Bill
H 5377
Provides $227.3 million in mid-year FY2026 funding for snow/ice cleanup, public safety, housing, and other services, plus new minor social media protections and safeguards.
Title: An Act making appropriations for fiscal year 2026 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects
Type: Emergency appropriations bill filed April 14, 2026
Purpose and main intent
- Provide mid-year supplemental appropriations for FY2026 to address time-sensitive needs and unplanned costs.
- Principal driver: expenses related to cleanup and emergency responses from the 2025-2026 winterweather events (notably heavy snow/ice and related response costs).
- Include new social media protections for minors as a policy objective alongside funding measures.
Key appropriations and spending (highlights)
- Total proposed appropriation: $227.3 million.
- Snow and ice removal: $159.8 million for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR); to be funded from a shared reserve using excess surtax collections in FY26.
- Public safety and emergency response: $11.2 million total for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS), including $9.5 million for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and $1.7 million for National Guard activation costs.
- Behavioral health and addiction services: $14.1 million for the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services (EHS/HHS).
- Homelessness and housing: $8.18 million for homelessness programs; $2.0 million for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit fee retained revenue.
- Law enforcement and forensics: $1.13 million for the Chief Medical Examiner; $2.88 million for the State Police Crime Laboratory; $3.0 million for Troop F retained revenue.
- Technology and operations: $1.75 million for District Attorney IT expenses.
- Additional policy and administration measures embedded in the bill include proposed social media safeguards (see below) and miscellaneous adjustments to various administrative thresholds.
Policy and programmatic provisions (selected items)
- Social media protections for minors (Chapter 93M proposal):
- Age assurance system to determine if a user is a minor; age verification standards to be set by regulations.
- Default privacy and safety settings for minors under 18, including limits on features that drive engagement (autoplay, infinite scroll, notifications), and restricted visibility/geolocation for minors.
- Parental controls: guardians can consent to changes for users 15 or younger; users 16+ may modify their own defaults.
- Content flagging capabilities for minors; mechanisms to reset algorithmic ranking for a minor; warnings about health and safety risks.
- Data handling: age-assurance data to be deleted within 10 days of determination/appeal, with de-identified aggregate reporting required; penalties for noncompliance (civil fines up to $5,000 per violation; up to $1,000,000 for certain sections).
- Regulatory authority: attorney general to promulgate implementing regulations; coordination with Public Health and Education agencies.
- Shelter and Right to Shelter policy tweaks:
- Adjust six-month length-of-stay to nine months in emergency shelters.
- Increase emergency assistance income threshold to 120% of federal poverty guidelines.
- Administrative and procurement simplifications:
- Allow for single procurements of broadband/wireless networks for public buildings (new Section 22Q in Chapter 7).
- Adjustments to procurement thresholds and construction cost classifications (Sections 4–16, 7C amendments) to modernize and streamline processes.
- Expanded eligibility for veterans’ bonuses to those residing in Massachusetts at time of application (Sections 19–24).
- Increased oversight and funding mechanisms for several regulatory areas (e.g., pharmacy benefit managers, self-insurance for workers’ compensation).
- Miscellaneous:
- Amortization option for snow- and ice-removal deficits for municipalities (Section 2).
- Changes to various fines, thresholds, and definitions across multiple chapters to reflect updated policy priorities.
- Several sections repurpose or reorganize existing funds and authorize transfers between accounts to support the new appropriations.
Affected entities and stakeholders
- State agencies: MassDOT, DCR, EOPSS, MASS Emergency Management Agency, Department of Public Health, Housing and Livable Communities, Public Safety and Security agencies, and the District Attorneys' offices (technology costs).
- Municipalities: potential fiscal flexibility related to snow/ice deficit amortization.
- General public: residents impacted by winter-related costs, shelter policy changes, and social media protections for minors.
- Social media platforms: subject to new age-verification, default settings, reporting, and penalties.
Timeline and process
- Emergency nature: described as immediate and necessary to preserve public convenience; bills designed to apply in the current FY2026 year (through June 30, 2026) with funding from General Fund or Transitional Escrow Fund.
- Several provisions reference future regulations to be promulgated by the Attorney General and relevant executive offices.
Note: This summary focuses on the bill’s stated appropriations, major policy initiatives (notably the minor social media protections), and selected governance and procurement changes.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
Sign in to ask a question.
