause the fund to be in deficit at any point.
▸SECTION 46
Chapter 4 of the acts of 2021 is hereby amended by striking out section 9 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
▸SECTION 9
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the bonds that the state treasurer may issue pursuant to section 34 of chapter 383 of the acts of 2020 shall be issued for a term not to exceed 30 years. All such bonds shall be payable not later than June 30, 2065, as recommended by the governor in a message to the general court dated August 14, 2025 under section 3 of Article LXII of the Amendments to the Constitution.
▸SECTION 47
Item 7010-1192 of section 2 of chapter 126 of the acts of 2022 is hereby amended by striking out the figure “2025”, inserted by section 41 of chapter 248 of the acts of 2024, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2026.
▸SECTION 48
Item 2810-0122 of section 2 of chapter 28 of the acts of 2023 is hereby amended by striking out the figure “2025”, inserted by section 76 of chapter 248 of the acts of 2024, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2026.
▸SECTION 49
Item 4000-0300 of said section 2 of said chapter 28 is hereby further amended by striking out the figure “2025”, inserted by section 79 of chapter 248 of the acts of 2024, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2026.
▸SECTION 50
Item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 28 is hereby amended by striking out the figure “2025”, inserted by section 101 of chapter 248 of the acts of 2024, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2026.
▸SECTION 51
Item 1233-2401 of section 2 of chapter 140 of the acts of 2024 is hereby amended by adding the following words:- ; provided, that notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, a city or town that received funding under this item in fiscal year 2024 and that remains eligible in fiscal year 2025 shall receive not less than the amount of funding that such city or town received under this item in fiscal year 2024.
▸SECTION 52
Said item 1233-2401 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby further amended by striking out the figure “$750,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $1,185,432.
▸SECTION 53
Item 1599-0026 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by inserting after the word “Sharon” the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
▸SECTION 54
Said item 1599-0026 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “improvements”, the third time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
▸SECTION 55
Item 2810-0122 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by inserting after the word “playground”, the second time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
▸SECTION 56
Item 3000-4060 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by adding the following words:-
General Fund…83.94%
High-Quality Early Education & Care Affordability Fund…16.06%
▸SECTION 57
Item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as amended by section 65 of chapter 14 of the acts of 2025, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “Sharon” the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
▸SECTION 58
Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as so amended, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “Lynn”, the second time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
▸SECTION 59
Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as so amended, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “projects”, the fifth time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
▸SECTION 60
Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as so amended, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “hospitals” the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
▸SECTION 61
Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as so amended, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “families”, the third time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
▸SECTION 62
Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as so amended, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “prevention”, the second time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
▸SECTION 63
Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as so amended, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “programming”, the twenty-first time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
▸SECTION 64
Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as so amended, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “resources”, the third time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
▸SECTION 65
Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as so amended, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “services”, the fifteenth time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
▸SECTION 66
Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as so amended, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “Boston, Inc.”, the third time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
▸SECTION 67
Item 7010-1192 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by inserting after the word “Harwich” the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
▸SECTION 68
8000-0313 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by inserting after the word “Millbury”, the second time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
▸SECTION 69
Item 8100-0102 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by striking out the figure “$49,000,000”, each time it appears, and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following figure:- $55,000,000.
▸SECTION 70
Item 8324-0050 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by inserting after the word “Hanover” the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
▸SECTION 71
Section 127 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by striking out the words “managed care organization reinvestment” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- Medicaid managed care organization.
▸SECTION 72
Said section 127 of said chapter 140 is hereby further amended by striking out the words “total managed care organization services assessment” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- non-Medicaid managed care organization revenue.
▸SECTION 73
Section 198 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by striking out the figure “2025” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2026.
▸SECTION 74
Section 222 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by striking out subsection (a).
▸SECTION 75
Said chapter 140 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 253 the following section:-
▸SECTION 253A
Section 19 of said chapter 15D, as inserted by section 36, shall take effect on July 1, 2023.
▸SECTION 76
Item 1599-2625 of section 2A of chapter 1 of the acts of 2025 is hereby amended by adding the following words:- ; and provided further, that the comptroller shall transfer $5,995,058 from this item to the General Federal Grants Fund for the purposes of item 4000-0004 in the Massachusetts management accounting and reporting system.
▸SECTION 77
Section 1 of chapter 7 of the acts of 2025 is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- These sums shall be made available through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.
▸SECTION 78
Item 4200-0100 of section 2 of chapter 9 of the acts of 2025 is hereby amended by striking out the words “the Connecticut Valley YouthBuild program” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- New North Citizens Council, Inc. Youth Services.
▸SECTION 79
Item 4403-2000 of said section 2 of said chapter 9 is hereby further amended by striking out the words “prior appropriation continued”.
▸SECTION 80
Item 4408-1000 of said section 2 of said chapter 9 is hereby further amended by striking out the words “prior appropriation continued”.
▸SECTION 81
Item 4510-0110 of said section 2 of said chapter 9 is hereby amended by striking out the words “a state primary care association qualified under section 330A(f)(1) of the Public Health Service Act, as codified at 42 U.S.C. section 254c(f)(1)” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- a state primary care association qualified under section 42 U.S.C. 254b(l).
▸SECTION 82
Item 0321-1510 of said section 2 of said chapter 9, as amended by section 81 of chapter 14 of the acts of 2025, is hereby further amended by striking out the figure “$2,000,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $3,000,000.
▸SECTION 83
Item 0910-0200 of said section 2 of said chapter 9, as amended by sections 82 and 83 of chapter 14 of the acts of 2025, is hereby further amended adding the following words:- ; provided further, that not later than June 30, 2026, the inspector general shall conduct an investigation and submit a report to the house and senate clerks, the joint committee on public safety and homeland security and the house and senate committees on ways and means that shall include, but shall not be limited to: (i) a detailed accounting of expenditures made by the sheriffs’ offices in fiscal year 2025; (ii) an analysis of sheriffs’ offices’ compliance with chapter 29 of the General Laws in fiscal year 2025; (iii) a review of spending by sheriffs’ offices on activities not specifically required by statute, case law or court order and how such spending has changed over time; (iv) an analysis of compensation levels and changes over the preceding 3 fiscal years, including comparisons among sheriffs’ offices and to the department of correction; and (v) recommendations to ensure compliance with said chapter 29, if necessary, among sheriffs’ offices; provided further, that each sheriff’s office shall comply with all requests from the office of the inspector general for any information deemed necessary to conducting said investigation and submitting said report, including, but not limited to, requests for the production of records.
▸SECTION 84
Said item 0910-0200 of said section 2 of said chapter 9, as so amended, is hereby further amended by striking out the figure “$6,256,039” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $6,756,039.
▸SECTION 85
Section 97 of chapter 14 of the acts of 2025 is hereby amended by striking out the word “January” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- September.
▸SECTION 86
(a) There shall be within the executive office of public safety and security a sheriff fiscal oversight council.
(b) The council shall consist of the secretary of public safety and security, who shall serve as co-chair; the secretary of administration and finance, who shall serve as co-chair; and 3 members to be appointed by the governor, not less than 2 of whom shall have experience in the operation of correctional facilities and 1 of whom shall have experience in state government finance. The oversight council shall meet and hire staff as they deem necessary to ensure proper oversight of sheriff operations and finances.
(c) The council, in carrying out this section, shall have access to all records, documents, accounts, correspondence and any other data and material that is maintained by the sheriffs’ offices or other state agencies that the council deems necessary. Not less than monthly, each sheriff shall provide the council with information on the status of the revenues and expenses for their office’s operating budget and on the status of revenues, contracting, procurement and authorized and actual spending for any capital projects. Such reports shall provide itemized year-to-date expenditures and detailed projections for anticipated expenses for the remainder of the fiscal year and be in a form prescribed by the council. The council shall submit such monthly reports to the secretary of public safety and security, the secretary of administration and finance, the inspector general, the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the chairs of the senate and house committees on ways and means and the chairs of the joint committee on public safety and homeland security.
(d) The council may set financial management metrics to ensure the fiscal and operational integrity of sheriff operations. The council may formulate and recommend a plan for a sheriff’s office to stabilize and strengthen its finances, management, operations and asset conditions with a focus on maintaining activities specifically required by statute, case law or court order while limiting cost growth year over year and ensuring total annual expenditures do not exceed annual state appropriations.
(e) If a sheriff’s office fails to meet any financial management metrics or any a recommended plan prescribed under subsection (d), as determined by the council, the council shall take action to ensure the fiscal and operational integrity of such sheriff’s office, which may include, but shall not be limited to, the authority to: (i) appoint a receiver to take operational and managerial control of the applicable sheriff’s office; provided that such receiver shall have experience in the operation of correctional facilities; (ii) direct the comptroller not to certify any amounts for payment from a sheriff’s office; and (iii) prohibit a sheriff’s office from incurring any new expenditures or obligations without prior approval of the council for a period of time to be determined by the council.
(f) The council shall dissolve on January 1, 2028; provided, however, that by majority vote of the council, the council may continue in existence to a date or in increments as determined by the council beyond January 1, 2028.
▸SECTION 87
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in fiscal year 2025, the comptroller shall transfer $200,000,000 from income surtax revenue, as defined by subsection (a) of section 2BBBBBB of chapter 29 of the General Laws, to the Student Opportunity Act Investment Fund established in section 35RRR of chapter 10 of the General Laws.
▸SECTION 88
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the comptroller shall, after making the required transfer under section 229 of chapter 140 of the acts of 2024, transfer the fiscal year 2025 consolidated net surplus pursuant to section 5C of chapter 29 of the General Laws to the Deficiency Reserve Fund established in section 2MMMMMM of chapter 29 of the General Laws.
▸SECTION 89
Notwithstanding section 68 of chapter 118E of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of health and human services shall implement the health care-related assessment on managed care organization services, established under said section 68 of said chapter 118E, as a broad-based and uniform assessment, in accordance with 42 C.F.R. 433.68(b), with the managed care organization services assessment rate, as such term is defined in section 64 of said chapter 118E, implemented as the single broad-based and uniform rate applicable to all managed care organization services subject to assessment, as such term is defined in said section 64 of said chapter 118E. Upon converting the health care related assessment on managed care organization services to a broad-based and uniform assessment applicable to all managed care services subject to assessment, as such term is defined in said section 64 of said chapter 118E, the initial managed care organization services assessment rate shall be equal to the rate that had been applicable to the tax group containing commercial managed care services immediately preceding the implementation of the broad-based and uniform application of the assessment. The managed care organization services assessment rate for each calendar year, beginning the first January 1 following the conversion of the health care related assessment on managed care organization services to a broad-based and uniform assessment, shall be broad-based and uniform across all managed care services subject to assessment and shall continue to be implemented in a manner consistent with 42 CFR 433.68.
▸SECTION 90
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, section 18 of chapter 28 of the acts of 2023 shall not be in effect for the purposes of establishing the annual spending threshold set pursuant to subsection (f) of section 2BBBBBB of chapter 29 of the General Laws for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027.
▸SECTION 91
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, to the extent that immunization recommendations and requirements established in the commonwealth are conditioned upon alignment with the recommendations made by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the commissioner of public health shall review said recommendations and requirements established in the commonwealth and shall, in consultation with the vaccine program advisory council established in section 24N of chapter 111 of the General Laws, establish alternative standards as the commissioner may deem necessary to assure the maintenance of public health and the prevention of disease in the commonwealth.
▸SECTION 92
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, there shall be a moratorium on the destruction of hospital records pursuant to section 36 of chapter 123 of the General Laws until such time as the department of mental health promulgates regulations defining a public notice process for the destruction of such records, as required under said section 36 of said chapter 123.
▸SECTION 93
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, there shall be a moratorium on the destruction of hospital records pursuant to section 17 of chapter 123B of the General Laws until such time as the department of developmental services promulgates regulations defining a public notice process for the destruction of such records, as required under said section 17 of said chapter 123B.
▸SECTION 94
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, at the direction of the secretary of administration and finance, the comptroller shall make tax revenue collected from capital gains income above the threshold established in section 5G of chapter 29 of the General Laws in fiscal year 2025 available to the General Fund in the amount necessary to eliminate any deficits in the budgetary funds pursuant to section 5C of said chapter 29. After satisfying the previous provision, the comptroller shall transfer any remaining excess capital gains income as follows: (i) 85 per cent to the Deficiency Reserve Fund established in section 2MMMMMM of chapter 29 of the General Laws; (ii) 5 per cent to the Commonwealth’s Pension Liability Fund established in paragraph (e) of subdivision (8) of section 22 of chapter 32 of the General Laws; (iii) 5 per cent to the State Retiree Benefits Trust Fund established in section 24 of chapter 32A of the General Laws; and (iv) 5 per cent to the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund established in section 2H of chapter 29 of the General Laws..
▸SECTION 95
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in fiscal year 2025, the comptroller shall transfer $10,000,000 from the General Fund to the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center established in section 3 of chapter 23I of the General Laws for programming and operations that advance efforts related to life sciences and spur economic growth in the commonwealth.
▸SECTION 96
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in fiscal year 2025, the comptroller shall transfer $100,000,000 from income surtax revenue, as defined by subsection (a) of section 2BBBBBB of chapter 29 of the General Laws, to the Public Higher Education Student Support Fund established in section 2NNNNNN of chapter 29 of the General Laws.
▸SECTION 97
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of health and human services shall seek all required federal approvals the secretary deems necessary to implement sections 7, 8, 9, 23, 26, 27 and 28, including any required waivers under 42 C.F.R. 433.68 necessary to implement the updates to the hospital assessment described in section 67 of chapter 118E of the General Laws. If, after having received any required federal approval necessary to implement said sections 7, 8, 9, 23, 26, 27 and 28, such approval is withdrawn or is otherwise not in effect or if the secretary determines that a change in federal law or regulations or the administration of any such federal law or regulation requires a modification to the hospital assessment described in said section 67 of said chapter 118E or to the implementation of the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in section 66 of said chapter 118E, the Non-Acute Care Hospital Reimbursement Trust Fund established in section 2WWWW of chapter 29 of the General Laws, the Safety Net Provider Trust Fund established in section 2AAAAA of said chapter 29, the Hospital Investment and Performance Trust Fund established in section 2TTTTT of said chapter 29 or the Population Health Investment Trust Fund established in section 2UUUUU of said chapter 29, the secretary shall provide written notification to the joint committee on health care financing and the house and senate committees on ways and means and shall collaborate with Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, Inc. to develop and consult on the implementation of alternatives.
Not later than February 15, 2026, and annually thereafter, the secretary shall report to the joint committee on health care financing and the house and senate committees on ways and means: (i) the amount of the assessment made and collected from each hospital pursuant to said section 67 of said chapter 118E; and (ii) the amounts transferred to, deposited in, expended from and transferred from the Hospital Investment and Performance Trust Fund established in said section 2TTTTT of said chapter 29 and the Population Health Investment Trust Fund established in said section 2UUUUU of said chapter 29.
▸SECTION 98
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the comptroller, at the direction of the secretary of administration and finance, shall transfer in both fiscal year 2026 and 2027 $50,000,000 each such fiscal year from the Commonwealth Care Trust Fund established in section 2OOO of chapter 29 of the General Laws to the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in section 66 of chapter 118E of the General Laws; provided, however, that such transfers shall be in addition to any other transfers from said Commonwealth Care Trust Fund to said Health Safety Net Trust Fund required in fiscal years 2026 or 2027; provided further, that such funds must be used first to reduce the shortfall, as described in subsection (b) of section 69 of said chapter 118E, for health safety net fiscal years 2026 and 2027, and that any remaining funds may be used to reduce the shortfall in any other open health safety net fiscal year; and provided further, that the amount equal to any federal financial participation revenues claimed and received by the commonwealth for eligible expenditures made from said Health Safety Net Trust Fund with these funds transferred from said Commonwealth Care Trust Fund shall be credited to said Health Safety Net Trust Fund.
▸SECTION 99
On or before November 30, 2025, the secretary of administration and finance, in consultation with the executive office of health and human services, shall estimate the amount of federal reimbursements claimed or anticipated to be claimed but not yet received in connection with costs incurred or balances designated in fiscal year 2025 from chapter 33 of the acts of 2025. For the purposes of certifying the amount of the consolidated net surplus in the budgetary funds at the close of fiscal year 2025 pursuant to section 5C of chapter 29 of the General Laws, the comptroller shall record the estimates for each budgetary fund made pursuant to this section as statutory receivables in fiscal year 2025.
▸SECTION 100
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, for fiscal year 2025, all abandoned property net revenue, as defined by section 5H of chapter 29 of the General Laws, shall remain in the General Fund.
▸SECTION 101
(a) Notwithstanding sections 32 to 37, inclusive, of chapter 7C of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, in consultation with the court administrator of the trial court of the commonwealth, may convey certain adjacent parcels of land in the city of Framingham acquired for the purpose of erecting a building for the first district court of southern Middlesex for nominal consideration to the city of Framingham; provided, however, that the commissioner shall not convey said parcels until: (i) the completion of a regional justice center at 121 Union avenue in the city of Framingham; and (ii) a determination by the commissioner, in consultation with the court administrator, that the parcels are surplus to the needs of the trial court. The parcels are located at 600 and 602 Concord street in the city of Framingham and are further described in deeds recorded in the Middlesex southern district registry of deeds in book 7816, page 107 and book 9859, page 328. The parcels shall be conveyed by deed without warranties or representations by the commonwealth and without restrictions on use or future conveyance by the city. The conveyance shall be subject to such additional conditions and restrictions as the commissioner, in consultation with the court administrator, may determine. The commissioner may, in consultation with the court administrator, determine the exact boundaries of the parcels prior to conveyance.
(b) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the city of Framingham shall be responsible for all costs and expenses of any transaction authorized by this section as determined by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, including, but not limited to, the costs of any engineering, surveys, appraisals, title examinations, recording fees and deed preparation.
▸SECTION 102
The salary adjustments and other economic benefits authorized by the following collective bargaining agreements shall be effective for the purposes of section 7 of chapter 150E of the General Laws:
(1) the agreement between the University of Massachusetts and the Clerical/Technical Unit (CTU), MTA, Unit L92, effective from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027;
(2) the agreement between the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) and the Barnstable County Captain Union, National Correctional Employees Union (NCEU), Unit L152, effective from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027;
(3) the agreement between the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) and the National Correctional Employees Union, Unit SB1, effective from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027;
(4) the agreement between the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office and the National Correctional Employees Union Local 150, Unit S10, effective from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027;
(5) the agreement between the Dukes County Sheriff's Office and the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union (MCOFU), Unit SD1, effective from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2028;
(6) the agreement between the University of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Teachers Association/Department Chairs (DCU), Boston Campus, Unit B50, effective from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027; and
(7) the agreement between the Plymouth County Sheriff's Office and the New England Police Benevolent Association (NEPBA) Local 193, Unit SP5, effective from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027.
▸SECTION 103
Sections 10, 24, 25, 71, 72 and 89 shall take effect on the later of: (i) the effective date of amendments to 42 CFR 433.68 disallowing the higher taxation of Medicaid taxable units as compared to non-Medicaid taxable units; or (ii) the end of any federally established or approved transition period applicable to the health care related assessment on managed care organization services, established under section 68 of chapter 118E of the General Laws, as amended by section 130 of chapter 140 of the acts of 2024. The executive office of health and human services shall notify the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate not later than 10 days after the effective date pursuant to this section.
▸SECTION 104
Sections 7, 8, 9, 23, 26, 27, 28 and 97, shall take effect upon the later of: (i) the date on which the secretary receives all federal approvals deemed necessary to implement said sections; or (ii) October 1, 2025.
▸SECTION 105
Section 98 shall take effect October 1, 2025.
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SECTION 1. To provide for supplementing certain items in the general appropriation act and other appropriation acts for fiscal year 2025, the sums set forth in section 2 are hereby appropriated from the General Fund or the Transitional Escrow Fund established in section 16 of chapter 76 of the acts of 2021, as amended by section 4 of chapter 98 of the acts of 2022, unless specifically designated otherwise in this act or in those appropriation acts, for the several purposes and subject to the conditions specified in this act or in those appropriation acts, and subject to the laws regulating the disbursement of public funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. These sums shall be in addition to any amounts previously appropriated and made available for the purposes of those items. These sums shall be made available through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.
SECTION 2.
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS
Suffolk District Attorney's Office
0340-0100 Suffolk District Attorney..............................$700,000
District Attorneys’ Association
0340-8908 District Attorneys’ Wide Area Network....................$90,663
EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
1595-6153 Communications Access Trust Fund Transfer....................$12,500,000
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF EDUCATION
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
1596-2422 School Meals..............................$12,000,000
Education and Transportation Fund…100%
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS
Office of the Secretary
1599-0093 Clean Water Trust Contract Assistance....................$6,779,246
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
4000-0700 MassHealth Fee for Service Payments....................$2,046,164,359
Department of Public Health
4590-0915 Public Health Hospitals....................$18,500,000
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
Department of State Police
8100-1001 Department of State Police..............................$3,500,255
Department of Correction
8900-0001 Department of Correction Facility Operations....................$7,184,865
SECTION 2A. To provide for certain unanticipated obligations of the commonwealth, to provide for an alteration of purpose for current appropriations, and to meet certain requirements of law, the sums set forth in this section are hereby appropriated from the General Fund or the Transitional Escrow Fund established in section 16 of chapter 76 of the acts of 2021, as amended by section 4 of chapter 98 of the acts of 2022, unless specifically designated otherwise in this section, for the several purposes and subject to the conditions specified in this section, and subject to the laws regulating the disbursement of public funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. Except as otherwise stated, these sums shall be made available through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
Department of Revenue
1233-1818 For fiscal year 2023 and fiscal year 2024 payments due to cities and towns pursuant to section 5 of chapter 64N of the General Laws..............................$1,250,000
Marijuana Regulation Fund…100%
Reserves
1599-1214 For a reserve for expansion, upgrades or enhancements to staffing, operations or infrastructure for new and existing facilities that treat men with an alcohol or substance use disorder under sections 1 and 35 of chapter 123 of the General Laws; provided, that the secretary of administration and finance may transfer funds from this item to state agencies as defined in section 1 of chapter 29 of the General Laws....................$14,000,000
OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER
Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities
1595-0604 For an operating transfer to the Housing Preservation and Stabilization Trust Fund established in section 60 of chapter 121B of the General Laws.............$75,000,000
MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
1596-2527 For the cost of snow and ice removal services incurred by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation; provided, that funds in this item may be transferred to the Massachusetts Transportation Trust Fund established in section 4 of chapter 6C of the General Laws $60,727,344
Education and Transportation Fund…100%
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
4000-0010 For direct supports to reproductive health care providers to maintain continuity of access to services at risk of federal funding reductions including, but not limited to, Medicaid reimbursements..............................$5,000,000
Department of Transitional Assistance
4400-0709 For operational enhancements at the department of transitional assistance in response to upcoming changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; provided, that the department shall expend funds for enhancements including, but not limited to, information technology and infrastructure improvements to reduce the commonwealth’s payment error rate; provided further, that at the direction of the commissioner of transitional assistance, funds may be transferred from this item to item 4400-1000 of section 2 of the general appropriation act for fiscal year 2026 and fiscal year 2027; provided further, that not later than March 15, 2026, the department shall submit a report to the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities and the house and senate committees on ways and means detailing strategies for reducing payment error rates and summarizing departmental responses to recent policy changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; and provided further, that funds appropriated in this item shall be made available until June 30, 2027..............................$10,000,000
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF EDUCATION
Department of Higher Education
1596-2528 For a reserve to provide financial assistance to Massachusetts students enrolled in and pursuing a program of higher education at any public institutions of higher education in the commonwealth; provided, that funds shall be expended to restore financial aid allocations to public institutions of higher education in fiscal year 2026 at an amount not less than that allocated in fiscal year 2025; provided further, that funds shall be expended to increase awards for MassGrant recipients in fiscal year 2026 at an amount not less than that allocated in fiscal year 2025; provided further, that funds shall be expended to increase award allowances for Pell Grant recipients in fiscal year 2026 at an amount not less than that allocated in fiscal year 2025; provided further, that funds shall be expended to restore the allowance of up to $1,200 per academic year, adjusted by number of credits, for books, supplies and other expenses for students whose household income is at or below 125 per cent of the standard median income and who are attending a community college program pursuant to section 5B of chapter 15A of the General Laws; provided further, that funds may be expended for programs or activities during summer months; and provided further, that at the discretion of the secretary of education, funds may be transferred from this item to items 7070-0065, 1596-2414 and 1596-2501 of the general appropriation act........................................$18,300,000
Education and Transportation Fund…100%
SECTION 2B. To provide for supplementing certain intragovernmental chargeback authorizations in the general appropriation act and other appropriation acts for fiscal year 2025, to provide for certain unanticipated intragovernmental chargeback authorizations, to provide for an alteration of purpose for current intragovernmental chargeback authorizations and to meet certain requirements of law, the sum set forth in this section is hereby authorized from the Intragovernmental Service Fund established in section 2Q of chapter 29 of the General Laws for the several purposes specified in this section or in the appropriation acts and subject to the provisions of law regulating the disbursement of public funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. This sum shall be in addition to any amounts previously authorized and made available for the purposes of this item. These sums shall be made available through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.
TREASURER AND RECEIVER-GENERAL
Office of the Treasurer and Receiver-General
0699-0018 Agency Debt Service Programs........................................$21,000,000
SECTION 2C.I. For the purpose of making available in fiscal year 2026 balances of appropriations which otherwise would revert on June 30, 2025, the unexpended balances of the appropriations listed below, not to exceed the amount specified below for each item, are hereby re-appropriated for the purposes of and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding item in sections 2 or 2F of chapter 140 of the acts of 2024; provided, however, that for items which do not appear in said sections 2 or 2F of said chapter 140 of the general appropriation act, the amounts in this section are re-appropriated for the purposes of and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding item in sections 2 or 2A of this act or in prior appropriation acts. Amounts in this section are re-appropriated from the fund or funds designated for the corresponding item in said sections 2 or 2F of said chapter 140; provided, however, that for items which do not appear in said sections 2 or 2F of said chapter 140, the amounts in this section are re-appropriated from the fund or funds designated for the corresponding item in sections 2 to 2F, inclusive, of this act or in prior appropriation acts. The unexpended balance of each appropriation in the Massachusetts management accounting and reporting system with a secretariat code of 01 or 17 is hereby re-appropriated for the purposes of and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding item in said section 2 of said chapter 140. The sums re-appropriated in this section shall be in addition to any amounts available for said purposes.
JUDICIARY
Supreme Judicial Court
0320-0003 Supreme Judicial Court........................................$400,000
Appeals Court
0322-0100 Appeals Court..................................................$175,000
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS
Northwestern District Attorney
0340-0600 Northwestern District Attorney........................................$225,000
District Attorneys’ Association
0340-9111 District Attorneys’ Association........................................$307,101
TREASURER AND RECEIVER-GENERAL
Office of the Treasurer and Receiver-General
0610-2000 Welcome Home Bill Bonus Payments..............................$600,000
POLICE REFORM COMMISSIONS
0800-0000 Massachusetts Police Officer Standards and Training Commission..............................$73,853
OFFICE OF THE CHILD ADVOCATE
0930-0100 Office of the Child Advocate..................................................$200,000
0930-0101 Center on Child Wellbeing and Trauma..............................$1,900,000
CENTER FOR HEALTH INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS
4100-0060 Center for Health Information and Analysis..............................$693,500
4100-0063 Betsy Lehman Center............................................................$395,450
EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
Health Policy Commission
1450-1200 Health Policy Commission........................................$750,000
Reserves
1599-4448 Collective Bargaining Reserve..............................$34,000,000
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY SERVICES AND SECURITY
1790-1700 Core Technology Services and Security..............................$355,089
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
4125-0100 Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing..............................$170,000
Department of Transitional Assistance
4400-1000 Department of Transitional Assistance Administration and Operation....................$2,813,484
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF VETERANS’ SERVICES
Veterans’ Services
1410-0630 Agawam and Winchendon Veterans’ Cemeteries........................................$185,000
Veterans’ Home in Chelsea
4180-0100 Veterans’ Home in Chelsea Administration and Operations..............................$916,018
Veterans’ Home in Holyoke
4190-0100 Veterans’ Home in Holyoke Administration and Operations..............................$150,018
MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
1596-2401 Federal Matching Funds............................................................$23,000,000
1596-2406 Regional Transit Funding and Grants........................................$11,155,416
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Division of Insurance
7006-0020 Division of Insurance............................................................$1,274,008
Massachusetts Marketing Partnership
7008-0900 Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism..............................$100,000
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HOUSING AND LIVABLE COMMUNITIES
7004-0102 Homeless Individual Shelters........................................$2,100,000
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF EDUCATION
Department of Early Education and Care
3000-1000 Department of Early Education and Care..............................$7,500,000
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
7061-9805 Teacher Diversity Initiative..................................................$8,300,000
1596-2436 Mental Health Supports and Wraparounds..............................$4,657,078
Department of Higher Education
7066-0025 Performance Management Set Aside........................................$2,000,000
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
Department of State Police
8100-0515 New State Police Class..................................................$9,600,000
Department of Fire Services
8324-0000 Department of Fire Services Administration..............................$560,750
8324-0050 Local Fire Department Projects and Grants..............................$250,000
SECTION 2C.II. For the purpose of making available in fiscal year 2026 balances of retained revenue and intragovernmental chargeback authorizations which otherwise would revert on June 30, 2025, the unexpended balances of the authorizations listed below, not to exceed the amount specified below for each item, are hereby re-authorized for the purposes of and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding item in sections 2 to 2F, inclusive, of chapter 140 of the acts of 2024; provided, however, that for items which do not appear in said sections 2 to 2F, inclusive, of said chapter 140, the amounts in this section are re-authorized for the purposes of and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding item in sections 2 through 2F, inclusive, of this act or in prior appropriation acts. Amounts in this section are re-authorized from the fund or funds designated for the corresponding item in sections 2 to 2F, inclusive, of the general appropriation act; provided, however, that for items which do not appear in sections 2 to 2F, inclusive, of the general appropriation act, the amounts in this section are re-authorized from the fund or funds designated for the corresponding item in sections 2 to 2F, inclusive, of this act or in prior appropriation acts. The sums re-authorized in this section shall be in addition to any amounts available for those purposes.
MASSACHUSETTS COMMISSION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION
0940-0103 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Retained Revenue....................$1,205,504
EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
Operational Services Division
1775-0800 Chargeback for Purchase Operation and Repair of State Vehicles....................$200,000
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Office of the Secretary
7002-0018 Chargeback for Economic Development IT Costs..............................$3,846,468
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
Department of Correction
8900-0021 Chargeback for Prison Industries and Farm Program..............................$430,000
SECTION 3. Section 10H of chapter 21A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 33, the words “of $10 per fish” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- for a recreational fisher of $10 per fish or $5 per pound of striped bass or for a commercial fisher of the market value of all catch seized and labeled pursuant to section 12 not to exceed $10,000.
SECTION 4. Section 3 of chapter 23I of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 42, the word “Six” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- Five.
SECTION 5. Section 2HHHH of chapter 29 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the figure “71”, in lines 6 and 15, the following words:- , section 74E of chapter 112, section 18 of chapter 112A.
SECTION 6. Section 2YYYY of said chapter 29, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the second paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-
The secretary may expend, without further appropriation: (i) not more than $160,000,000 per fiscal year from the fund to expand and support the residential treatment system to treat individuals with a substance use disorder or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder and to expand and increase access to the 24-hour diversionary system; (ii) not more than $135,000,000 per fiscal year from the fund to reduce stigma, expand access, support implementation and increase competencies for medications for substance use disorder; (iii) not more than $35,000,000 per fiscal year from the fund to support access to evidence-based recovery services through peer and paraprofessional services; and (iv) not more than $85,000,000 per fiscal year from the fund to ensure appropriate assessment for levels of care utilizing American Society of Addiction Medicine or other evidence-based modalities and to support integration of physical health, mental health and substance use disorder care across all provider settings. To accommodate timing discrepancies between the receipt of revenues and related expenditures, the fund may incur expenses, and the comptroller shall certify for payment, amounts not to exceed the most recent revenue estimate as certified by the MassHealth director, as reported in the state accounting system. Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to further appropriation and money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in the subsequent fiscal year.
SECTION 7. Section 2AAAAA of said chapter 29, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the second paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-
There shall be credited to the fund: (i) any transfers from the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in section 66 of chapter 118E; (ii) any revenue from appropriations or other money authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (iii) an amount equal to any federal financial participation revenues claimed and received by the commonwealth for eligible expenditures made from the fund; and (iv) interest earned on any money in the fund. Money from the fund shall be expended for payments to providers that qualify under an approved federal waiver and in accordance with said waiver. Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to further appropriation. At the end of each fiscal year, the secretary of health and human services shall determine, in the secretary's sole discretion, the amount of any money in the fund that is in excess of the money needed to make payments from the fund in accordance with said waiver; provided, however, that the money needed to make such payments shall include any money needed to make any payments that are unearned as of the end of such year but potentially earned in a subsequent year. Subject to the terms of said waiver: (i) for periods applicable to the waiver beginning on or after January 1, 2025, the secretary of health and human services shall transfer to the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in said section 66 of said chapter 118E the state share of any such excess money, excluding any federal funds; and (ii) for periods applicable to the waiver through December 31, 2024, the secretary of health and human services shall transfer to said Health Safety Net Trust Fund the state share of any such excess money, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is $62,500,000 and the denominator of which is the total amount transferred to or deposited in the fund for such fund year, excluding federal funds. Money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years. To accommodate timing discrepancies between the receipt of revenue and related expenditures, the comptroller may certify for payment amounts not to exceed the most recent revenue estimates as certified by the secretary of health and human services to be transferred, credited or deposited under this section.
SECTION 8. Section 2TTTTT of said chapter 29 is hereby amended by striking out subsection (c), as appearing in section 51 of chapter 140 of the acts of 2024, and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(c)(1) The secretary shall expend money in the fund, including all amounts credited to the fund, for payments to qualifying acute hospital providers under contract with the executive office of health and human services or under subcontracts with care organizations that contract with the executive office in connection with the MassHealth program as provided in this subsection.
(2) The secretary shall annually expend amounts from the fund averaging, for the 2-year period from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2027, inclusive, not less than $2,264,500,000 per year; provided, however, that all such payments shall fall into 1 of the following categories: (i) health equity incentive payments; (ii) clinical quality incentive payments; (iii) other incentive payments; (iv) rate payments for services provided to MassHealth members; or (v) targeted payments to: (A) freestanding pediatric acute hospitals; (B) nonprofit teaching acute hospitals that provide medical, surgical, emergency and obstetrical services and are affiliated with a state-owned medical school; (C) freestanding cancer hospitals; (D) the acute hospital that had the lowest statewide commercial relative price in fiscal year 2019 as reported by the center for health information and analysis; (E) the independent group 1 safety net hospital that had the largest percentile of operating loss in fiscal year 2022 as reported by the center for health information and analysis; (F) the acute hospital that had the highest statewide public payer mix in fiscal year 2023 as determined by the secretary; (G) the acute hospital affiliated with a health system with 2 or more critical access hospitals operating in the commonwealth in calendar year 2025, as determined by the secretary; or (H) to any non-state-owned public hospital in the commonwealth, as determined by the secretary. The secretary may determine funding allocations among and within each such category within a given year; provided, however, that such allocations shall be consistent with all approved federal waivers and state plan provisions; and provided further, that the secretary shall allocate an average of not less than $1,280,000,000 per year, for the 2-year period from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2027, inclusive, for the rate payments described in clause (iv), with an average of not less than $92,000,000 allocated for group 1 safety net hospitals for such 2-year period, an average of not less than $460,000,000 allocated for group 2 safety net hospitals for such 2-year period and an average of not less than $728,000,000 allocated across all acute hospitals for such 2-year period.
(3) Of the targeted payments described in clause (v) of paragraph (2), the secretary shall expend annually from the fund: (i) $70,000,000 to freestanding pediatric acute hospitals, of which at least 98 per cent shall be paid to the freestanding pediatric hospital that had the largest volume of inpatient discharges in fiscal year 2019; (ii) $35,000,000 to nonprofit teaching acute hospitals that provide medical, surgical, emergency and obstetrical services and are affiliated with a state-owned medical school; (iii) $14,000,000 to the acute hospital that had the lowest statewide commercial relative price in fiscal year 2019 as reported by the center for health information and analysis; (iv) $6,000,000 to freestanding cancer hospitals; (v) $10,000,000 to the independent group 1 safety net hospital that had the largest operating percentile loss in fiscal year 2022 as reported by the center for health information and analysis; (vi) $6,000,000 to the acute hospital that had the highest statewide public payer mix in fiscal year 2023, as determined by the secretary; (vii) $6,000,000 to the acute hospital affiliated with a health system with 2 or more critical access hospitals operating in the commonwealth in calendar year 2025, as determined by the secretary; and (viii) $2,000,000 to any non-state-owned public hospital in the commonwealth, as determined by the secretary.
(4) Of the incentive payments described in clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (2), the secretary shall make interim payments to qualifying hospitals based on the secretary’s estimate of each such hospital’s final payment for the measurement period. As soon as practicable after the close of the measurement period, the secretary shall determine the final amount of each qualifying hospital’s incentive payments and shall reconcile each hospital’s interim payment with its final payment.
(5) If, in any fiscal year, the commonwealth fails to secure federal financial participation necessary to make expenditures described in this section, or if the total hospital assessment amount described in section 67 of chapter 118E is insufficient to support the distributions to the fund required to be made from the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in section 66 of said chapter 118E, or if such distributions are otherwise not made due to limitations on federal matching, applicable payment ceilings or other restrictions under state or federal law, then the expenditures otherwise required to be made from the fund shall be reduced proportionally based on the total amount available for expenditure.
SECTION 9. Subsection (c) of section 2UUUUU of said chapter 29, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-
(3) If, in any fiscal year, the commonwealth fails to secure federal financial participation necessary to make expenditures described in this section, or if the total hospital assessment amount described in section 67 of chapter 118E is insufficient to support the distributions to the fund required to be made from the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in section 66 of said chapter 118E, or if such distributions are otherwise not made due to limitations on federal matching, applicable payment ceilings, or other restrictions under state or federal law, then the expenditures otherwise required to be made from the fund shall be reduced proportionally based on the total amount available for expenditure.
SECTION 10. Section 2FFFFFF of said chapter 29, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(c) The secretary shall annually expend money in the fund, including all amounts credited to the fund, for payments to Medicaid managed care organizations, as such term is defined in section 64 of chapter 118E; provided, however, that such amounts expended annually shall be not less than the Medicaid managed care organization revenue amount, as such term is defined in said section 64 of said chapter 118E; and provided further, that such expenditures shall be consistent with all approved federal waivers and state plan provisions.
SECTION 11. Said chapter 29 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 2LLLLLL the following 2 sections:-
Section 2MMMMMM. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund known as the Deficiency Reserve Fund. The fund shall be credited with: (i) appropriations or other money authorized or transferred by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) funds from public and private sources, including, but not limited to, gifts, grants and donations; and (iii) interest earned on any money in the fund. Amounts credited to the fund shall be expended, subject to appropriation, to fulfill existing financial obligations of the commonwealth with unanticipated deficiencies. Money remaining in the fund at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund. The fund shall not be subject to section 5C.
Section 2NNNNNN. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate, non-budgeted special revenue fund known as the Public Higher Education Student Support Fund, which shall be administered by the secretary of education. The fund shall be credited with: (i) appropriations or other money authorized or transferred by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) funds from public and private sources, including, but not limited to, gifts, grants and donations; and (iii) interest earned on any money in the fund.
(b) Amounts credited to the fund shall be expended, without further appropriation, to: (i) supplement financial aid awards to students at public institutions of higher education to prevent a reduction in aid relative to the amount awarded in the prior fiscal year or relative to amounts established subject to appropriation in statute or regulation, which shall include, but not be limited to, the maintenance of the no cost community college program under section 5B of chapter 15A of the General Laws; (ii) supplement allocations to public institutions of higher education for financial aid programs to prevent a reduction in allocation from the prior fiscal year; or (iii) otherwise maintain financial aid benefits to students relative to prior year benefit levels. The secretary of education shall provide notice to the secretary of administration and finance, the clerks of the house of representatives and senate and the house and senate committees on ways and means not less than 15 days prior to expending funds from the Public Higher Education Student Support Fund, including, but not limited to, the purpose and amount of each expenditure.
(c) The unexpended balance in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall remain available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years. No expenditure made from the fund shall cause the fund to be in deficit.
SECTION 12. Chapter 31 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
Section 79. Following their original appointment and oath as a permanent full-time environmental police officer in the police force of the office of law enforcement under section 10A of chapter 21A, a person shall perform the duties of such position on a full-time basis for a probationary period of 12 months before they shall be considered a full-time tenured employee in such position. The administrator, with the approval of the commission, may establish procedures to ensure the evaluation by appointing authorities, prior to the end of such probationary period, of the performance of persons appointed as police officers in such force. Unless otherwise provided by civil service rule, and with appropriate adjustments to the timing of performance evaluations called for therein, the second paragraph of section 34 shall apply to persons covered by this section.
SECTION 13. Section 1 of chapter 32 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out the definition of “Violent act injury”, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-
“Violent act injury”, a catastrophic or life-threatening permanent bodily injury sustained as a direct and proximate result of a violent attack upon a person by means of a dangerous weapon, which is used in a manner intended to cause serious injury or death, including, but not limited to, a firearm, knife, automobile or explosive device.
SECTION 14. Paragraph (a) of subdivision (2) of section 26 of said chapter 32, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- This subdivision shall not apply to a member in service who is physically unable to perform the essential duties of the member’s job by reason of violent act injury.
SECTION 15. Said section 26 of said chapter 32, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after subdivision (2) the following subdivision:-
(2½) Section 7 shall apply to any member in service classified in Group 3 who is an officer of the department of state police if the rating board, after an examination of such officer by a registered physician appointed by the board, reports in writing to the state board of retirement that such officer is physically incapacitated for the performance of duty by reason of a violent act injury occurring during the performance and within the scope of the officer’s duty and without contributory negligence on the officer’s part and that such incapacity is likely to be permanent.
SECTION 16. Section 56 of chapter 41 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 38 to 41, inclusive, the words “or (ii) the payment of software licenses, software maintenance agreements or online subscription services for school curriculum prior to the fiscal year in which services shall be rendered” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- (ii) the payment of software licenses, software maintenance agreements or online subscription services for school curriculum prior to the fiscal year in which services shall be rendered; or (iii) the payment of estimates issued by utilities for make-ready work to facilitate access to utility poles, conduits, ducts or rights-of way related to broadband infrastructure projects.
SECTION 17. Section 7 of chapter 66 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- Subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, P.L. 104–191, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, P.L. 111–5, 42 C.F.R. Part 2, 42 U.S.C. 290dd-2 and 45 C.F.R. Parts 160, 162 and 164, all records from state institutions for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities or mental health conditions in the commonwealth shall be open to public inspection and available for copying after the expiration of 75 years from creation of the record.
SECTION 18. Subsection (a) of section 24N of chapter 111 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the definition of “Routine childhood immunizations” and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-
“Routine childhood immunizations”, immunizations for children until their nineteenth birthday as determined by the commissioner.
SECTION 19. Subsection (c) of said section 24N of said chapter 111, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the last 5 sentences and inserting in place thereof the following 6 sentences:- The council shall recommend the list of routine childhood immunizations, including types of vaccines to be purchased and shall take into account provider preference, cost, availability and other factors as determined by the council. The commissioner shall recommend the amount of funding needed each fiscal year by calculating the total non-federal program cost. The council shall make recommendations to the commissioner on whether the commissioner may authorize provider choice of more than 1 comparable brand or type for a routine childhood immunization vaccine. In its recommendations, the council shall examine the feasibility, costs and benefits of authorizing provider choice, provide a schedule of the cost of each comparable brand or type of a vaccine recommended for provider choice and demonstrate that the estimated vaccine cost of authorizing provider choice would not be substantially greater than the estimated vaccine cost of purchasing a single brand or type of a vaccine. The commissioner of public health shall determine the final list of routine childhood immunizations and vaccines to be purchased. The council shall also consider other vaccine-related questions presented by the commissioner.
SECTION 20. Said section 24N of said chapter 111, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 109 to 111, inclusive, the words “Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- commissioner.
SECTION 21. Chapter 112 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 74D the following section:-
Section 74E. (a) The board of registration in nursing may obtain a state and national fingerprint-based criminal background check, as authorized by Public Law 92-544, to determine the suitability of an applicant for a license to practice nursing pursuant to sections 74, 74A, 76 and 80B, including, but not limited to, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and advanced practice registered nurses.
(b) Registered nurses subject to background checks pursuant to this section shall be individuals who hold ultimate responsibility for direct and indirect nursing care and are seeking: (i) licensure as a registered nurse pursuant to this chapter; and (ii) to provide nursing care, health maintenance, teaching, counseling, planning and restoration for optimal functioning and comfort of patients they serve within the commonwealth. For the purposes of this section, “advanced practice registered nurse” shall mean a registered nurse authorized by the board of registration in nursing to perform an expanded scope of practice when caring for patients in the commonwealth consistent with section 80B.
(c) Licensed practical nurses subject to background checks pursuant to this section shall be individuals who are seeking: (i) licensure as a practical nurse pursuant to this chapter; and (ii) to provide nursing care and health maintenance services to patients within the commonwealth.
(d) An individual applying to the board of registration in nursing for a license to practice nursing shall submit a full set of fingerprints to the identification section of the department of state police to obtain a state and national fingerprint-based criminal background check, as authorized by Public Law 92-544, to determine the suitability of any applicant for licensure.
(e) Fingerprints submitted pursuant to this section shall be used by the department of state police to conduct a state criminal history check and forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history check in accordance with the policies and procedures established by the state identification section of the department of state police and by the department of criminal justice information services. Fingerprint submissions may be retained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the state identification section of the department of state police and the department of criminal justice information services to assist the board of registration in nursing to ensure the continued suitability of these licensees and persons subject to criminal background checks under this section. The department of criminal justice information services may disseminate the results of the state and national criminal background checks to authorized staff employed by the department of public health and board of registration in nursing.
(f) Each applicant shall pay a fee, as established by the secretary of administration and finance, in consultation with the secretary of public safety and security, to offset the costs of operating and administering a fingerprint-based criminal background check system. The secretary of administration and finance, in consultation with the secretary of public safety and security, may increase the fee accordingly if the Federal Bureau of Investigation increases its services fees for processing fingerprint background checks. Any fees collected from fingerprinting activity under this section shall be deposited into the Fingerprint-Based Background Check Trust Fund established in section 2HHHH of chapter 29.
(g) The board of registration in nursing may use the results of the criminal history record check solely for the purpose of determining the applicant’s eligibility for a license to practice nursing pursuant to sections 74, 74A, 76 and 80B. The department of public health and board of registration in nursing shall not disseminate the criminal history record check information to any other entity.
(h) The department of public health and board of registration in nursing may receive all available criminal offender record information, juvenile adjudications and delinquency matters, sealed records and the results of checks of state and national criminal history information databases under Public Law 92-544. Upon receipt of the results of the state and national criminal background checks, the department of public health, board of registration in nursing and authorized staff shall treat the information according to sections 167 to 178, inclusive, of chapter 6 and the regulations thereunder regarding criminal offender record information.
(i) The board of registration in nursing may promulgate regulations necessary to carry out this section.
SECTION 22. Sections 1 to 5, inclusive, of chapter 113 of the General Laws are hereby repealed.
SECTION 23. Section 64 of chapter 118E of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the definition of “Assessed charges” and inserting in place thereof:-
''Assessed charges'', gross patient service revenue attributable to all patients less gross patient service revenue attributable to Title XVIII, XIX and XXI programs, as such revenues are reported to the center for health information and analysis and as determined by the secretary.
SECTION 24. Said section 64 of said chapter 118E, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the definition of “Managed care organization reinvestment revenue amount” and inserting in place thereof the following 3 definitions:-
“Managed care organization services assessment rate”, the rate calculated annually by dividing the non-Medicaid managed care organization revenue amount by the total managed care organization services subject to assessment that are not Medicaid managed care organization services subject to assessment.
“Medicaid managed care organization revenue amount”, an amount calculated annually by multiplying the Medicaid managed care organization services subject to assessment by the managed care organization services assessment rate.
“Non-Medicaid managed care organization revenue amount”, an amount equal, for each calendar year, to the sum of the following in the same year less $20,000,000: (i) the health safety net managed care organization revenue amount; (ii) the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project revenue amount; (iii) the immunization revenue amount; (iv) the health policy commission revenue amount; (v) the center for health information and analysis revenue amount; (vi) the amount transferred, pursuant to section 66, to the Behavioral Health Access and Crisis Intervention Trust Fund established in section 2WWWWW of chapter 29; and (vii) the amounts necessary to incorporate prospectively all adjustments or reconciliations to account for under-assessments in the prior year.
SECTION 25. Said section 64 of said chapter 118E, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the definition of “Total managed care organization services assessment amount” and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-
“Total managed care organization services revenue amount”, an amount equal, for each calendar year, to the sum of the following in the same year: (i) the Medicaid managed care organization revenue amount; and (ii) the non-Medicaid managed care organization revenue amount.
SECTION 26. Said section 64 of said chapter 118E, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 189, the figure “$1,484,050,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $1,534,050,000.
SECTION 27. Section 66 of said chapter 118E is hereby amended by striking out subsection (b), as so appearing, and inserting in its place thereof the following 2 subsections:-
(b) The fund shall consist of: (i) all amounts paid by hospitals and managed care organizations under sections 67 and 68; (ii) all appropriations for the purpose of payments to acute hospitals or community health centers for health services provided to uninsured and underinsured residents; (iii) any transfers from the Commonwealth Care Trust Fund established in section 2OOO of chapter 29; (iv) any transfers from the Safety Net Provider Trust Fund established in section 2AAAAA of chapter 29; (v) any transfers from the Hospital Investment and Performance Trust Fund established in section 2TTTTT of chapter 29; (vi) any transfers from the Managed Care Organization Services Reinvestment Fund established in section 2FFFFFF of chapter 29; and (vii) all property and securities acquired by and through the use of money belonging to the fund and all interest thereon. There shall also be credited to the fund an amount equal to any federal financial participation claimed and received by the commonwealth for eligible expenditures made from the fund and financed by money transferred from the Hospital Investment and Performance Trust Fund established in section 2TTTTT of chapter 29, the Managed Care Organization Services Reinvestment Fund established in section 2FFFFFF of chapter 29, or from the Safety Net Provider Trust Fund established in section 2AAAAA of chapter 29. To accommodate timing discrepancies between the receipt of such revenue and related expenditures, the comptroller may certify for payment amounts not to exceed the most recent revenue estimates as certified by the secretary of health and human services to be transferred, credited or deposited under this subsection. Annually, the office shall transfer from the non-federal money in the fund: (A) $149,300,000 to the Safety Net Provider Trust Fund established in section 2AAAAA of chapter 29; (B) $1,041,170,000 to the Hospital Investment and Performance Trust Fund established in section 2TTTTT of chapter 29; (C) $115,500,000 to the Population Health Investment Trust Fund established in section 2UUUUU of chapter 29; (D) $ 33,169,685 to the Non-Acute Care Hospital Reimbursement Trust Fund established in section 2WWWW of chapter 29; (E) an amount equal to the Medicaid managed care organization revenue amount to the Managed Care Organization Services Reinvestment Fund established in section 2FFFFFF of chapter 29; (F) an amount equal to the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project revenue amount to the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project Fund established in section 2EEEEEE of chapter 29; (G) an amount equal to the health policy commission revenue amount to the Healthcare Payment Reform Fund established in section 100 of chapter 194 of the acts of 2011; (H) an amount equal to the immunization revenue amount to the Vaccine Purchase Fund established in section 24N of chapter 111; (I) $33,700,000 to the Behavioral Health Access and Crisis Intervention Trust Fund established in section 2WWWWW of chapter 29; (J) an amount equal to the center for health information and analysis revenue amount to the Center for Health Information and Analysis Fund established in section 7A of chapter 12C; and (K) $35,000,000 to the Essential Community Provider Trust Fund established in section 2PPP of chapter 29. The office shall expend amounts in the fund, except for amounts transferred to the Safety Net Provider Trust Fund, the Hospital Investment and Performance Trust Fund, the Population Health Investment Trust Fund, the Non-Acute Care Hospital Reimbursement Trust Fund, the Managed Care Organization Services Reinvestment Fund, the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project Fund, the Vaccine Purchase Fund, the Center for Health and Information Analysis Fund, the Healthcare Payment Reform Fund and the Behavioral Health Access and Crisis Intervention Trust Fund, for payments to hospitals and community health centers for reimbursable health services provided to uninsured and underinsured residents, consistent with the requirements of this section, section 69 and the regulations adopted by the office. The amount collected pursuant to clause (vii) of the definition of non-Medicaid managed care organization revenue amount in section 64 shall be dedicated to reducing the shortfall, as described in subsection (b) of section 69, for the year prior to the assessment year. The office shall also annually expend money from the fund for the expenses of the executive office, including the health safety net office under subsection (a), for the administration of the health safety net and related assessments. The office shall also expend not more than $6,000,000 annually from the fund for demonstration projects that use case management and other methods to reduce the liability of the fund to acute hospitals. Any annual balance remaining in the fund after these payments have been made shall be retained in the fund and shall not revert to the General Fund. All interest earned on the amounts in the fund shall be deposited or retained in the fund. The director shall from time-to-time requisition from the fund amounts that the director considers necessary to meet the current obligations of the office for the purposes of the fund and estimated obligations for a reasonable future period.
(c) For each fiscal year, in the event that federal financial participation is not available for any of the Medicaid expenditures made or to be made from this fund or from amounts transferred from the fund pursuant to paragraphs (A), (B), (C), (D) or (K) of subsection (b), or hospital assessment funding serving as the non-federal share of such expenditures is not available due to the application of any federal law, regulation or policy, such as federal expenditure limits or federal health care-related tax rules, or for any other reason, the amount of each such forementioned transfer from the fund shall be reduced on a pro-rata basis by multiplying each such expenditure or transfer by a fraction, the numerator of which is the aggregate amount of the transfers from the fund pursuant to paragraphs (A), (B), (C), (D) or (K) of subsection (b)for which federal financial participation will be available and the denominator of which is the aggregate amount the expenditures and transfers from the fund pursuant to paragraphs (A), (B), (C), (D) or (K) of subsection (b) that would otherwise be made.
SECTION 28. Said chapter 118E is hereby further amended by striking out section 67, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
Section 67. (a) Subject to all required federal approvals, including any required waivers under 42 CFR 433.68, a hospital’s annual liability to the fund shall be calculated in accordance with this section. The annual aggregate liability of all hospitals to the fund shall equal the total hospital assessment amount.
(b) [reserved].
(c) The office shall promulgate regulations establishing an appropriate mechanism for enforcing each hospital’s liability to the fund if a hospital does not make a scheduled payment to the fund.
(d) For the purposes of the assessment in this section, all hospitals in the commonwealth shall be divided into the following groups, as determined by the secretary: (i) large group 1 safety net hospitals which, for the purposes of this section, shall mean, any group 1 safety net hospital that had not less than 355 staffed beds in fiscal year 2022, as reported by the center for health information and analysis; (ii) small group 1 safety net hospitals which, for the purposes of this section, shall mean any group 1 safety net hospital that had less than 355 staffed beds in fiscal year 2022 as reported by the center for health information and analysis; (iii) large group 2 safety net hospitals which, for the purposes of this section, shall mean any group 2 safety net hospital that had not less than 355 staffed beds in fiscal year 2022 as reported by the center for health information and analysis; (iv) small group 2 safety net hospitals which, for the purposes of this section, shall mean any group 2 safety net hospital that had less than 355 staffed beds in fiscal year 2022 as reported by the center for health information and analysis; (v) freestanding pediatric acute hospitals; (vi) academic, teaching and specialty hospitals which, for the purposes of this section, shall mean an academic medical center, teaching hospital or specialty hospital as determined by the center for health information and analysis as of September 30, 2019, but excluding any high public payer hospital; (vii) private acute hospitals which, for the purposes of this section, shall mean a private hospital licensed under section 51 of chapter 111 that contains a majority of medical-surgical, pediatric, obstetric and maternity beds as defined by the department of public health and operating as of September 30, 2019, but excluding any safety net hospital or academic, teaching and specialty hospital; (viii) non-state public hospitals which, for the purposes of this section, shall mean any non-state-owned public hospital in the commonwealth as determined by the secretary; and (ix) non-acute hospitals which, for the purposes of this section shall mean any nonpublic hospital licensed by the department of public health under said section 51 of said chapter 111; provided, however, that non-acute hospital shall not include an acute care hospital under section 25B of said chapter 111 or a nonpublic hospital licensed as an inpatient facility by the department of mental health under section 19 of chapter 19 and regulations promulgated thereunder but not categorized as a class VII licensee under the regulations.
(e) Each of the groups described in subsection (d) shall be subject to the following assessment rates: (i) large group 1 safety net hospitals shall be subject to a rate of 16.510per cent for inpatient services and 8.000 per cent for outpatient services; (ii) small group 1 safety net hospitals shall be subject to a rate of 14.500 per cent for inpatient services and 5.500 per cent for outpatient services; (iii) large group 2 safety net hospitals shall be subject to a rate of 8.100 per cent for inpatient services and 16.200 per cent for outpatient services; (iv) small group 2 safety net hospitals shall be subject to a rate of 16.450 per cent for inpatient services and 9.100 per cent for outpatient services; (v) freestanding pediatric acute hospitals shall be subject to a rate of 3.300 per cent for inpatient services and 2.600 per cent for outpatient services; (vi) academic, teaching and specialty hospitals shall be subject to a rate of 4.675 per cent for inpatient services and 1.290 per cent for outpatient services; (vii) private acute hospitals shall be subject to a rate of 8.299 per cent for inpatient services and 0.720 per cent for outpatient services; (viii) non-state public hospitals shall be subject to a rate of 1.250 per cent for inpatient services and 1.250 per cent for outpatient services; and (ix) non-acute hospitals shall be subject to a rate of 3.300 per cent for inpatient services and 3.300 per cent for outpatient services; provided, however, that the office shall increase each such rate by the amount necessary to generate 50 per cent of the estimated cost as determined by the secretary of administration and finance, of administering the health safety net and related assessments in accordance with sections 65 to 69, inclusive. If hospital closures or hospital changes in status to a different type of provider would result in a reduction of total hospital assessment amount, the secretary may, by regulation, adjust the assessment rates to ensure the total hospital assessment amount is not reduced by more than $10,000,000 on an annual basis; provided, however, that any such adjustments to the rates shall ensure the rates remain in the same proportion to each other as established herein. If the total hospital assessment amount collected for the hospital assessment year exceeds the amount necessary to support the non-federal share of amounts transferred pursuant to paragraphs (A), (B), (C), (D) or (K) of subsection (b) of section 66, the secretary shall, by regulation, adjust the assessment rates for the subsequent hospital assessment year to ensure the total hospital assessment amount does not exceed the amount necessary to support such expenditures; provided, however, that any such adjustments shall ensure the rates remain in the same proportion to each other as established herein and provided that any such adjustment does not jeopardize federal financial participation. In order to adjust the assessment rates by regulation as described in this subsection, the secretary of health and human services shall seek all required federal approvals the secretary deems necessary.
(f) The assessment rates described in subsection (e) shall be applied to each hospital’s fiscal year 2023 assessed charges for inpatient and outpatient services as determined by the secretary of health and human services; provided, however, that the term “assessed charges” shall have the meaning ascribed to it in section 64. The total of the resulting products shall equal a hospital’s annual assessment liability.
(g) Subject to receipt of all required federal approvals, the executive office shall implement the assessment structure described in this section and shall promulgate regulations, after consultation with Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, Inc., necessary to support implementation of said assessment structure. In promulgating such regulations, and in consultation with Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, Inc., the executive office shall, at a minimum: (i) specify an appropriate mechanism for determination and payment of an acute hospital's liability to the fund; (ii) identify the hospitals that belong to each group identified in subsection (d); (iii) specify an appropriate mechanism for the determination of a hospital’s liability in cases of merger or transfer of ownership; and (iv) specify an appropriate mechanism by which any amounts paid by a hospital in excess of a hospital’s total annual assessment liability may be refunded or otherwise credited to the hospital. The executive office shall also publish or otherwise make available to Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, Inc. the data and methodology used in setting the tax rates and group classification prior to the promulgation of any such regulations.
(h) The secretary of health and human services may enforce the payment of required assessments under this section: (i) for hospitals licensed by the department of health, by notifying the department of the unpaid assessments and such information shall be considered by the department in determining suitability in accordance with section 51 of chapter 111 for the hospital or its affiliate provider entities; (ii) by offsetting payments from the office of Medicaid against the claims for payment by the delinquent hospital, against other hospitals or MassHealth-contracted entities under common ownership as the delinquent hospital or against any successor in interest to the hospital or such provider entities under common ownership, in the amount of the delinquent fees owed, including any interest, penalties and reasonable attorneys’ fees, and by transferring such funds into the fund; or (iii) creating, after demand for payment, a lien in favor of the commonwealth in an amount not to exceed the delinquent fees owed, including any interest, penalties and reasonable attorneys’ fees, encumbering the building in which the delinquent hospital is located, encumbering the real property upon which the delinquent hospital is located, including fixtures, equipment or goods used in the operation of the delinquent hospital, or encumbering any real property in which the delinquent hospital holds an interest.
SECTION 29. Section 74 of said chapter 118E, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (k) and inserting in place thereof the following 2 subsections:-
(k) The council may contract with a provider of a pooled employer plan, as defined in 29 U.S.C. § 1002(43), on behalf of consumers and their personal care attendants.
(l) The council may perform other acts necessary or convenient to execute the powers expressly granted to it.
SECTION 30. Section 36 of chapter 123 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the second sentence the following 3 sentences:- There shall be a rebuttable presumption that disclosure of patient records more than 50 years after the death of the patient is in the best interest of the patient; provided, however, that: (i) the records are facility records; and (ii) the requestor is a close relative or engaged in academic research. The department shall make best efforts to redact any personal identifying information of living individuals in such patient records in order to avoid undue invasion of privacy. The department shall promulgate regulations in collaboration with the department of developmental services to implement this rule.
SECTION 31. Section 17 of chapter 123B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the second sentence the following 3 sentences:- There shall be a rebuttable presumption that disclosure of patient records more than 50 years after the death of the patient is in the best interest of the patient; provided, that the: (i) records are facility records; and (ii) requestor is a close relative or engaged in academic research. The department shall make best efforts to redact any personal identifying information of living individuals in such patient records in order to avoid undue invasions of privacy. The department shall promulgate regulations in collaboration with the department of mental health to implement this rule.
SECTION 32. Said section 17 of said chapter 123B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following 3 sentences:- Each facility, subject to this chapter and section 7 of chapter 19B, shall maintain resident records for not less than 20 years after the closing of the record due to discharge, death or last date of service. A facility shall not destroy such records until after the retention period has elapsed and only upon notifying the department of public health that the records will be destroyed; provided, however, that the department shall promulgate regulations further defining an appropriate notification process. Each notice of privacy practices by a facility shall include, but not be limited to: (i) information concerning the provisions of this section; and (ii) the facility’s records termination policy.
SECTION 33. Section 2 of chapter 130 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “chapter”, in line 39, the following words:- or any rule or regulation made under authority of this chapter.
SECTION 34. The second paragraph of section 21 of said chapter 130, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- The refusal or failure to submit a statistical report, or the knowing submission of a false statistical report, shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
SECTION 35. The first paragraph of section 80 of said chapter 130, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the first sentence the following sentence:- No person shall fish for or take fish for commercial purposes in the coastal waters, or land raw fish, whether frozen or unfrozen, in the commonwealth, for the purpose of sale, in violation of a commercial fisherman permit.
SECTION 36. Section 12 of chapter 159A1/2 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “protection”, in line 66, the following words:- , the department of energy resources, the Massachusetts clean energy technology center
SECTION 37. Section 69O1/2 of chapter 164 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 8, the word “62H” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- 62L.
SECTION 38. Section 69T of said chapter 164, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 7, the words “petition to construct such” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- application for a consolidated permit for the clean energy infrastructure
SECTION 39. Section 69U of said chapter 164, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 28, the word “(d)” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- (e).
SECTION 40. Section 69V of said chapter 164, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 21, the word “(g)” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- (h).
SECTION 41. Chapter 210 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 13, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
Section 13. (a) The court shall, before decreeing a change of name, request a report from the commissioner of probation on the person filing the petition, and, upon entry of a decree, the name as established thereby shall be the legal name of the petitioner. The register may issue a certificate, under the seal of the court, of the name as so established. The court may, for good cause shown, require public notice of the petition to be given and any person to be heard thereon.
No decree shall be entered, however, until there has been filed in the court a copy of the birth record of the person whose name is sought to be changed, and, in case such person's name has previously been changed by decree of court or at marriage pursuant to section 1D of chapter 46, either a copy of: (i) the record of such person’s birth amended to conform to the previous decree changing the person’s name; (ii) such decree; or (iii) the record of marriage; provided, however, that the filing of any such copy may be dispensed with if the judge is satisfied that it cannot be obtained.
(b) The petition for name change, all pleadings, papers or documents filed in connection therewith and docket entries in the permanent docket and record books, online and otherwise, shall not be available for inspection unless the court, for good cause shown, otherwise orders or unless requested by the petitioner. The petition, reports, pleadings, papers, documents and permanent docket and record books shall be segregated.
SECTION 42. Section 33 of chapter 268 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “revenue”, in line 10, the following words:- or an officer or employee acting under the authority of the United States or any department, agency or officer thereof.
SECTION 43. Said section 33 of said chapter 268, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 11 to 13, inclusive, the words “shall be punished by a fine of not more than four hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 2 1/2 years.
SECTION 44. The fifth sentence of subsection (b) of section 83C of chapter 169 of the acts of 2008, as appearing in section 61 of chapter 179 of the acts of 2022, is hereby amended by striking out the following words:- and shall specify that any subsequent solicitation shall occur within 24 months of a previous solicitation.
SECTION 45. Chapter 209 of the acts of 2018, as most recently amended by chapter 364 of the acts of 2024, is hereby further amended by striking out section 89 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
Section 89. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate, non-budgeted special revenue fund called the Woodlands Partnership of Northwest Massachusetts Fund, which shall be administered by the Woodlands Partnership of Northwest Massachusetts Board established pursuant to section 91. Amounts credited to the fund shall be expended without further appropriation. There shall be credited into the fund revenues or other financing sources directed to the fund by appropriation or other monies authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund, any income derived from the investment of amounts credited to the fund and monies from the repayment of loans from the fund, funds from public or private sources, including, but not limited to, gifts, federal, state or private grants, donations, rebates and settlements received by the commonwealth that are specifically designated to be credited to the fund and all other amounts credited or transferred into the fund from any other source. Amounts credited to said fund shall be used solely for implementing the purposes and administration of the Woodlands Partnership of Northwest Massachusetts established pursuant to section 91. The unexpended balance in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall remain available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years. No expenditure from the fund shall cause the fund to be in deficit at any point.
SECTION 46. Chapter 4 of the acts of 2021 is hereby amended by striking out section 9 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
Section 9. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the bonds that the state treasurer may issue pursuant to section 34 of chapter 383 of the acts of 2020 shall be issued for a term not to exceed 30 years. All such bonds shall be payable not later than June 30, 2065, as recommended by the governor in a message to the general court dated August 14, 2025 under section 3 of Article LXII of the Amendments to the Constitution.
SECTION 47. Item 7010-1192 of section 2 of chapter 126 of the acts of 2022 is hereby amended by striking out the figure “2025”, inserted by section 41 of chapter 248 of the acts of 2024, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2026.
SECTION 48. Item 2810-0122 of section 2 of chapter 28 of the acts of 2023 is hereby amended by striking out the figure “2025”, inserted by section 76 of chapter 248 of the acts of 2024, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2026.
SECTION 49. Item 4000-0300 of said section 2 of said chapter 28 is hereby further amended by striking out the figure “2025”, inserted by section 79 of chapter 248 of the acts of 2024, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2026.
SECTION 50. Item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 28 is hereby amended by striking out the figure “2025”, inserted by section 101 of chapter 248 of the acts of 2024, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2026.
SECTION 51. Item 1233-2401 of section 2 of chapter 140 of the acts of 2024 is hereby amended by adding the following words:- ; provided, that notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, a city or town that received funding under this item in fiscal year 2024 and that remains eligible in fiscal year 2025 shall receive not less than the amount of funding that such city or town received under this item in fiscal year 2024.
SECTION 52. Said item 1233-2401 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby further amended by striking out the figure “$750,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $1,185,432.
SECTION 53. Item 1599-0026 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by inserting after the word “Sharon” the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
SECTION 54. Said item 1599-0026 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “improvements”, the third time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
SECTION 55. Item 2810-0122 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by inserting after the word “playground”, the second time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
SECTION 56. Item 3000-4060 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by adding the following words:-
General Fund…83.94%
High-Quality Early Education & Care Affordability Fund…16.06%
SECTION 57. Item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as amended by section 65 of chapter 14 of the acts of 2025, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “Sharon” the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
SECTION 58. Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as so amended, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “Lynn”, the second time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
SECTION 59. Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as so amended, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “projects”, the fifth time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
SECTION 60. Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as so amended, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “hospitals” the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
SECTION 61. Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as so amended, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “families”, the third time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
SECTION 62. Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as so amended, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “prevention”, the second time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
SECTION 63. Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as so amended, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “programming”, the twenty-first time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
SECTION 64. Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as so amended, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “resources”, the third time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
SECTION 65. Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as so amended, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “services”, the fifteenth time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
SECTION 66. Said item 7008-1116 of said section 2 of said chapter 140, as so amended, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “Boston, Inc.”, the third time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
SECTION 67. Item 7010-1192 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by inserting after the word “Harwich” the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
SECTION 68. 8000-0313 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by inserting after the word “Millbury”, the second time it appears, the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
SECTION 69. Item 8100-0102 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by striking out the figure “$49,000,000”, each time it appears, and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following figure:- $55,000,000.
SECTION 70. Item 8324-0050 of said section 2 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by inserting after the word “Hanover” the following words:- and such funds shall be made available until June 30, 2026.
SECTION 71. Section 127 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by striking out the words “managed care organization reinvestment” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- Medicaid managed care organization.
SECTION 72. Said section 127 of said chapter 140 is hereby further amended by striking out the words “total managed care organization services assessment” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- non-Medicaid managed care organization revenue.
SECTION 73. Section 198 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by striking out the figure “2025” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2026.
SECTION 74. Section 222 of said chapter 140 is hereby amended by striking out subsection (a).
SECTION 75. Said chapter 140 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 253 the following section:-
Section 253A. Section 19 of said chapter 15D, as inserted by section 36, shall take effect on July 1, 2023.
SECTION 76. Item 1599-2625 of section 2A of chapter 1 of the acts of 2025 is hereby amended by adding the following words:- ; and provided further, that the comptroller shall transfer $5,995,058 from this item to the General Federal Grants Fund for the purposes of item 4000-0004 in the Massachusetts management accounting and reporting system.
SECTION 77. Section 1 of chapter 7 of the acts of 2025 is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- These sums shall be made available through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.
SECTION 78. Item 4200-0100 of section 2 of chapter 9 of the acts of 2025 is hereby amended by striking out the words “the Connecticut Valley YouthBuild program” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- New North Citizens Council, Inc. Youth Services.
SECTION 79. Item 4403-2000 of said section 2 of said chapter 9 is hereby further amended by striking out the words “prior appropriation continued”.
SECTION 80. Item 4408-1000 of said section 2 of said chapter 9 is hereby further amended by striking out the words “prior appropriation continued”.
SECTION 81. Item 4510-0110 of said section 2 of said chapter 9 is hereby amended by striking out the words “a state primary care association qualified under section 330A(f)(1) of the Public Health Service Act, as codified at 42 U.S.C. section 254c(f)(1)” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- a state primary care association qualified under section 42 U.S.C. 254b(l).
SECTION 82. Item 0321-1510 of said section 2 of said chapter 9, as amended by section 81 of chapter 14 of the acts of 2025, is hereby further amended by striking out the figure “$2,000,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $3,000,000.
SECTION 83. Item 0910-0200 of said section 2 of said chapter 9, as amended by sections 82 and 83 of chapter 14 of the acts of 2025, is hereby further amended adding the following words:- ; provided further, that not later than June 30, 2026, the inspector general shall conduct an investigation and submit a report to the house and senate clerks, the joint committee on public safety and homeland security and the house and senate committees on ways and means that shall include, but shall not be limited to: (i) a detailed accounting of expenditures made by the sheriffs’ offices in fiscal year 2025; (ii) an analysis of sheriffs’ offices’ compliance with chapter 29 of the General Laws in fiscal year 2025; (iii) a review of spending by sheriffs’ offices on activities not specifically required by statute, case law or court order and how such spending has changed over time; (iv) an analysis of compensation levels and changes over the preceding 3 fiscal years, including comparisons among sheriffs’ offices and to the department of correction; and (v) recommendations to ensure compliance with said chapter 29, if necessary, among sheriffs’ offices; provided further, that each sheriff’s office shall comply with all requests from the office of the inspector general for any information deemed necessary to conducting said investigation and submitting said report, including, but not limited to, requests for the production of records.
SECTION 84. Said item 0910-0200 of said section 2 of said chapter 9, as so amended, is hereby further amended by striking out the figure “$6,256,039” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $6,756,039.
SECTION 85. Section 97 of chapter 14 of the acts of 2025 is hereby amended by striking out the word “January” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- September.
SECTION 86. (a) There shall be within the executive office of public safety and security a sheriff fiscal oversight council.
(b) The council shall consist of the secretary of public safety and security, who shall serve as co-chair; the secretary of administration and finance, who shall serve as co-chair; and 3 members to be appointed by the governor, not less than 2 of whom shall have experience in the operation of correctional facilities and 1 of whom shall have experience in state government finance. The oversight council shall meet and hire staff as they deem necessary to ensure proper oversight of sheriff operations and finances.
(c) The council, in carrying out this section, shall have access to all records, documents, accounts, correspondence and any other data and material that is maintained by the sheriffs’ offices or other state agencies that the council deems necessary. Not less than monthly, each sheriff shall provide the council with information on the status of the revenues and expenses for their office’s operating budget and on the status of revenues, contracting, procurement and authorized and actual spending for any capital projects. Such reports shall provide itemized year-to-date expenditures and detailed projections for anticipated expenses for the remainder of the fiscal year and be in a form prescribed by the council. The council shall submit such monthly reports to the secretary of public safety and security, the secretary of administration and finance, the inspector general, the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the chairs of the senate and house committees on ways and means and the chairs of the joint committee on public safety and homeland security.
(d) The council may set financial management metrics to ensure the fiscal and operational integrity of sheriff operations. The council may formulate and recommend a plan for a sheriff’s office to stabilize and strengthen its finances, management, operations and asset conditions with a focus on maintaining activities specifically required by statute, case law or court order while limiting cost growth year over year and ensuring total annual expenditures do not exceed annual state appropriations.
(e) If a sheriff’s office fails to meet any financial management metrics or any a recommended plan prescribed under subsection (d), as determined by the council, the council shall take action to ensure the fiscal and operational integrity of such sheriff’s office, which may include, but shall not be limited to, the authority to: (i) appoint a receiver to take operational and managerial control of the applicable sheriff’s office; provided that such receiver shall have experience in the operation of correctional facilities; (ii) direct the comptroller not to certify any amounts for payment from a sheriff’s office; and (iii) prohibit a sheriff’s office from incurring any new expenditures or obligations without prior approval of the council for a period of time to be determined by the council.
(f) The council shall dissolve on January 1, 2028; provided, however, that by majority vote of the council, the council may continue in existence to a date or in increments as determined by the council beyond January 1, 2028.
SECTION 87. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in fiscal year 2025, the comptroller shall transfer $200,000,000 from income surtax revenue, as defined by subsection (a) of section 2BBBBBB of chapter 29 of the General Laws, to the Student Opportunity Act Investment Fund established in section 35RRR of chapter 10 of the General Laws.
SECTION 88. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the comptroller shall, after making the required transfer under section 229 of chapter 140 of the acts of 2024, transfer the fiscal year 2025 consolidated net surplus pursuant to section 5C of chapter 29 of the General Laws to the Deficiency Reserve Fund established in section 2MMMMMM of chapter 29 of the General Laws.
SECTION 89. Notwithstanding section 68 of chapter 118E of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of health and human services shall implement the health care-related assessment on managed care organization services, established under said section 68 of said chapter 118E, as a broad-based and uniform assessment, in accordance with 42 C.F.R. 433.68(b), with the managed care organization services assessment rate, as such term is defined in section 64 of said chapter 118E, implemented as the single broad-based and uniform rate applicable to all managed care organization services subject to assessment, as such term is defined in said section 64 of said chapter 118E. Upon converting the health care related assessment on managed care organization services to a broad-based and uniform assessment applicable to all managed care services subject to assessment, as such term is defined in said section 64 of said chapter 118E, the initial managed care organization services assessment rate shall be equal to the rate that had been applicable to the tax group containing commercial managed care services immediately preceding the implementation of the broad-based and uniform application of the assessment. The managed care organization services assessment rate for each calendar year, beginning the first January 1 following the conversion of the health care related assessment on managed care organization services to a broad-based and uniform assessment, shall be broad-based and uniform across all managed care services subject to assessment and shall continue to be implemented in a manner consistent with 42 CFR 433.68.
SECTION 90. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, section 18 of chapter 28 of the acts of 2023 shall not be in effect for the purposes of establishing the annual spending threshold set pursuant to subsection (f) of section 2BBBBBB of chapter 29 of the General Laws for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027.
SECTION 91. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, to the extent that immunization recommendations and requirements established in the commonwealth are conditioned upon alignment with the recommendations made by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the commissioner of public health shall review said recommendations and requirements established in the commonwealth and shall, in consultation with the vaccine program advisory council established in section 24N of chapter 111 of the General Laws, establish alternative standards as the commissioner may deem necessary to assure the maintenance of public health and the prevention of disease in the commonwealth.
SECTION 92. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, there shall be a moratorium on the destruction of hospital records pursuant to section 36 of chapter 123 of the General Laws until such time as the department of mental health promulgates regulations defining a public notice process for the destruction of such records, as required under said section 36 of said chapter 123.
SECTION 93. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, there shall be a moratorium on the destruction of hospital records pursuant to section 17 of chapter 123B of the General Laws until such time as the department of developmental services promulgates regulations defining a public notice process for the destruction of such records, as required under said section 17 of said chapter 123B.
SECTION 94. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, at the direction of the secretary of administration and finance, the comptroller shall make tax revenue collected from capital gains income above the threshold established in section 5G of chapter 29 of the General Laws in fiscal year 2025 available to the General Fund in the amount necessary to eliminate any deficits in the budgetary funds pursuant to section 5C of said chapter 29. After satisfying the previous provision, the comptroller shall transfer any remaining excess capital gains income as follows: (i) 85 per cent to the Deficiency Reserve Fund established in section 2MMMMMM of chapter 29 of the General Laws; (ii) 5 per cent to the Commonwealth’s Pension Liability Fund established in paragraph (e) of subdivision (8) of section 22 of chapter 32 of the General Laws; (iii) 5 per cent to the State Retiree Benefits Trust Fund established in section 24 of chapter 32A of the General Laws; and (iv) 5 per cent to the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund established in section 2H of chapter 29 of the General Laws..
SECTION 95. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in fiscal year 2025, the comptroller shall transfer $10,000,000 from the General Fund to the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center established in section 3 of chapter 23I of the General Laws for programming and operations that advance efforts related to life sciences and spur economic growth in the commonwealth.
SECTION 96. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in fiscal year 2025, the comptroller shall transfer $100,000,000 from income surtax revenue, as defined by subsection (a) of section 2BBBBBB of chapter 29 of the General Laws, to the Public Higher Education Student Support Fund established in section 2NNNNNN of chapter 29 of the General Laws.
SECTION 97. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of health and human services shall seek all required federal approvals the secretary deems necessary to implement sections 7, 8, 9, 23, 26, 27 and 28, including any required waivers under 42 C.F.R. 433.68 necessary to implement the updates to the hospital assessment described in section 67 of chapter 118E of the General Laws. If, after having received any required federal approval necessary to implement said sections 7, 8, 9, 23, 26, 27 and 28, such approval is withdrawn or is otherwise not in effect or if the secretary determines that a change in federal law or regulations or the administration of any such federal law or regulation requires a modification to the hospital assessment described in said section 67 of said chapter 118E or to the implementation of the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in section 66 of said chapter 118E, the Non-Acute Care Hospital Reimbursement Trust Fund established in section 2WWWW of chapter 29 of the General Laws, the Safety Net Provider Trust Fund established in section 2AAAAA of said chapter 29, the Hospital Investment and Performance Trust Fund established in section 2TTTTT of said chapter 29 or the Population Health Investment Trust Fund established in section 2UUUUU of said chapter 29, the secretary shall provide written notification to the joint committee on health care financing and the house and senate committees on ways and means and shall collaborate with Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, Inc. to develop and consult on the implementation of alternatives.
Not later than February 15, 2026, and annually thereafter, the secretary shall report to the joint committee on health care financing and the house and senate committees on ways and means: (i) the amount of the assessment made and collected from each hospital pursuant to said section 67 of said chapter 118E; and (ii) the amounts transferred to, deposited in, expended from and transferred from the Hospital Investment and Performance Trust Fund established in said section 2TTTTT of said chapter 29 and the Population Health Investment Trust Fund established in said section 2UUUUU of said chapter 29.
SECTION 98. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the comptroller, at the direction of the secretary of administration and finance, shall transfer in both fiscal year 2026 and 2027 $50,000,000 each such fiscal year from the Commonwealth Care Trust Fund established in section 2OOO of chapter 29 of the General Laws to the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in section 66 of chapter 118E of the General Laws; provided, however, that such transfers shall be in addition to any other transfers from said Commonwealth Care Trust Fund to said Health Safety Net Trust Fund required in fiscal years 2026 or 2027; provided further, that such funds must be used first to reduce the shortfall, as described in subsection (b) of section 69 of said chapter 118E, for health safety net fiscal years 2026 and 2027, and that any remaining funds may be used to reduce the shortfall in any other open health safety net fiscal year; and provided further, that the amount equal to any federal financial participation revenues claimed and received by the commonwealth for eligible expenditures made from said Health Safety Net Trust Fund with these funds transferred from said Commonwealth Care Trust Fund shall be credited to said Health Safety Net Trust Fund.
SECTION 99. On or before November 30, 2025, the secretary of administration and finance, in consultation with the executive office of health and human services, shall estimate the amount of federal reimbursements claimed or anticipated to be claimed but not yet received in connection with costs incurred or balances designated in fiscal year 2025 from chapter 33 of the acts of 2025. For the purposes of certifying the amount of the consolidated net surplus in the budgetary funds at the close of fiscal year 2025 pursuant to section 5C of chapter 29 of the General Laws, the comptroller shall record the estimates for each budgetary fund made pursuant to this section as statutory receivables in fiscal year 2025.
SECTION 100. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, for fiscal year 2025, all abandoned property net revenue, as defined by section 5H of chapter 29 of the General Laws, shall remain in the General Fund.
SECTION 101. (a) Notwithstanding sections 32 to 37, inclusive, of chapter 7C of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, in consultation with the court administrator of the trial court of the commonwealth, may convey certain adjacent parcels of land in the city of Framingham acquired for the purpose of erecting a building for the first district court of southern Middlesex for nominal consideration to the city of Framingham; provided, however, that the commissioner shall not convey said parcels until: (i) the completion of a regional justice center at 121 Union avenue in the city of Framingham; and (ii) a determination by the commissioner, in consultation with the court administrator, that the parcels are surplus to the needs of the trial court. The parcels are located at 600 and 602 Concord street in the city of Framingham and are further described in deeds recorded in the Middlesex southern district registry of deeds in book 7816, page 107 and book 9859, page 328. The parcels shall be conveyed by deed without warranties or representations by the commonwealth and without restrictions on use or future conveyance by the city. The conveyance shall be subject to such additional conditions and restrictions as the commissioner, in consultation with the court administrator, may determine. The commissioner may, in consultation with the court administrator, determine the exact boundaries of the parcels prior to conveyance.
(b) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the city of Framingham shall be responsible for all costs and expenses of any transaction authorized by this section as determined by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, including, but not limited to, the costs of any engineering, surveys, appraisals, title examinations, recording fees and deed preparation.
SECTION 102. The salary adjustments and other economic benefits authorized by the following collective bargaining agreements shall be effective for the purposes of section 7 of chapter 150E of the General Laws:
(1) the agreement between the University of Massachusetts and the Clerical/Technical Unit (CTU), MTA, Unit L92, effective from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027;
(2) the agreement between the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) and the Barnstable County Captain Union, National Correctional Employees Union (NCEU), Unit L152, effective from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027;
(3) the agreement between the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) and the National Correctional Employees Union, Unit SB1, effective from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027;
(4) the agreement between the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office and the National Correctional Employees Union Local 150, Unit S10, effective from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027;
(5) the agreement between the Dukes County Sheriff's Office and the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union (MCOFU), Unit SD1, effective from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2028;
(6) the agreement between the University of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Teachers Association/Department Chairs (DCU), Boston Campus, Unit B50, effective from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027; and
(7) the agreement between the Plymouth County Sheriff's Office and the New England Police Benevolent Association (NEPBA) Local 193, Unit SP5, effective from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027.
SECTION 103. Sections 10, 24, 25, 71, 72 and 89 shall take effect on the later of: (i) the effective date of amendments to 42 CFR 433.68 disallowing the higher taxation of Medicaid taxable units as compared to non-Medicaid taxable units; or (ii) the end of any federally established or approved transition period applicable to the health care related assessment on managed care organization services, established under section 68 of chapter 118E of the General Laws, as amended by section 130 of chapter 140 of the acts of 2024. The executive office of health and human services shall notify the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate not later than 10 days after the effective date pursuant to this section.
SECTION 104. Sections 7, 8, 9, 23, 26, 27, 28 and 97, shall take effect upon the later of: (i) the date on which the secretary receives all federal approvals deemed necessary to implement said sections; or (ii) October 1, 2025.
SECTION 105. Section 98 shall take effect October 1, 2025.