I would support this law change if it were subject to a vote of the people consistent with the spirit of Proposition 2.5. As written right now, there is no such provision for a local electoral vote and I expect to vote against the change. I will make my final decision after listening to debate on the floor.
Budget
budget and local aid updates, community preservation act, financial outlook, local aid policy, priorities/requests, resources, revenue, taxes
Questions and Answers about the House Budget
The House begins its Fiscal 2011 budget debate next week. While we will seek to amend the budget in many ways, the major outlines of the budget are unlikely to change. Here are some answers to basic questions about the budget.
House Ways and Means Budget Released
The House Ways and Means Committee has released its draft of the FY2011 budget.
Dazzled by the stars
Last week, I voted with a surprisingly small minority to curtail the state’s film tax credit, which was expanded under the leadership of former speaker Sal DiMasi. Mike Widmer, the President of the Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation, has stated that “All the evidence shows that it is a very costly tax credit with minimal economic impact, …
State employee payroll totals
The spreadsheet below compares census data on state payroll as of March 2008 with March 2000, responding to comments on this post. Most areas other than higher education, which is not funded primarily on the state budget, show cuts. The increase in higher education more than accounts for the growth in state employment — without …
FY2011 Budget Priorities
In my annual budget letter, I reinforced concern re local aid and health insurance reform and expressed a preference for a budget without earmarks.