Massachusetts General Laws Part I. Administration of the Government (Ch. 1-182) Ch. 29, § 4

Every officer having charge of any state agency who, in the officer's annual reports or otherwise, recommends or petitions for the expenditure of money by the commonwealth from any source of revenue, including expenditures to be met by assessments or from bond revenues or trust funds, for any purpose not covered by the estimates required to be submitted under section 3, shall, annually, on or before a date set by the secretary of administration and finance, submit detailed estimates thereof to the budget director, together with any other information required by said budget director. Such estimates and other information relating to such state agency before being submitted to the budget director, shall first be submitted to the appropriate secretary, if any, on or before a date set by the secretary; said secretary shall review the same and make such additions, deletions and modifications as the secretary deems appropriate; provided, however, that prior to making any such additions, deletions or modifications, said secretary shall conduct public hearings, for which he shall give at least 5 days public notice, on all items for which the secretary shall submit to the governor a recommendation for an appropriation of $1,000,000 or more.