Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker unveiled his first state budget Wednesday, calling for a 3 percent increase in overall spending, but no new taxes.
Baker says there’s a $1.8 billion budget gap. He plans to close it by encouraging some state employees to retire early, and requiring some to pay more for health insurance. Baker also hopes to save by removing people from Medicaid who are not eligible.
“Many people currently carry dual coverage," he said. "They have MassHealth and private insurance, because we haven’t done the workaround redetermination.”
There are some other cuts, including all state money for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, a pet project of former Gov. Deval Patrick.
Baker is proposing more funding for cities and towns, K-12 education and the MBTA. Most items are level-funded, meaning no increase or decrease despite inflation.