CLT UPDATE
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
FY 2012 budget finally in Gov's hands
Acknowledging that four weeks of talks have yet
to produce an annual budget deal, Democratic legislative leaders on
Monday hurried a $1.25 billion spending bill to Gov. Deval Patrick's
desk to fund state government through the first 10 days of July.
Legislators in the House and Senate are largely
in the dark about the high-level negotiations taking place between
branch leaders, admitting their assessment about what divides the
branches is based largely on educated guesswork. The branches weeks
ago gave bipartisan votes of support to $30.5 billion spending
packages, but layers of weighty, divisive policy decisions were
tacked onto the bills and some legislators believe policy and
philosophical difference are getting in the way of agreement on
spending matters.
In particular, competing versions of a proposal
that would undercut certain collective bargaining powers of
municipal employees - a proposal that would help cities and towns
shift ever-increasing health care costs to employees - has been
prominently cited as a likely cause of disagreement....
Gov. Deval Patrick Friday filed the interim
budget Friday when it became clearer that it may be needed.
State House News Service
Monday, June 27, 2011
Lawmakers pass $1.25 billion plan to cover state's early July
expenses
In a little-foreshadowed move, lawmakers in a
fiscal 2012 budget accord filed Thursday night essentially wiped out
a $65 million cut to local aid that cities and towns have
anticipating for months, House and Senate officials said Thursday.
During the spring, the House and Senate passed
budgets that slashed unrestricted aid to municipalities by $65
million, the latest in a series of local aid cuts. But a conference
committee report agreed to Thursday would send unspent funds left
over at the end of the current fiscal year – called reversions –
back to cities and towns. That plan, legislative officials say, will
assuredly eliminate the cuts that municipalities were expecting....
The $30.6 billion budget agreement is poised to
reach Gov. Deval Patrick’s desk Friday. As expected, the proposal
redefines the way cities and towns share health care costs with
employees care, overhauls the state’s system of indigent defense
counsel, and counts on a major curtailment of public health care
spending.
The budget was filed after more than three weeks
of closed-door negotiating that guaranteed an annual spending plan
won’t be in place for the dawn of the new fiscal year. It appears
lawmakers will be asked to vote on the bill with little time to
review it....
The compromise budget would be the largest in
state history and is based on expected tax collections base of
$20.525 billion. That figure represents an increase of more than
$700 million over the current fiscal year but still falls short of
the state's tax take three years ago, prior to the recession. The
budget was crafted without $1.5 billion in federal aid that
lawmakers and the governor relied on in fiscal 2011....
State House News Service
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Budget negotiators serve up $30.6 billion budget for pre-holiday
vote
House and Senate negotiators reached agreement
yesterday on a $30.6 billion state budget that will limit the
collective bargaining rights of teachers, police officers, and
firefighters in an effort to ease the cost of health insurance for
cities and towns....
Perhaps the most contentious proposal targets
unions in an attempt to save cities and towns at least $100 million
annually in health insurance costs. “This is a very constructive
compromise which appears to strike a balance between the best of the
House and Senate plans,’’ said Michael J. Widmer, president of the
Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a business-backed budget
watchdog group. “Municipalities will save tens of millions of
dollars, critical services and jobs will be protected, and municipal
employees and retirees will continue to receive generous health
benefits.’’
Unions, however, had no immediate comment.
Patrick has spoken favorably about the broad
outlines of the proposal, but has not said whether he will sign this
specific agreement.
He and lawmakers have described the entire state
budget as among the most difficult in decades, because the state has
been forced to close a $1.9 billion deficit that is mostly the
result of the loss of $1.5 billion in federal stimulus money.
The budget includes no new taxes and instead cuts
deeply across a range of state services, hitting the poor, the
elderly, and the disabled. Patrick agreed to many of the cuts in his
budget proposal released in January.
The Boston Globe
Friday, July 1, 2011
Accord reached on state budget
Would limit collective bargaining
Not a member of the state Legislature? Then good
luck finding out how your money will be spent in the new fiscal
year.
Oh, sure, the final compromise budget, a $30.6
billion effort approved on the Friday before a long holiday weekend,
will be posted on the Web, and news reports are available.
But if you chose to tune into the (tardy)
proceedings on Beacon Hill yesterday, particularly in the House, you
found the usual, fawning praise for the effort of budget
negotiators, pride in the bill they produced — but few specifics.
Gee, did everyone have a barbecue to get to?
A Boston Herald editorial
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Usual budget routine
Lawmakers approved a state budget yesterday after
making a last-minute change that could ease a $65 million cut in aid
to cities and towns. They also killed controversial measures
affecting immigration, nonprofit groups, and skin-shock therapy for
children.
The Legislature approved the $30.6 billion plan
on a 150-to-2 vote in the House and a 33-to-4 vote in the Senate,
sending it to Governor Deval Patrick, who will have 10 days to
review it and issue vetoes.
Despite describing the budget as among the
toughest in decades, lawmakers approved a provision that would send
up to $65 million of the state’s surplus from the fiscal year that
just ended back to local communities in the fall.
The Boston Globe
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Legislature seeks to ease local aid crunch with $30.6b budget
The budget on Gov. Deval Patrick’s desk, the bulk
of which appears headed for passage, has drawn scrutiny for its
provisions to overhaul the way cities and towns design health plans
for their workers, the way defense counsel is provided to indigent
residents, and for its ambitious and untested plans to wring savings
out of perpetually costly health care programs.
But buried in the 314-page document are dozens of
potential sea changes to longstanding policies that received little
attention and passing mention – if any – by lawmakers as they
crafted, passed and negotiated the $30.6 billion budget during
April, May and June.
Those provisions, included among 218 budget
outside sections, affect areas of tax and energy policy, address the
pay of state employees who work in the military, and provide for
studies on a variety of issues that could set the stage for future
policy moves.
State House News Service
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Highlights aside, lawmakers pack budget with policy directives
Despite its pro-labor leanings, the
Legislature has approved a state budget that limits the role of
collective bargaining in determining health care benefits for
city and town workers. Now Governor Patrick must put aside his
own political fears about alienating organized labor and - like
the Legislature - make the tough decision.
Many municipalities can’t provide basic
services if forced to keep up with rising health care costs. A
provision in the Legislature’s budget could save cities and
towns up to $100 million by placing their workers in the state’s
less-costly Group Insurance Commission, or a similar health
insurance plan, over the objection of municipal unions....
Patrick could send the bill back to the
Legislature with amendments. That would be akin to killing it.
Amendments open the way for additional attacks by organized
labor and undermine a carefully crafted compromise by the House
and Senate.
The House favored a straightforward bill that
would grant municipal managers unilateral power to increase
co-payments and deductibles if negotiations with public workers
failed to reach an agreement after 30 days. The Senate passed a
watered-down version that would have made it difficult for towns
to join the GIC. The compromise gives the municipalities final
authority while establishing a three-member panel - including a
labor member - that ensures up to 25 percent of the savings in
the first year will be returned to employees.
This compromise gives organized labor far
more clout than in the House bill. The three-member panel could
block changes that, in its view, ask too much from workers. But
it also must approve changes in the co-pays and deductibles of
municipal workers as long as they don’t exceed those of state
workers.
That sounds like the “meaningful voice’’ for
labor that Patrick has said he wants. He should sign this
measure without alteration.
A Boston Globe editorial
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Plan for health care savings deserves Patrick’s support
The Legislature has needlessly complicated
the effort to reform the municipal health care system. But if
the choice comes down to the compromise adopted in the new state
budget — or a veto or amendment by Gov. Deval Patrick — well,
we’ll choose the bird in the hand....
Lawmakers wisely rejected a damaging Senate
provision that would have required cities and towns to
contribute the same amount for retiree health plan premiums as
they do for active employees, forcing some communities to pay
even more for retiree health benefits than they’re paying now.
We had hoped for more, but at the moment,
this bill is the best hope for struggling cities and towns to
realize meaningful savings. Patrick should accept it.
A Boston Herald editorial
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Meet in the middle
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Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
The political sausage-making on Bacon Hill is
almost done.
Officially the Legislature got it done almost on time — just a day
before Fiscal Year 2012 started on July 1. Even though a few days
late, it's a lot better than the federal government, which hasn't
done last year's budget yet!
The House held out for its better version of the public employee
health insurance package, and the Senate dropped its "poison pill."
Once both branches accepted the conference committee report, the
governor has 10 days to sign it, veto it, or send it back with his
amendments for another legislative vote.
In the meantime, to keep the spending going, a
$1.25 billion interim budget was passed on June 27 to get the state
through the first ten days of July.
Think about that: It costs us taxpayers
$1.25 billion to run the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
— for just ten days.
That's an interesting perspective.
The general consensus is that this budget is the
best we taxpayers can expect to get. When the Boston Globe and
Boston Herald on the same day and others opine that the governor
should accept the Legislature's version —
sign it as-is and not further complicate the situation
— this sounds like reasonable advice.
We're glad that the cities and towns will now have some management
control over employee health insurance, and that the FY '12 budget
has no new taxes.
We taxpayers, however, can still dream of a lower tax burden and
more efficient state government. The state of
Minnesota shut down last Friday, until its Democrat Governor,
Mark Dayton, and its Republican-led legislature agree to turn on the
lights again.
Think of it. If Massachusetts followed
Minnesota's lead — we could save
$1.25 billion every ten days!
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Chip Ford |
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State House News Service
Monday, June 27, 2011
Lawmakers pass $1.25 billion plan to cover state's early July
expenses
By Kyle Cheney and Michael Norton
Acknowledging that four weeks of talks have yet to produce an annual
budget deal, Democratic legislative leaders on Monday hurried a
$1.25 billion spending bill to Gov. Deval Patrick's desk to fund
state government through the first 10 days of July.
Legislators in the House and Senate are largely in the dark about
the high-level negotiations taking place between branch leaders,
admitting their assessment about what divides the branches is based
largely on educated guesswork. The branches weeks ago gave
bipartisan votes of support to $30.5 billion spending packages, but
layers of weighty, divisive policy decisions were tacked onto the
bills and some legislators believe policy and philosophical
difference are getting in the way of agreement on spending matters.
In particular, competing versions of a proposal that would undercut
certain collective bargaining powers of municipal employees - a
proposal that would help cities and towns shift ever-increasing
health care costs to employees - has been prominently cited as a
likely cause of disagreement.
Citing their longstanding policy of confidential negotiations,
lawmakers involved in the decision-making have closed their
deliberations and declined to elaborate on the sources of agreement
or disagreement between the branches, four days from the start of a
new fiscal year. The budget is currently under the purview of a
six-member conference committee - two Democrats and one Republican
from each branch.
The House members include Ways and Means Chairman Brian Dempsey
(D-Haverhill), Ways and Means Vice Chairman Stephen Kulik
(D-Worthington) and Rep. Viriato DeMacedo (R-Plymouth). The Senate
members are Ways and Means Chairman Stephen Brewer (D-Barre), Ways
and Means Vice Chairman Steven Baddour (D-Methuen) and Sen. Michael
Knapik (D-Westfield).
"I think to the extent that the negotiations are ongoing - they are.
That's pretty much where it stands at this point," Knapik told the
News Service after Monday's Senate session. "The goal obviously is
to get something - we owe it to the citizens of the commonwealth to
get something done in time for the fiscal year."
Knapik acknowledged that an annual budget wouldn't be in place in
time for the start of the fiscal year but said he hoped lawmakers
would have a plan to the governor in time for him to take his
constitutionally allotted 10 days of review and act on it before the
temporary budget expires on July 10.
Senate President Therese Murray rejected the contention that the
branches were at an impasse.
"We're progressing," she told the News Service during a break in
Monday's session, echoing similar comments made by budget
negotiators.
In an interview that aired Sunday on WBZ-TV, House Speaker Robert
DeLeo said he was "hopeful" that the House and Senate would agree to
a compromise budget quickly.
"I think that we've been working hard and we've been working
diligently to get it done," he said. "I think we're making some
very, very good progress."
But when asked by host Jon Keller to identify some of the areas of
disagreement between the branches, DeLeo said, "What happens in
conference stays in conference."
"I think everyone knows some of the difficult issues," he added.
DeLeo's office has informed members to be on notice for potential
formal sessions Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, depending on when a
conference committee report is filed.
However, the House has no plans to return Tuesday, scheduling an
informal session for Wednesday, a day Murray intends to spend, at
least partly, in Washington D.C. at an international biotech
convention.
Barring a deal, the House is only scheduled to meet this week in a
pair of informal sessions, which few lawmakers attend, and typically
uncontroversial, local measures are the only items on the docket.
Gov. Deval Patrick Friday filed the interim budget Friday when it
became clearer that it may be needed.
Other policy issues that could be in play during the House-Senate
budget negotiations include competing proposals to address the
spiking cost of indigent defense counsel. The House also moved to
repeal a ban on gifts from pharmaceutical companies to doctors,
while the Senate moved to sharply restrict the use of aversive
therapy for the developmentally disabled.
During its deliberations, the Senate passed a sharp crackdown on
illegal immigrants, and the House passed a plan to steer leftover
funds at the end of the fiscal year back to cities and towns as
local aid.
State House News Service
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Budget negotiators serve up $30.6 billion budget for pre-holiday
vote
By Kyle Cheney
In a little-foreshadowed move, lawmakers in a fiscal 2012 budget
accord filed Thursday night essentially wiped out a $65 million cut
to local aid that cities and towns have anticipating for months,
House and Senate officials said Thursday.
During the spring, the House and Senate passed budgets that slashed
unrestricted aid to municipalities by $65 million, the latest in a
series of local aid cuts. But a conference committee report agreed
to Thursday would send unspent funds left over at the end of the
current fiscal year – called reversions – back to cities and towns.
That plan, legislative officials say, will assuredly eliminate the
cuts that municipalities were expecting.
The plan, initially offered by the House Republican caucus, was
included in an annual budget approved by the House in April. The
conference committee negotiating the budget for the fiscal year that
begins Friday – a panel of three House members and three senators,
including one Republican from each branch – agreed to preserve that
proposal in the final budget, which they filed minutes before an 8
p.m. deadline Thursday evening.
The $30.6 billion budget agreement is poised to reach Gov. Deval
Patrick’s desk Friday. As expected, the proposal redefines the way
cities and towns share health care costs with employees care,
overhauls the state’s system of indigent defense counsel, and counts
on a major curtailment of public health care spending.
The budget was filed after more than three weeks of closed-door
negotiating that guaranteed an annual spending plan won’t be in
place for the dawn of the new fiscal year. It appears lawmakers will
be asked to vote on the bill with little time to review it.
The plan includes provisions aimed at cracking down on the use of
electronic benefit cards for the purchase of alcohol, tobacco and
lottery tickets, It also preserves a health insurance program for
about 19,000 legal immigrants, at a cost of $42 million.
Stripped from the budget during negotiations were a House-passed
repeal of a ban on gifts from pharmaceutical companies to doctors, a
Senate-passed proposal to sharply restrict the use of aversive
therapy for certain developmentally disabled residents and the
repeal of a policy that levies triple damages on employers who fail
to pay wages on time.
Stripped from the budget during negotiations were a House-passed
repeal of a ban on gifts from pharmaceutical companies to doctors, a
Senate-passed proposal to sharply restrict the use of aversive
therapy for certain developmentally disabled residents and the
repeal of a policy that levies triple damages on employers who fail
to pay wages on time.
If the House and Senate pass the proposal during Friday sessions, as
expected, Gov. Deval Patrick will have 10 days to review the bill
before signing it, announcing vetoes and proposing amendments to
various policy areas he wishes to adjust.
The compromise budget would be the largest in state history and is
based on expected tax collections base of $20.525 billion. That
figure represents an increase of more than $700 million over the
current fiscal year but still falls short of the state's tax take
three years ago, prior to the recession. The budget was crafted
without $1.5 billion in federal aid that lawmakers and the governor
relied on in fiscal 2011.
The proposal relies on a $185 million draw from the state’s rainy
day fund, leaving the account at about $584 million. It also cuts
services and depends on squeezing $800 million in health care cost
growth by cutting and capping certain provider rates, slashing some
Medicaid benefits and raising co-pays, streamlining Medicaid
programs, and seeking $351 million in savings through contracts for
Medicaid, Commonwealth Care and Group Insurance Commission health
plans.
The budget plan includes $3.99 billion in education aid to cities
and towns, an uptick in the state's commitment but an overall
reduction when the loss of federal aid is taken into account.
Unrestricted local aid would come in at $834 million, a $65 million
decrease that lawmakers hope will be replenished by returning
unspent funds – known as reversions – back to cities and towns.
The bill includes a $90 million uptick in a special education
circuit breaker, as well as a $3 million increase in the regional
transportation account.
The Patrick administration and lawmakers have also cheered what they
have described as the elimination of a persistent structural deficit
– caused largely by an annual reliance on onetime sources of revenue
and an unchecked use of capital gains taxes – that has forced
policymakers to close budget gaps each year with new revenues or
revenue grabs, spending cuts or withdrawals from the rainy day fund.
Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation,
said the near-elimination of the structural deficit could help
lawmakers begin to restore funds for programs that have taken deep
cuts throughout the recession, or cover unanticipated costs in
programs like Medicaid.
The negotiated budget includes a compromise between competing House
and Senate versions of a plan to restructure the state’s public
counsel program for the indigent, which had seen its costs increase
throughout the economic downturn and forced lawmakers to plug gaps
in the program’s funding.
The pact would reduce the state’s reliance on privately funded
defense counsel, requiring 25 percent of cases that involve indigent
defense be handled by defenders on the public payroll, up from the
current 10 percent. The plan also requires the Committee on Public
Counsel Services, which oversees the state’s program of indigent
defense, to apply a new set of standards to verify whether
applicants for public defense are truly indigent. At budget
hearings, critics said indigency verification efforts were weak.
The compromise budget represents a series of decisions by the
six-member conference committee, which met privately for most of
June to merge the House and Senate versions of the budget into one
agreed-upon plan. The final report of the conference committee
cannot be amended when it comes to the floor, and members will
likely be asked Friday for an up or down vote on the plan. Since the
respective House and Senate fiscal 2012 budgets passed this year
with bipartisan support, the conference budget is expected to pass.
The budget is available at:
http://www.mass.gov/legis/journal/desktop/Current%20Agenda%202011/H3535.pdf.
The Boston Globe
Friday, July 1, 2011
Accord reached on state budget
Would limit collective bargaining
By Michael Levenson
House and Senate negotiators reached agreement yesterday on a $30.6
billion state budget that will limit the collective bargaining
rights of teachers, police officers, and firefighters in an effort
to ease the cost of health insurance for cities and towns.
The budget deal followed 24 days of closed-door negotiations between
six top House and Senate lawmakers, who were trying to iron out the
differences between their chambers’ versions of the state budget.
Lawmakers plan to vote on the accord today and then send it to
Governor Deval Patrick, who will have 10 days to review it and issue
vetoes.
Perhaps the most contentious proposal targets unions in an attempt
to save cities and towns at least $100 million annually in health
insurance costs. “This is a very constructive compromise which
appears to strike a balance between the best of the House and Senate
plans,’’ said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts
Taxpayers Foundation, a business-backed budget watchdog group.
“Municipalities will save tens of millions of dollars, critical
services and jobs will be protected, and municipal employees and
retirees will continue to receive generous health benefits.’’
Unions, however, had no immediate comment.
Patrick has spoken favorably about the broad outlines of the
proposal, but has not said whether he will sign this specific
agreement.
He and lawmakers have described the entire state budget as among the
most difficult in decades, because the state has been forced to
close a $1.9 billion deficit that is mostly the result of the loss
of $1.5 billion in federal stimulus money.
The budget includes no new taxes and instead cuts deeply across a
range of state services, hitting the poor, the elderly, and the
disabled. Patrick agreed to many of the cuts in his budget proposal
released in January.
They include:
● A cut in direct benefits to
poor people, which will reduce the clothing allowance given to
children on welfare.
● A $4 million cut in the
Department of Developmental Services, which would reduce services to
1,000 people.
● Significant cuts to the state’s
Medicaid program that will require the poor and the elderly to pay
more for prescription drugs and other medical services.
Lawmakers also agreed on a plan to hire 300 new public defenders,
reducing the state’s reliance on private lawyers to perform criminal
defense work for the poor.
Patrick, who wanted to hire 1,000 new public defenders, has argued
that they can do the job at a lower cost. Stephen M. Brewer, the
Senate budget chief, described the compromise as “a sea change from
the status quo.’’
The budget jettisons a House plan that would have repealed the 2008
state law that banned drug and medical device companies from giving
gifts to doctors in most cases. Some restaurant owners wanted the
ban repealed, arguing that their businesses were suffering because
they were no longer hosting lavish dinners sponsored by drug
companies for doctors. But consumer groups countered that the ban
helps to ensure that doctors are not unduly influenced by powerful
special interests.
In approving a plan to limit public employee bargaining rights,
lawmakers said they needed to help city and town managers negotiate
health care agreements that will slow rising health insurance costs.
Echoing the governor, they said their plan gives unions the right to
discuss, but not veto, higher copayments and deductibles.
“We believe that the compromise we have reached will provide for a
very fair and balanced approach that will allow for folks to have a
voice, but will also allow for us to achieve the savings that I
think we all want to achieve,’’ said Brian Dempsey, chairman of the
House Ways and Means Committee.
The legislation allows local governments to move employees into the
state’s health insurance program, the Group Insurance Commission, or
make their own health plan changes, after a 30-day discussion period
with unions. In the case of a deadlock, the dispute goes to a
three-member review panel with one union representative, one
management representative, and a crucial tie-breaking vote appointed
by the governor’s budget chief.
If the panel determines that the changes proposed by management at
least match the health benefits given to state workers, the review
panel would be required to approve them. If not, the panel will be
able to modify the proposal. In either case, the panel can give 25
percent of the savings from the changes back to union employees for
one year.
Only cities and towns that want to use the new negotiating process
will do so; the new rules will not be required statewide.
The Boston Herald
Saturday, July 2, 2011
A Boston Herald editorial
Usual budget routine
Not a member of the state Legislature? Then good luck finding out
how your money will be spent in the new fiscal year.
Oh, sure, the final compromise budget, a $30.6 billion effort
approved on the Friday before a long holiday weekend, will be posted
on the Web, and news reports are available.
But if you chose to tune into the (tardy) proceedings on Beacon Hill
yesterday, particularly in the House, you found the usual, fawning
praise for the effort of budget negotiators, pride in the bill they
produced — but few specifics.
Gee, did everyone have a barbecue to get to?
Some lawmakers probably had little idea what they were agreeing to.
After more than three weeks of (private) negotiations on a final
spending plan, the budget was filed Thursday . . . at 8 p.m. Members
were briefed on the details in (private) caucus about an hour before
they voted yesterday.
And once the bill hit the floor, well, it was all over but the
speeches. House Republicans joined the chorus of support. GOP
senators raised spending concerns, and some pro-labor Democrats
protested the final budget, but it was a done deal.
So why all the secrecy? There are a few missing pieces — the repeal
of several onerous government regulations, for example. But the
budget is balanced with a combination of cuts and reforms, and no
new taxes.
On a plan to limit collective bargaining over municipal health
insurance, we preferred the House’s more direct approach — the
compromise looks too much like the Senate plan, which drags out the
proceedings — but the projected savings are the same, about $100
million.
And a change in the way the state provides legal services to the
poor is a big improvement on Gov. Deval Patrick’s plan; the
compromise calls for eventually hiring 300 new government lawyers
(down from Patrick’s 1,000), leading to an eventual 75-25 percent
split between private bar advocates and defenders on the public
payroll.
Senate Ways and Means Chairman Stephen M. Brewer told his colleagues
that given the present fiscal challenges, this was the most
significant budget ever passed in the history of the commonwealth.
Mull that one over the hot dogs and potato salad.
The Boston Globe
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Legislature seeks to ease local aid crunch with $30.6b budget
Provisions are cut on immigration and shock therapy
By Michael Levenson
Lawmakers approved a state budget yesterday after making a
last-minute change that could ease a $65 million cut in aid to
cities and towns. They also killed controversial measures affecting
immigration, nonprofit groups, and skin-shock therapy for children.
The Legislature approved the $30.6 billion plan on a 150-to-2 vote
in the House and a 33-to-4 vote in the Senate, sending it to
Governor Deval Patrick, who will have 10 days to review it and issue
vetoes.
Despite describing the budget as among the toughest in decades,
lawmakers approved a provision that would send up to $65 million of
the state’s surplus from the fiscal year that just ended back to
local communities in the fall.
Local aid, which pays for senior centers, trash collectors, police
officers, and other local services, had been cut by 32 percent, or
$416 million, over the last three years, according to the
Massachusetts Municipal Association.
City and town leaders said they were pleasantly surprised that they
might be spared another hit this year. But they said it was too soon
to know whether there would be enough money in the surplus to
completely reverse the $65 million cut in local aid. Although the
budget year ended on Thursday, it will take weeks for the state to
finish closing its books.
“Essentially what the Legislature is saying is that if there is a
year-end surplus, a portion of that would be shared with cities and
towns,’’ said Geoff Beckwith, executive director of the municipal
association, which represents cities and towns. “But the exact
nature of whether and how much there is won’t be known until the
fall.’’
Mayor Thomas G. Ambrosino of Revere said communities would welcome
the relief.
“That would be extremely helpful to cities and towns that were
suffering,’’ he said. “It will give people the opportunity to rehire
people who have been laid off and restore services that were cut.’’
The budget closes an estimated $1.9 billion deficit with a
combination of spending cuts, promised savings from renegotiating
contracts, and a $185 million withdrawal from the state’s Rainy Day
Fund.
Among the cuts: a $1.5 million reduction in HIV and AIDS prevention,
screening and support services - the third year in a row the program
has been reduced.
In reaction, the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts said: “It is
sheer folly to step away from what is still a public health crisis
in the black, Hispanic, and gay/bisexual communities.’’
Lawmakers also scuttled several hot-button policy changes in the
budget, including an immigration enforcement measure the Senate had
quietly approved last month.
The move would have required companies doing business with the state
to use a federal database to make sure their new hires are here
legally; directed the state to use another registry to verify that
the poor and elderly who receive state health care are legal
residents; and stiffened penalties for trying to get a job with fake
identification.
A group of student activists had camped out on the State House steps
for 11 days to protest the measure. Yesterday, they cheered its
removal with a handmade sign that read: “We did it!’’
Legislators also scuttled a Senate-approved plan that would have
prohibited public charities from paying their board members without
approval from the attorney general’s office.
The measure gained traction earlier this year, after the board of
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts voted to give its departing
chief executive an $11 million payout. At the time, board members
were receiving five-figure payments every year, which critics said
had compromised their independence.
Lawmakers also jettisoned a Senate-approved measure that targeted
the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, a controversial institute that
uses skin-shock therapy to treat emotionally disturbed children.
The measure would have barred the center from administering skin
shocks to new students. Parents of some Rotenberg patients have
praised the method, known as aversive therapy, saying it has saved
their children’s lives. But critics have called the shocks cruel and
inhumane. In May, Matthew Israel, who founded the center, pleaded
not guilty to obstruction of justice after he was accused of
destroying evidence that was part of an official investigation into
the center’s practices.
Senator Brian Joyce, a Milton Democrat, who has pushed to ban skin
shocks, said it was “an absolute shame’’ that the provision was
dropped. He said he hopes the governor will use his regulatory
powers to curtail the treatment method.
Perhaps the most divisive measure in the budget would allow cities
and towns to raise health insurance copayments and deductibles for
their workers to the same levels paid by state employees, even if
municipal unions object.
Supporters say the measure would save cities and towns $100 million
in health insurance costs. But opponents have called it an assault
on workers’ rights.
“This budget cuts away at heart and soul of collective bargaining,’’
said Senator Marc R. Pacheco, a Taunton Democrat and staunch union
ally. “It’s a direct attack on the middle class.’’
Senator Steven A. Tolman, another union ally, called the measure an
injustice and said it would drive teachers and other municipal union
workers into bankruptcy. “We can’t feel good about that,’’ he said.
But the municipal association defended the measure, saying it gives
unions “a strong and meaningful voice,’’ while delivering “the
relief that taxpayers deserve.’’
State House News Service
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Highlights aside, lawmakers pack budget with policy directives
By Kyle Cheney
The budget on Gov. Deval Patrick’s desk, the bulk of which appears
headed for passage, has drawn scrutiny for its provisions to
overhaul the way cities and towns design health plans for their
workers, the way defense counsel is provided to indigent residents,
and for its ambitious and untested plans to wring savings out of
perpetually costly health care programs.
But buried in the 314-page document are dozens of potential sea
changes to longstanding policies that received little attention and
passing mention – if any – by lawmakers as they crafted, passed and
negotiated the $30.6 billion budget during April, May and June.
Those provisions, included among 218 budget outside sections, affect
areas of tax and energy policy, address the pay of state employees
who work in the military, and provide for studies on a variety of
issues that could set the stage for future policy moves.
Here’s a rundown of some of the lesser-publicized riders in the
Legislature’s budget:
PAY FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYEES ON ACTIVE DUTY: The budget extends until
Sept. 11, 2014 a program permitting cities, towns and school
districts to continue paying the base pay of any employees on active
military duty. The program, which requires that municipalities and
school committees opt in to participate, pays those employees the
difference between their public salary and any compensation they
receive from the military. Without action, the program would expire
later this year.
PENSION FUNDING SCHEDULE EXTENSION: Almost never highlighted by
state budget writers but essential to their budget-balancing
approach, the budget officially extends from 2025 to 2040 the due
date for the state’s pension system to be fully funded, allowing the
state to push off billions of dollars in payments to a future
generation of taxpayers. The extension was largely agreed to by
legislative leaders, Treasurer Steven Grossman and Gov. Deval
Patrick in recent months but has yet to be put into effect.
ORGAN DONATION TAX DEDUCTION: Individuals who donate an organ – bone
marrow, a liver, a pancreas, a kidney, an intestine or a lung – to
another person for a transplant would be eligible to claim a tax
deduction of up to $10,000, based on travel expenses, lodging
expenses and lost wages connected with the procedure.
EXPANDING POWER OF CHILD ADVOCATE: The child advocate – a position
created by lawmakers in 2008 as part of a push to crack down on
child abuse and neglect – would gain “unrestricted access to all
electronic information systems” under a provision in the budget,
expanding the office’s access, which currently entitles the child
advocate to see “all relevant” documents.
PUBLIC SAFETY FINES: The Commissioner of Public Safety would be
authorized to levy fines of up to $5,000 for anyone who violates
provisions of the law dealing with architecture, engineering and
warehousing.
DOR TAX POLICY REPORT: The Department of Revenue would be required
to file a quarterly report listing “tax policy issues under
development.” The report would be required to include issues on
which “the commissioner reasonably anticipates issuing public
guidance” within a year, helping taxpayers and businesses anticipate
potential changes in tax policy.
TAX JUDGMENTS: Under the budget, if a state agency is awarded a tax
settlement or judgment in excess of $10 million, the proceeds would
be deposited in the state’s rainy day fund, rather than the General
Fund used to pay budgeted expenses.
FORWARD FUNDING OF REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITIES: Set to take effect
this month, a plan to require all regional transit authorities to
establish a plan for forward funding would be pushed back another
two years, according to the budget, to July 1, 2013. Under the
provision, established originally as part of a 2008 overhaul of the
state’s transportation system, “The secretary of the executive
office for administration and finance shall develop a plan for
accomplishing this conversion to forward funding and to seek the
necessary appropriations to implement the plan.”
SNOW AND ICE DEFICIT SPENDING: The budget permits that state’s
transportation authorities to spend up to $30 million into deficit
if the state’s snow and ice costs exceed $50 million in the upcoming
winter. This past winter, snow and ice removal costs exceeded $80
million, outpacing anticipated expenses of about $59 million.
TAX EXPENDITURE COMMISSION: Annual budgets typically include scads
of study commissions and requirements that agencies file progress
reports, many of which never act on their mandate, but some of which
provide the substantive basis for major policy change. This year’s
budget is no different. Among the panels established is a commission
to review the state’s thick booklet of tax breaks for a variety of
industries, which by some measurements exceed $20 billion each year.
The tax expenditure budget has been on the Legislature’s radar for
years, but little has been done in the way of a comprehensive
proposal to amend or eliminate outdated tax breaks. The commission
is charged with considering “the public policy objectives behind the
grant of any tax expenditure, the metrics for measuring success in
meeting those objectives and the need for additional reporting,
sunset or clawback provisions.” The commission’s report is due April
30, 2012, and is required to include “any recommendations regarding
changes to the administration or evaluation of current tax
expenditures and criteria for evaluating proposals for new tax
expenditures.” Member of the commission are to include designees of
the secretary of administration and finance, the state auditor, the
state treasurer, the House and Senate minority leaders, the House
and Senate Ways and Means Committee chairs, the House and Senate
Revenue Committee chairs, and two gubernatorial designees.
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION OF PROCUREMENT: The budget requires the
Department of Correction to rebid its food, medical and commissary
contracts at all state institutions. The agency is also required to
confer with county sheriffs who may wish to participate in the
procurement.
REAPPOINTMENT OF CPCS BOARD: Although plans to overhaul the state’s
program for indigent defense counsel are well-known, less discussed
was the provision to reconstitute the board of the Committee on
Public Counsel Services within 90 days. The proposal ends the terms
of the CPCS board 90 days after the governor signs the budget and
requires that the governor nominate two members to one-year terms,
that the Senate president and House speaker each nominate two
members to two-year terms, and the Supreme Judicial Court nominate
nine members to four-year terms.
EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN: The budget also includes a special commission
to “identify women who have made an extraordinary contribution to
the commonwealth” and determine a way to honor those women within
the State House. The commission would include three members of the
House, three members of the Senate and two gubernatorial appointees.
The commission’s report is due Dec. 31.
The Boston Globe
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
A Boston Globe editorial
Plan for health care savings deserves Patrick’s support
Despite its pro-labor leanings, the Legislature has approved a state
budget that limits the role of collective bargaining in determining
health care benefits for city and town workers. Now Governor Patrick
must put aside his own political fears about alienating organized
labor and - like the Legislature - make the tough decision.
Many municipalities can’t provide basic services if forced to keep
up with rising health care costs. A provision in the Legislature’s
budget could save cities and towns up to $100 million by placing
their workers in the state’s less-costly Group Insurance Commission,
or a similar health insurance plan, over the objection of municipal
unions.
Patrick sidestepped a question about the measure during a Sunday
appearance on “Face the Nation’’ with Republican governors Scott
Walker of Wisconsin and John Kasich of Ohio, each of whom has made
aggressive efforts to curb collective bargaining. This is a tougher
position for a Democrat with strong labor backers. But the
Legislature’s health care measure is nowhere near as far-reaching
what Walker and Kasich have proposed, and in any case Patrick’s
first duty must be to the communities of Massachusetts.
Patrick could send the bill back to the Legislature with amendments.
That would be akin to killing it. Amendments open the way for
additional attacks by organized labor and undermine a carefully
crafted compromise by the House and Senate.
The House favored a straightforward bill that would grant municipal
managers unilateral power to increase co-payments and deductibles if
negotiations with public workers failed to reach an agreement after
30 days. The Senate passed a watered-down version that would have
made it difficult for towns to join the GIC. The compromise gives
the municipalities final authority while establishing a three-member
panel - including a labor member - that ensures up to 25 percent of
the savings in the first year will be returned to employees.
This compromise gives organized labor far more clout than in the
House bill. The three-member panel could block changes that, in its
view, ask too much from workers. But it also must approve changes in
the co-pays and deductibles of municipal workers as long as they
don’t exceed those of state workers.
That sounds like the “meaningful voice’’ for labor that Patrick has
said he wants. He should sign this measure without alteration.
The Boston Herald
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
A Boston Herald editorial
Meet in the middle
The Legislature has needlessly complicated the effort to reform the
municipal health care system. But if the choice comes down to the
compromise adopted in the new state budget — or a veto or amendment
by Gov. Deval Patrick — well, we’ll choose the bird in the hand.
Patrick told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that there are “a
couple parts” of the reform legislation that he wants to examine
more closely before making a final decision. And surely that was
music to the ears of the Public Employees’ Coalition, a group of
labor unions that within hours of the bill’s passage on Friday had
expressed “disappointment” and vowed to seek changes to gain more
protections for municipal workers and retirees.
But the changes they’re likely to seek would water down an already
watered-down proposal.
And they’re unlikely to pass anyway. The budget containing the
municipal health reform language passed both the House and Senate by
veto-proof margins.
If Patrick signs the compromise into law as written, cities and
towns would be able to present cost-saving health plan design
changes — increases in co-payments and deductibles, for example, or
a switch to the state Group Insurance Commission — to a local
committee representing all municipal unions. The two sides would
have a 30-day window to negotiate the details of an agreement.
If no agreement is reached, the matter would be turned over to a
three-member panel empowered to implement the changes, within
parameters. That panel would also determine how 25 percent of any
savings realized from the reforms would be distributed to the unions
in the first year.
Lawmakers wisely rejected a damaging Senate provision that would
have required cities and towns to contribute the same amount for
retiree health plan premiums as they do for active employees,
forcing some communities to pay even more for retiree health
benefits than they’re paying now.
We had hoped for more, but at the moment, this bill is the best hope
for struggling cities and towns to realize meaningful savings.
Patrick should accept it.
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Citizens for Limited Taxation ▪
PO Box 1147 ▪ Marblehead, MA 01945
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