BOSTON — The House is advancing a $2.35 billion spending bill for a vote Wednesday, with leadership having stripped away the governor’s proposed two-month gas tax suspension.
[ High gas prices are spurring states to waive taxes and regulations amid midterm election ]
The House Ways and Means Committee is voting Tuesday morning on its redraft of the supplemental budget (H 5679) that Healey filed last month, headlined by a proposal to waive collection of the 24-cent-per-gallon state levy on gasoline sales as war in Iran has kept pump prices elevated for months.
In a statement, a Healey spokesperson told Boston 25 News that the governor will keep pushing for relief at the pumps.
“Governor Healey’s gas tax suspension would give badly needed relief to Massachusetts residents struggling with the high cost of gas because of President Trump’s war, while making sure savings are passed down to drivers and protecting critical funding for transportation projects,” the statement read. “The Governor is going to continue to push for this relief for people and remains committed to working with the Legislature to get it done.”
Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue said he would suspend that gas tax anytime prices climbed about $4 if he’s elected governor in November.
“As predicted, this was a political stunt, pure and simple. It’s a sad game to play with hard-working Massachusetts families who are looking for meaningful relief. Families can’t pay their bills with Maura Healey’s news conferences and press releases that are just for show,” he said in a statement shared with Boston 25. “As governor, I’ll suspend the gas tax anytime gas prices rise above $4.00/gallon. And I’ll work to eliminate the gas tax completely, offsetting the revenue by rooting out waste, fraud, and corruption. Massachusetts can’t afford four more years of “solutions” that are nothing more than an election-season show.”
The House Ways and Means Committee said its version would have a net state cost of about $1.5 billion, and the bill is intended to close the state’s books on the fiscal year that ended June 30.
“This supplemental budget addresses important time-sensitive deficiencies, provides support for maternal mental health services, limits the use of AI in political advertising, and provides funding for vital programs — including for MassHealth, DTA caseworkers, and for the life sciences sector,” House Speaker Ronald Mariano and Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz said. “We look forward to continued conversations with our colleagues about these important issues, and to passing this legislation tomorrow.”
While many of the dollars and cents are similar between the governor’s version and the Ways and Means bill, representatives are not going along with many of Healey’s policy ideas. In addition to erasing her gas tax holiday idea, the House Ways and Means Committee also eliminated Healey’s push to crack down on ticket resellers and her proposed Health Care Stabilization Fund.
House leadership added its own policy to the supp budget, inserting sections that would ban the distribution of deceptive media about candidates or election operations “with actual malice” within 90 days of an election and require that paid political audio or video ads containing synthetic media say “contains content generated by AI” at both the start and end. The House rewrite also bans state constitutional officers from “knowingly spending or authorizing the use of public funds of the Commonwealth to appear in any advertisement or promotion using the officer’s name, voice, or likeness to establish recognition for the constitutional officer,” according to a committee summary.
Appropriations bills filed after July 31, like the fiscal 2026 closeout supp, are among the four categories of business that the House and Senate can conduct and hold roll call votes on during this phase of the session. The House plans to meet in its first formal session since July 31 on Wednesday, with a vote on the bill expected sometime after 1 p.m.
The Senate will have to follow suit and could have its own ideas for additions or subtractions. The Senate is not planning a formal session this week. The comptroller cannot file a statutorily required report on state finances until lawmakers and the governor formally close the books on the last fiscal year, which ended June 30. That report is due at the end of October and the comptroller annually complains that the Legislature is habitually slow to act on the closeout budget.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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