The Senate completed its budget process last night. The next step is conference with the House to reconcile differences with their budget. It was a good process under the new leadership of Senate President Stan Rosenberg and Ways and Means Chair Karen Spilka — a lot of collegiality and openness in the process. I was most pleased by our successful efforts to reach consensus on a big part of the Governor’s MBTA reform package.
Budget and Local Aid Updates
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Realism in the State Budget
I was heartened by Governor Baker’s effort to budget honestly for the costs that are hard to control in the state budget.
Senate Passes FY2015 Supplemental Budget
We share this press release from the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Senator Brownsberger offered the amendments adopted to bill S.21 related to Committee for Public Counsel Services and statewide grand juries.
Senior Housing in Belmont
It should be possible for a percentage of Senior Housing to be set aside for working poor and the middle class. Presently people are transferring assets to their children to qualify for a place in senior housing. If the rules are not changed, I fear the Democrats will lose the support of the working class base.
FY15 Chapter 90 Local Transportation Aid
Yesterday, the administration released an additional $100 million of Chapter 90 funding to the cities and towns of the Commonwealth. Here are the amounts allocated for Belmont, Boston, and Watertown.
FY15 Chapter 90 Summary – Municipal Roads
FY15 Chapter 90 highway funding totals for Senator Brownsberger’s constituent communities. Although higher levels of Chapter 90 highway funding may be available in the future, the FY15 state budget has the same overall $200 million allocation that has been authorized for the three previous fiscal years.