FY 2027 Budget Testimony

March 31, 2026

Chair Michlewitz, Chair Rodrigues, and Members of the Joint Committee on Ways & Means: 

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the Policy Director at Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide grassroots advocacy group fighting for a more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic commonwealth.

As we contemplate the daunting, anxiety-inducing, catastrophic possibility of steep cuts to the federal budget as Republicans in DC attempt to take an axe to health care, education, infrastructure, and so much more, we need to be prepared in MA to protect our essential services. We need to continue to do what we are doing—and we also need to be doing more. 

To make that possible, we urge you to embrace progressive sources of revenue as well as tap into the rainy day fund in order to avoid any cuts. 

In the FY 2027 budget, we urge you to focus on increasing critical investments that underlie the quality of life in the Commonwealth and make this high quality of life accessible to all: 

  • Delivering on Our Promises to Our K-12 Students: The Student Opportunity Act from 2019 was a major win for students across the Commonwealth. However, the combination of high rates of inflation in FY23 and FY24 and a tight inflation cap under the SOA has led to a $465 million gap in district budgets.  As a result, districts across the state are being forced to cut their budgets, lay off educators and staff, and cancel long-needed investments. We must keep our promises to students.

The impact of inflation is being compounded by the impacts of ICE terrorism. Many of our cities have experienced declining attendance in their public schools due to fear of ICE activity. The districts should not be punished for that. 

We further urge you to fix charter school tuition reimbursements so that our public schools are not losing critical funding. Tuition dollars follow students, but if a class size falls from 25 to 23, a school cannot hire 23/25 of a teacher. So many of the costs of education are fixed costs, and siphoning off resources harms the 90% of students who attend local district public schools. 

Our students deserve not only well-funded schools, but also green and healthy schools that focus on the whole student. We urge you to increase funding for capital improvements for school buildings so that students can have the safe and healthy environment conducive to learning, and to provide funding for community schools so that districts can embrace this proven model that empowers students, parents, and educators to collaborate and provide vital wraparound services. 

  • Building on Recent Child Care & Early Ed Investments: Last session, you made historic investments in early education and child care, moving us closer toward a vision of quality and stability for providers, good pay for educators, and affordability and access for families. We join the Common Start Coalition in calling for continued investments:
    • Increasing the number of families receiving child care financial assistance (this was included in the supplemental budget!),
    • Increasing funding for the C3 operational grant program to support child care providers,
    • Moving Massachusetts further toward child care reimbursement rates that cover the true cost of delivering high-quality care, and
    • Delivering much-needed funding for Head Start providers
  • Increasing Funding for Access to Counsel: We join fellow organizations in the Right to Counsel Coalition in urging for an increase to the Access to Counsel pilot (Line Item 0321-1800) from $2.5 million to $4 million. In the first 12-months of funding, legal services opened 1,192 cases. In 87% of the cases closed, tenants have stayed housed or received the time to find new housing
  • Protecting Our Immigrant Communities: Last year’s creation of the Massachusetts Access to Counsel Initiative (MACI), which provides legal aid for individuals in Massachusetts facing Immigration Court proceedings, was a big win, and it has been doing excellent, necessary work already. To meet need, we urge you to fund the program at $15 minimum.

We also urge you to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit to immigrant workers who file taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).

Thank you for your work on the budget and on this marathon of a hearing. 

Sincerely, 

Jonathan Cohn 

Policy Director 

Progressive Massachusetts 

MA Needs Same Day Registration

Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Chair Friedman, Chair Peisch, and Members of the Special Joint Committee on Ballot Initiative Petitions:

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the Policy Director of Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide grassroots advocacy group committed to fighting for an equitable, just, democratic, and sustainable Commonwealth. We have been advocating for Same Day Registration since the early years of our organization, and we hope that you take the opportunity to pass this important reform this session (NO. 25-08 An Act relative to election day registration/H.5001).

Tenants moving to a new apartment after getting priced out or evicted by an unscrupulous landlord. Senior citizens looking to downsize and move into a retirement community. Under MA’s current law, if these moves happen too close to an election date, these people—and countless others like them—could lose their right to vote.

That’s because we have an arbitrary and unjust 10-day voter registration cutoff. And shockingly, we’re an outlier in New England for having a cutoff at all. In Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Connecticut, eligible voters can register to vote or update their registration at the polls. It’s a simple reform (indeed, NH and ME have done it for decades), and it can boost engagement and improve the efficiency of election administration.

People are more likely to become lifelong voters when they have positive experiences voting. Being turned away because of a clerical error or having to cast a provisional ballot that you are unsure will be counted leaves a voter—who took the time out of their day to go to their polling location and educate themselves about what is on the ballot—feeling demoralized. Same Day Registration ensures that such voters can seamlessly update their registration and have a voting experience they can be confident in.

When democracy is under attack, MA should be taking every step we can to strengthen our democracy. Let’s show our commitment to democracy and improve the voting experience for everyone.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts