Rep. Lewis Secures Two Wheelchair-Accessible Vans For Framingham and Ashland Public Schools

(Framingham) Representative Jack Patrick Lewis successfully secured two wheelchair-accessible vans in Ashland and Framingham in the supplemental budget passed on March 18, 2026. The district victories were included in a comprehensive bill that appropriated money from the Fair Share Amendment, passed statewide in 2022. Overall, the $1.8 billion legislation will invest $885 million in public transportation and $417 million in public education across the Commonwealth.

“I am proud to have secured these two vans” expressed Rep. Jack Lewis (Framingham). “It is crucial that every student in our public schools, regardless of physical ability, can participate in daily activities just like their classmates. Especially as our municipalities face substantial fiscal hardship, I am gratified to serve as a bridge between state and local government. Thank you to Speaker Mariano and Chair Michlewitz for their support on these items.”

In addition to the vans, Rep. Lewis successfully spearheaded an effort to secure statewide transportation funds for the AGLY Network, a non-profit organization that provides support to LGBTQ+ youth.

“From significant investments in public transportation and public education, to support for DTA caseworkers and expenses related to the World Cup, to fiscally prudent tax conformity measures – this legislation is representative of the responsible approach that the House will continue to take as we navigate a period of significant economic uncertainty,” noted House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano (Quincy). “I want to thank Chairman Michlewitz for his hard work, as well as all my colleagues in the House for recognizing the importance of the investments and reforms that this legislation makes.”

“The use of these one-time surplus funds provides us with a unique opportunity to better strengthen the Commonwealth in numerous ways. By further improving our educational and transportation sectors we will build off the work we have done in the last several budget cycles with a judicious use of the Fair Share funds. The tax changes contained in this bill will help support the state’s economic competitiveness, while giving us time to absorb the expected loss in revenue,” noted Representative Aaron Michlewitz, Chair of the House Committee on Ways & Means (Boston). “I want to thank Speaker Mariano and all our House colleagues for their input and support on this critical funding legislation.”

The bill delays conforming to the federal corporate tax changes that were passed by Congress in the OB3 Act last year, which will represent approximately a $400 million revenue loss for the Commonwealth when fully implemented. Under the bill, the Research and Experimental expense deduction will be delayed one year, the deductions for the Modification of Business Interest, Depreciable Asset Expensing, Qualified Production Properties will be delayed two years, and the Modification of Qualified Opportunity Zone Investments program will also be delayed two years. However, should the ballot question to lower the state income tax from 5 percent to 4 percent pass in November, which would result in a $5 billion revenue loss when fully implemented, the Commonwealth would permanently decouple from these tax credits, preventing them from going into effect.

The $1.8 billion bill is funded in part by $1.3 billion from excess Fair Share surtax funds to invest in public transportation and education. Highlights include:

• $417 million towards education:
  • $150 million towards Special Education Circuit Breaker costs
  • $150 million to fund Early Education Child Care costs
  • $38.7 million for the EEC income eligibility waitlist
  • Includes $8 million for child care for providers and $7.5 million for the loan forgiveness program for providers
  • $20 million for Green SchoolWorks program to help schools with clean energy upgrades
  • $18.3 million for Financial Aid Supplements
  • $20 million endowment Match for UMass and other state colleges and universities
  • $5.1 million for Tomorrow’s Teachers Loan Forgiveness program
  • $5 million for ESOL Services Waitlist
• $885 million towards transportation:
  • $740 million towards the MBTA
  • $525 million for the Deficiency Reserve
  • $125 million for the Workforce & Safety Reserve
  • $60 million for physical infrastructure with a focus on the core subway system
  • $20 million for low-income reduced fares
  • $10 million for water transportation infrastructure
  • Other transportation items include:
    • $50 million for snow and ice costs
    • $25 million for Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) workforce development
    • $30 million to fund the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Credit
    • $30 million for MassDOT Service Investments
• The bill also allocates $507 million from the General Fund:
  • $300 million for the Group Insurance Commission (GIC)
  • $54.4 million for sheriffs, representing half of the deficiency
    • Requires reporting on the expenses of proposed usage of the funds
  • $41.6 million for DTA caseworkers
  • $10 million for FIFA Boston for World Cup related expenses

The bill also includes the following outside sections:

• Food Donation Tax Credit: Establishes a food donation tax credit for farm businesses based on the amount of food donated to a nonprofit food distribution organization. The credit is capped at $5,000 annually per individual.
• Sustainable Aviation Fuel Credit: Allows taxpayers to take a credit against the tax imposed on fuels used for aircraft propulsion and, subject to limitation, requires the amount of credit per gallon of sustainable fuel to increase by $0.015 for each additional 1 percent reduction in life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions above 50 percent. The credit is capped at $10 million total for all cumulative tax credits over a fiscal year.
• Ratifies eight Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs)

The bill passed the House of Representatives 150-3 and now goes to the Senate for consideration.

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