A key legislative panel is calling for a tuition freeze at the University of Massachusetts and what lawmakers say is a record amount of state aid to elementary and secondary schools.
A $42.7 billion budget proposal released Tuesday by the Senate Ways and Means Committee calls for an overall 3% increase in state spending from the current fiscal year.
No major tax hikes are included, though Senate Democrats would restore new taxes proposed by Gov. Charlie Baker on prescription opioid manufacturers, and on e-cigarettes and vaping supplies. Those taxes were dropped from a spending plan approved in the House.
Senate Ways and Means chair Michael Rodrigues said UMass would be prohibited from raising tuition and fees in the next academic year and would receive a 7% increase in state spending.
