Citizens for Limited Taxation & Government
18 Tremont St., #608 * Boston, MA 02108
Phone: (617) 248-0022 * E-Mail: cltg@cltg.org
* The Commonwealth Activist Network *
See our web-page at: http://cltg.org
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*** CLT&G Update ***
Monday, April 7, 1997

NOTE: We apologize for providing the the wrong
web-page address -- as it's shown above, it is:

http://cltg.org

Boston Herald
Monday, April 7, 1997

(Banner Headline, Page 1)

Can't get a break
House leaders to dump Weld's proposed tax cuts

By Carolyn Ryan

House budget leaders will reject all seven of Gov. Weld's proposed tax cuts in a budget being released today that calls for only modest increases in social services spending.

"People say 'What about the tax cuts?'" House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Haley said. "But you can't aggressively spend on human services and aggressively cut taxes too."

The state cannot afford to cut taxes and keep spending on large projects like education reform, prison expansion, and the Big Dig, Haley said.

The House plan even omits a tax cut on unearned income from investments, which House Speaker Thomas Finneran had publicly lauded.

The budget also does not include a proposal by Weld -- which Finneran and Senate President Thomas Birmingham had praised -- to increase the income tax deduction for children under 12 from $600 to $1,600.

The $18.3 billion plan, for the fiscal year that begins July 1, would boost spending 3 percent over this year.

Haley said the tax breaks may be considered by legislative committees later this year, but he added that the budget leaves little room for new cuts.

"There's not a lot of space to play in here," said Haley (D-Weymouth).

Rob Gray, a spokesman for the Weld administration, declined to comment until the House version of the budget is made public today.

Unlike Weld and Senate budget writers, Haley does not propose the state pay for cash assistance for legal immigrants who are losing benefits under the federal welfare plan.

The House Ways and Means plan would provide emergency food aid and health care only, Haley said.

The Ways and Means committee also rejects Weld's call for the abolition of county government and the takeover of its remaining functions by the state.

House budget drafters said it was unclear whether the state would be swamped with county debt, and how a takeover would affect already negotiated contracts with county employees.

"We are not convinced they know all the answers to the questions," Haley said.

Haley criticized Weld's budget, saying the governor was overly optimistic and relied on savings that would never be realized.

For example, Weld predicted $32 million would be saved by requiring state workers to pay more of their health coverage -- a proposal that the Legislature has rejected every year.

Weld also does not provide for likely reductions in federal
spending, Haley said.

The Ways and Means Committee proposes several smaller initiatives in the plan, including:

* $10 million to shrink the waiting list for placements in Department of Mental Retardation programs.

* $2 million to put more probation officers on the streets.

* $3 million to send counselors into the homes of first-time, low-income parents, to teach then skills and help prevent child abuse.

* $50 million for sewer rate relief, including aid to communities in the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority district.

* An increase in community policing spending from $12 million to $17 million.

Like Weld, the Ways and Means committee boosts education spending for kindergarten through grade 12 by $278 million, as called for in the 7-year Education Reform Act.

The budget will be debated next week. Finneran has said House members are scheduled to finish deliberations by April
18.

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