The top budget writer in the Massachusetts House says lawmakers in that chamber won't be looking at new taxes as they begin to craft a spending plan for the next fiscal year.
House Ways and Means Committee chairman Brian Dempsey said Wednesday that new taxes "are not on the table" for the 2017 fiscal year budget.
The Haverhill Democrat made the comments after a Statehouse hearing on revenue projections for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
The House, Senate and Gov. Charlie Baker's administration will agree on a single estimate as they begin to draw up their versions of the budget.
Dempsey said projection seem to be modest — hovering around 4 percent growth — which he says is less than what the state has seen in recent years.
Before state government can fund the MBTA, child welfare, drug treatment, and a staggering numbering of health care programs, it has to figure just how much it has available to spend.
Senate Ways and Means chair Karen Spilka calls the budget a balancing act between investing in the common good and keeping dollars in taxpayers pockets.
"We must remember that every dollar in the state budget reflects an impact, a very strong impact in the lives of our families, children, neighbors and our communities."
The outlook for 2016 is tight as a modest decrease in the state income tax pinches revenue and the state reaches its ceiling for debt.
Bottom line: the belt will tighten.
Gov. Charlie Baker is set to deliver his spending recommendations next month.
