On Wednesday, April 11, the House Ways and Means Committee proposed a $40.991 billion budget for FY2019 that represents an increase of $1.24 billion, or 3.1 percent, above FY2018 spending levels. The budget proposes $83 million more in spending than Governor Charlie Baker recommended in the FY2019 budget he filed in January.

This budget was the first proposed by the new Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Representative Jeffrey Sánchez. It notably calls for greater oversight of the state police, increases the Earned Income Tax Credit, and rejects the Governor’s plan to shift Medicaid recipients to comparable private Health Connector plans.