Beacon Hill Democrats agree to withhold sheriff funding in spending bill compromise

Massachusetts House and Senate Democrats agreed Monday to withhold millions of dollars in funding that county sheriffs requested to pay off their budgets from the last fiscal year until the state’s inspector general completes an investigation into their finances.

Lawmakers held onto the money after alleging that budget overruns among county sheriffs had spiked dramatically. But sheriffs said their spending increases were due to pay bumps for some employees, medical care for prisoners, free inmate phone calls and building repairs.

Sen. Michael Rodrigues, the Senate’s budget chief, said legislators will give sheriffs money to pay for no-cost phone calls for inmates and state-mandated medical treatments.

“We are withholding any other monies until we get a report back from the inspector general,” Rodrigues told reporters. “We will be relying on the inspector general to dive down to find out what their true deficiencies are.”

Legislators withheld the cash for sheriffs as part of a compromise $2.3 billion spending bill that closes the state’s books on fiscal year 2025.

Senate Democrats originally pitched creating a statewide oversight council to oversee sheriff spending. But the version lawmakers plan to send to Gov. Maura Healey does not include the proposal.

Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, the chamber’s budget chief, said House lawmakers did not oppose setting up a council, but wanted to wait until the inspector general completes an investigation into sheriffs’ finances.

The compromise spending bill requires the inspector general to submit a preliminary report on sheriff spending by Feb. 27 and a final report at the end of May.

House and Senate lawmakers have repeatedly said sheriffs collectively overspent their budgets by $162 million in fiscal year 2025. Beacon Hill Democrats have also alleged that sheriffs did not give them any heads-up on their multi-million-dollar budget overruns.

But sheriffs who have spoken to WBUR said they are in regular contact with Beacon Hill budget writers about their finances.

And the Massachusetts Sheriffs' Association, which represents all 14 sheriffs in the state, said the actual budget overrun is roughly $121 million, of which $26.5 million has already been approved and $95 million remains pending.

“We understand the fiscal pressures currently shaping the Commonwealth’s budget decisions. However, the funding withheld directly impacts essential correctional services, staffing stability, and the continuation of evidence-based rehabilitation programs that make Massachusetts a national leader in correctional innovation and recidivism reduction,” the association said.

Lawmakers also agreed to set aside $10 million in the compromise spending bill to cover costs related to the seven 2026 FIFA World Cup matches scheduled to take place in Massachusetts. However, in order for sports or events groups to access that funding, they need to find private donors to match state dollars.

House Democrats originally sought $15 million for a sports and entertainment fund, with $10 million earmarked for the FIFA World Cup. Senators had not included any money for the tournament in their version of the spending bill.

“Knowing that we're dealing with some challenging circumstances, particularly related to the federal government, and not knowing what's coming around the corner next, I think we felt that $10 million was a safe number,” Michlewitz said.

The bulk of the spending bill will go toward MassHealth ($1.67 billion) and for payments to hospitals formerly run by Steward Health Care system ($374 million).