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Reported by us | New Bedford

House passes state budget New Bedford lawmakers say will keep Engine 9 running

The House version drops the governor's line naming the New Bedford Fire Department and adds a statewide reserve instead. The Senate takes up the bill next.

By the SC360 Breaking and Public Safety Desk | Published Oct. 22, 2026 | Last verified Oct. 22, 2026, 1:37 p.m. ET

NEW BEDFORD The Massachusetts House on Wednesday passed a $2.35 billion supplemental budget that sets aside $2 million for public safety, money New Bedford's state representatives say will keep Fire Engine 9 in service at normal staffing. The vote was 152 to 0.

The bill, H.5699, does not name New Bedford. Item 1599-0911 reads, in full, "For a reserve to support public safety in the commonwealth," with $2,000,000 beside it. In a joint statement after the vote, the city's five House members said Gov. Maura Healey had reaffirmed her commitment to use $1.3 million of that line "specifically for Engine 9 in New Bedford."

The five are Reps. Antonio F. D. Cabral of the 13th Bristol District, Christopher Hendricks of the 11th Bristol, Christopher Markey of the 9th Bristol, Mark Sylvia of the 10th Bristol and Steven Ouellette of the 8th Bristol. Their statement said the delegation "strongly advocated for the inclusion of the $2 million line item for public safety in the Commonwealth, which will keep Fire Engine 9 in operation, without interruption, at normal staffing levels."

What the House changed

The governor's own bill, H.5679, named the city outright. Its Section 168 would have added to the Department of Fire Services item 8324-0050 that "not less than $1,300,000 shall be expended to the New Bedford fire department for critical personnel costs, including staffing to ensure that all fire response facilities may remain open and operational." That bill was sent to the House Ways and Means Committee on Sept. 24.

The committee reported H.5699 on Oct. 21 as its answer to part of the governor's request, and the House took it up the same day. The New Bedford section is not in it. The $2 million public safety reserve is new; it does not appear in the governor's bill. The House adopted two consolidated packages of amendments, 132 to 19 and 143 to 8, before the final vote.

How Engine 9 got here

Mayor Jon Mitchell had proposed closing the station, a savings of just under $2 million, as part of his plan to close a $32 million budget shortfall, WBSM reported. The City Council pushed back. After state Sen. Mark Montigny secured $500,000 in state money, councilors approved appropriation orders for the remaining $1.3 million from money they had cut from the city budget, and the mayor returned those orders unsigned.

On Sept. 23, Mitchell announced that the governor had committed $1.3 million in added state aid to New Bedford to keep the station open. The money would come as local aid through the state's Municipal Public Safety Staffing program, and it needed the Legislature's approval.

The representatives' statement said the closure plan "came amid broad, deep budget cuts that included planned layoffs upon the city's financial review of local services," and that the new money "will help preserve staffed fire response capacity." It also looked past this year: "The delegation also looks forward to more dialogue about making future funding for public safety more equitable for New Bedford."

What happens next

The bill now goes to the Senate, which writes its own version. The two chambers then have to agree on one bill before it reaches the governor's desk. H.5699 carries an emergency preamble, so it would take effect as soon as it is signed. Until a final bill is law, neither the reserve nor the $1.3 million is in hand.

Residents can find their state representative and senator by street address with the Legislature's Find My Legislator tool at malegislature.gov.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.

Notes

Every fact about the bill comes from the Legislature's own records, read Oct. 22: the H.5699 bill history (152 to 0, Yea and Nay No. 275, and the two consolidated amendment votes), the H.5699 text (item 1599-0911, $2,000,000; the $2,347,185,299 total; the emergency preamble; no New Bedford section) and the governor's H.5679 text and history (Section 168; referred to House Ways and Means Sept. 24). The delegation statement is quoted word for word from its full published text. The five members and their districts come from the Legislature's member profiles. The Sept. 23 announcement and the budget background come from the city and from reporting credited in the story. Dates and weekdays were checked against a calendar: Sept. 23, 2026 was a Wednesday, Sept. 24 a Thursday and Oct. 21 a Wednesday.

Corrections

No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.

Sources (7)

  1. Massachusetts Legislature: H.5699, An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2026 (bill history)Oct. 21, 2026: reported by House Ways and Means on a part of H5679; consolidated amendment A adopted 132 to 19 (No. 273), B adopted 143 to 8 (No. 274); passed to be engrossed 152 YEAS to 0 NAYS (Yea and Nay No. 275). Read Oct. 22, 2026.
  2. Massachusetts Legislature: H.5699 text as reported by House Ways and Means (filed Oct. 20, 2026)Total appropriation $2,347,185,299; item 1599-0911 "For a reserve to support public safety in the commonwealth" $2,000,000; emergency preamble; no New Bedford language and no amendment to item 8324-0050. Read Oct. 22, 2026.
  3. Massachusetts Legislature: House amendments to H.5699197 House amendments; a keyword filter for Bedford returns one (No. 56, unrelated) and none for the New Bedford Fire Department. Saved as sources/station9/h5699-amendments.html and amend-kw-*.html. Read Oct. 22, 2026.
  4. Massachusetts Legislature: H.5679, the governor's supplemental budget billSection 168 amends item 8324-0050: "not less than $1,300,000 shall be expended to the New Bedford fire department for critical personnel costs, including staffing to ensure that all fire response facilities may remain open and operational." No item 1599-0911. Referred to House Ways and Means 9/24/2026 (bill history read Oct. 17). Read Oct. 22, 2026.
  5. City of New Bedford: Major progress related to Engine 9 closure (Sept. 23, 2026)The governor intends to include a $1.3 million item; state funds to be used as local aid under the Municipal Public Safety Staffing (MPSS) Program; the mayor committed to keep Engine 9 in service; Engine 9 had been slated for closure "later this Fall" (the city capitalizes Fall). Read in Chrome Oct. 17 (the city site blocks scripts); notes saved as sources/station9/newbedford-engine9-release-2026-09-23.txt.
  6. Massachusetts Legislature member profiles: Cabral (AFC1, 13th Bristol), Hendricks (C_H1, 11th Bristol), Markey (CMM1, 9th Bristol), Sylvia (MDS1, 10th Bristol), Ouellette (SJO1, 8th Bristol)Each profile reads Democrat and the district number; the official district descriptions each list New Bedford wards and precincts (Cabral: Wards 3 to 6 precincts; Hendricks: Wards 1 to 4 precincts; Markey: Ward 1 Precincts D, E, F; Sylvia: Ward 1 Precincts A, B, C1; Ouellette: Ward 1 Precincts B1, C). Saved as sources/station9/member-*.html and legislators-districts-excerpt.json. Read Oct. 22, 2026.
  7. Also reported by: New Bedford Guide, WBSM.

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