New budget contender

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The new fiscal year dawns on Beacon Hill today with a shiny new (and only slightly late) state budget set for final votes in the Legislature.

The budget deal, as per tradition, was announced ahead of time with scant details, making this the day for scouring line items to figure out what made the cut and what got dropped in a back room somewhere on the second floor of the State House.

If you start your budget review from the document's first page — instead of just skipping to whatever it is you consider the "good part" of tens of billions of dollars of state spending and pages more of policy riders — you'll notice this one's got a fairly new name among its list of negotiators.

It's the eighth state budget crafted by Ways and Means chairs Rep. Aaron Michlewitz and Sen. Michael Rodrigues, the duo known for trading Jay-Z quotes, toasting their teamwork, and sitting down across from each other so often that Rodrigues, a while back, said he's lost track of just how many conference committees they've led together.

This year, the steady pair has had someone new along for the ride with them. Rep. Kip Diggs, the assistant vice chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, has been Michlewitz' de facto number-two since the November death of Vice Chair Ann-Margaret Ferrante. Diggs, a retired boxer and the first Black lawmaker elected from Cape Cod, won his seat in 2020 by knocking out a Republican incumbent.

The fiscal 2027 spending plan will be the first full budget where Diggs joined the regular batch of conferees. He already seemed part of the team this spring, when he was part of the huddle to finalize a bill spending millionaire's tax money.

As Diggs tried to unobtrusively exit after that conference committee's first meeting, Rodrigues playfully invited him to photobomb the scrum of reporters waiting to talk to the chairs.

"He's used to ducking punches," Michlewitz quipped, as Diggs maneuvered around outstretched iPhones and microphones.

As budget veterans, it's not clear that Michlewitz and Rodrigues lean too much on the other conferees to get the job done. And with the speaker and Senate president ultimately calling the shots, it's not all that important who holds the title of vice chair or assistant, anyway (except, that is, to the lawmakers who get paid extra for doing so).

But with Michlewitz widely considered speaker-in-waiting, it's worth thinking about who he might elevate into the upper tiers of influence if he does, in fact, rise to the top. Diggs could bring geographic and racial diversity to a House leadership structure that skews white and Boston-centric. And it couldn't hurt to have someone who knows when to work with the Senate and when to throw a jab their way.

Of course, that's all a big 'if.' Michlewitz was leading the Financial Services Committee when then-Speaker Robert DeLeo plucked him for Ways and Means.

And former Senate Ways and Means Chair Karen Spilka, when she ascended to the presidency bypassed her own vice chairs to tap Rodrigues as budget chief.

Who's got your money as successors to Michlewitz and Rodrigues? It's never too early to start speculating. Tell me your best guess (and which part of the budget, exactly, you're skipping to) at [email protected].

HAPPENING TODAY

10:00 | Senate Democrats meet in a caucus | Senate President’s Office and Virtual

11:00 | Senators plan to take up an energy bill (S 3143) they say will save ratepayers more than $14 billion over a decade. The Senate is also expected to pass the compromise fiscal year 2027 state budget on the first day of the new fiscal year | Senate Chamber

11:00 | House meets in a formal session and is expected to take up a compromise fiscal 2027 state budget as well as legislation (H 5549) to reform campaign finance reporting for ballot question campaigns | House Chamber

11:00 | Mass Power Forward, a coalition of climate and environmental justice groups, holds a rally in support of the Senate energy bill | Nurses Hall

11:00 | State Library of Massachusetts celebrates the country's 250th anniversary with an event featuring its copy of the Declaration of Independence, which was printed in Salem on July 17, 1776 | State Library, Room 341

12:00 | House Democrats meet in a caucus | Hearing Rooms A-1 and A-2

12:00 | Gov. Healey highlights investments in childcare assistance programs that are part of her administration’s work to make childcare and early education more affordable | Berkshire Family YMCA – Pittsfield Branch, 292 North St., Pittsfield

5:00 | Deadline for petitioners to file their second round of locally-certified initiative petition signatures with the office of Secretary of State William Galvin. His office will then certify the petitions at the state level. Each petition must have at least 12,429 signatures.

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FROM BEACON HILL

BUDGET DROP: Budget negotiators unveiled Tuesday a $63.4 billion fiscal 2027 budget that features a boost in local aid and panel examining a new school funding formula. Lawmakers are anticipated to pass the compromise Wednesday, which would mean Gov. Healey will have until July 11 to sign or veto it. — State House News Service

ON MEDICAL DEBT: Gov. Healey announced pending regulations Tuesday that would block licensed healthcare providers and debt collectors from reporting medical debt to consumer credit agencies. — State House News Service via WBUR

A LOT TO DO: As lawmakers enter July, they’ve got bills galore to hash out on things ranging from energy to immigrant protections to primary care reform. — Boston Globe

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NEWS NEXT DOOR

HAVERHILL OVERFLOW: Since a sewer line broke in Haverhill on Friday night, millions of gallons of untreated wastewater have been flowing into the Merrimack River. Several beaches were closed for swimming, and officials said they’re optimistic the flow will be stopped by Wednesday night. — WBUR

RELIEF ABOUT BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: Western Massachusetts advocates and lawmakers expressed relief Tuesday about a Supreme Court ruling that preserved birthright citizenship. — Daily Hampshire Gazette

HEAT WAVE HERE: Massachusetts is set to have near record-breaking temperatures Thursday and Friday, in a heat wave that is expected to break Sunday or Monday. — GBH

SNAP PAYMENT ERROR RATE DIPS: According to the latest USDA data, Massachusetts’ SNAP payment error rate dropped from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025, though it’s still above the federal government’s benchmark. — Boston Herald

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