“Lawmakers have filed 1,737 amendments for the House version of the fiscal 2027 budget proposal, and 76% of them are predictably earmarks. The rest are policy proposals, funding increases or new line items, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. The business-backed group crunched the numbers, finding the total number of amendments is higher than fiscal 2026, and 242 more than fiscal 2025. “Between FY 2024 – FY 2026, an average of $102 million in additional spending was added” during the deliberations. Less than half of the amendments were adopted last year, and close watchers know most of the amendment action happens behind closed doors, off the House floor.”