By Julia Bergman, includes “With one day left in the 2021 legislative session, the state House of Representatives adopted a two-year, $46 billion budget just after midnight that uses $1.75 billion in federal stimulus dollars to avoid tax increases and spending cuts. … Cities and towns are also big winners, set to receive at least a $227 million increase in state funding for the fiscal year that starts July 1 over the current year, plus $2.6 billion in federal stimulus money.”