The House of Representatives proposed Wednesday that Massachusetts increase state spending by 3.3 percent, pushing total spending to nearly $40 billion for the year. With inflation running around 1 percent and revenues pegged to grow by 4.3 percent, the state seems to be spending within it's means.
Busy spring days in closed-door negotiations and all-day sessions are the time when the men and women on Beacon Hill earn their money. Putting all of the political rhetoric and posturing aside, deciding how to spend taxpayers's dollars is the single most important duty the legislature executes. Prioritizing the spending of your tax dollars is the reason they're here.
As the figures above suggest, there is not a lot of room for maneuver in shifting priorities and much of state budgeting happens in the margin. But as the clock winds down on the Legislature's July 31 drop-dead date for the year's recess, that makes the horse trading all that more intense. Over the next few weeks, the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees will work to reconcile a number of competing priorities including how to address strained local school budget and a vexing need for opiate treatment.
"The House's commitment to fighting substance abuse and homelessness as well as ensuring that we have the best education system possible are bearing meaningful results," House Ways and Means Chairman Brian Dempsey said at a press conference announcing the bill.
House leaders released their 39.48 million spending bill for the year Wednesday, putting your money where their mouths are when it comes to government services. House speaker Robert DeLeo and his close circle of advisers says the limited spending level keeps the state's economy on track.
The House wants to spend more on schools than Baker proposed by $33.7 million, leading to what could be around $55 more per pupil than last year.
There's $28.3 million more for substance abuse services in the House plan, with another $13 million for 45 new treatment beds at Taunton State Hospital.
"The spending proposal presented to the members today contains good news for cities and towns, as it builds on the local aid increases offered in Governor Baker’s budget, particularly in the area of education," Rep. Brad Jones, the House Republican leader, wrote in a statement.
Health care costs are going up across almost all sectors, including for government. And since the state provides subsidized health care for the poor under the MassHealth program, Massachusetts is spending more and more each year. That includes $275 million more in fiscal year 2017 than it did in fiscal 2016, or about five percent.
Details of the House's budget plan were disclosed to a group of reporters and newspaper editorial page editors selected by the House Ways and Means Committee including the Boston Globe, Boston Herald and State House News Service. Other news outlets that regularly cover the House's actions, including WGBH News, the Associated Press and the Springfield Republican, were excluded from the briefing.
