After deliberations behind scenes, House OK’s budget, 153-4

The Massachusetts House voted 153-4 late Friday to pass a $58 billion fiscal 2025 budget that invests in K-12 education, child care, and public transit, shifting debate on spending priorities to the Senate.

House Democrats were united in their support of the bill while there were divisions within the 25-member House Republican caucus, where four members voted against the budget. The budget does not call for tax increases, seeks to push overall state spending up by about 3.3 percent, or $2 billion, and aims to drive up the state rainy day fund balance to nearly $9 billion.

The vote came after three days of mostly quiet behind the scenes deliberations in which representatives hammered out details of more than a half-dozen mega-amendments that added roughly $100 million to the bill. At least publicly, there was little in the way of passionate debate over tough choices like how to best spend taxpayer dollars and whether to raise or cut taxes.

After the session, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Aaron Michlewitz defended the mostly behind-closeddoors approach, saying there are “many different processes,” including one-on-one meetings and off-floor discussions, that representatives go through to advocate for their priorities during the budget’s development.

“They have the opportunity to pull their amendments on the floor and debate if they choose to,” Michlewitz said.

Overly rosy revenue estimates are partly to blame for uprooting the budget House and Senate Democrats drew up for fiscal 2024.

The Senate usually debates its annual budget bill the week before Memorial Day weekend.