The Commonwealth of Massachusetts' FY2013 Budget Process for ACEC/MA Members

July 9, 2012:  On July 8, Gov. Deval Patrick signed a $32.5 billion FY 2013 budget and sent back to the Massachusetts Legislature his  vetoes of specific line items and outside sections along with some amendments to the budget.  
 
Link to Governor Patrick's budget decisions: http://www.mass.gov/anf/budget-taxes-and-procurement/state-budget/fy13-budget-info/governors-fy13-vetoes/

Conference Committee issues conference report; Massachusetts 

Legislature votes on FY2013 Budget

and sends to Governor

Governor Files Interim Budget

for first 10 days of FY2013

June 25, 2012:  This morning, Gov. Deval Patrick filed a $1.25 billion interim budget that would carry government operations through the first 10 days of the new fiscal year, as the legislative conference committee negotiating the fiscal 2013 budget has not yet reached a compromise. The two-page bill would make funding available starting July 1 through July 10, 2012 for necessary services, and for some advance local aid payments to cities, towns or regional school districts with an emergency cash shortfall.  The new fiscal year starts Sunday, July 1.  

June 4, 2012:  The House and Senate have now appointed their negotiators who will work out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the FY2013 budget, determining how the state spends about $32.4 billion over the next 12 months. The House named Reps. Brian Dempsey (D-Haverhill), Stephen Kulik (D-Worthington) and Viriato DeMacedo (R-Plymouth).  On June 4, the Senate appointed Sens. Stephen Brewer (D-Barre), Jennifer Flanagan (D-Leominster) and Michael Knapik (R-Westfield). The six-member conference committee needs to agree on a final budget and settle policy and spending differences between the House and Senate budget bills (S 2275 and H 4101). The new fiscal year begins on July 1, 2012.  

Link to proposed Amendments to

Senate Ways and Means Committee budget   

Link to Senate Ways and Means Committee Budget

May 25, 2012:  Senate Passes FY2013 Budget
After three days of debate, including a rare Friday formal session, the Senate acted on the 694 amendments filed to their version of the FY2013 budget and voted 36-0 to pass it. The $32.4 billion budget includes $74 million in spending added through amendments and a wide range of non-budgetary policy items. The House and Senate will now convene a conference committee to sort out the differences between their two budgets and then send a compromise version to the Governor for his review. The new fiscal year in Massachusetts begins on July 1, 2012.

May 18, 2012:  Amendments were due at 3 PM.  Debate starts on May 23.

May 16, 2012: The Senate Committee on Ways and Means released their version of the FY2013 budget on May 16, 2012..  Amendments to the bill must be filed by Senators by 3:00 PM on May 18. Debate will start on May 23.

Summary of line-items of interest to ACEC/MA (Line Item Analysis by Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications)

 
Line Item Analysis
 
Department of Transportation
·         1595-6368-  $165,191,136 for the MA Transportation Trust Fund which is a decreased of roughly $15 million in funding due to budget restrictions while still supporting operations.
·         1595-6369- This line item funds the MBTA at $160 Million, the same amount allocated in the FY2012 budget.
·         1595-6370- This line item funds the RTA at $15 Million, the same amount allocated in the FY2012 budget.
·         1599-1970- Funds a reserve for the Massachusetts department of transportation for the purpose of defraying costs of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority at $125 Million. This item was funded at $125 million in FY2012
Department of Revenue:
·         1232-0100 - For underground storage tank reimbursements to parties that have remediated spills of petroleum, funded at $13 Million, which is a decrease of roughly $21 million.
·         1232-0200- Funded at $2.1 million for establishing the Underground Storage Tank Petroleum Cleanup Fund Administrative Review Board.
 

Department of Transportation.
1595-6368 For an operating transfer to the Massachusetts Transportation Trust Fund, established under section 4 of chapter 6C of the General Laws ................. $165,191,136
 
1595-6369 For an operating transfer to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority pursuant to clause (1) of subsection (d) of section 2ZZZ of chapter 29 of the General Laws .............................................................. $160,000,000
 
1595-6370 For an operating transfer to the regional transit authorities organized under chapter 161B of the General Laws or predecessor statutes pursuant to clause (2) of subsection (d) of section 2ZZZ of chapter 29 of the General Laws; provided, that the Massachusetts department of transportation shall notify the house and senate committees on ways and means 60 days prior to the implementation of any changes to the methodology of distributing state contract assistance to regional transit authorities ............ $15,000,000
 
1599-1970 For a reserve for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation for the purpose of defraying costs of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, or its successor, incurred in fiscal year 2013 pursuant to section 138 of chapter 27 of the acts of 2009 ............... $125,000,000
 
 
1232-0100 For underground storage tank reimbursements to parties that have remediated spills of petroleum products pursuant to chapter 21J of the General Laws; provided, that in the prioritization of claims, priority for payment of approved claims shall be given to claimants who own or formerly owned not more than 4 dispensing facilities ....... $13,000,000
 
1232-0200 For the Underground Storage Tank Petroleum Cleanup Fund Administrative Review Board established in section 8 of chapter 21J of the General Laws and for the administration of the underground storage tank program associated with the implementation of said chapter 21J; provided, that notwithstanding section 4 of said chapter 21J or any other general or special law to the contrary, appropriations made in this item shall be sufficient to cover the administrative expenses of the underground storage tank program; provided further, that the board shall submit a report to the house and senate committees on ways and means not later than March 15, 2013 on the status of the underground storage tank program including, but not limited to, the number of municipal grants made for the removal and replacement of underground storage tanks, the reimbursements for remediated petroleum spills and the number of backlog claims; and provided further, that the report shall detail the number of tanks that are out of compliance with said chapter 21J....... $2,104,972
 
 
Selected Outside Sections  of Senate Ways and Means budget

Cape Cod Wastewater SmartMap and Cost Model
SECTION 154. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, subject to 2236 appropriation, the Cape Cod Commission, or its designee, shall link existing land use data with 2237 newly developed scientific and financial planning data to create a comprehensive, linked model 2238 for the purpose of identifying environmentally appropriate and affordable wastewater 2239
infrastructure solutions. The model shall identify the appropriate economy of scale for 2240 wastewater infrastructure solutions and shall provide estimates of the costs associated with 2241 implementing various solutions. The model may be used by communities in the commonwealth 2242 to pursue regional wastewater options that satisfy environmental regulatory requirements in the 2243 most efficient and cost effective manner and have the potential to preempt future water quality 2244 litigation. 2245
The comprehensive model shall be accessible to the public through a web mapping 2246 application. The components of the model and the web mapping application shall include, but 2247 not be limited to: (i) Cape-wide build-out scenarios and water usage data; (ii) recommendations 2248 regarding the appropriate use and costs of a range of technologies in specific circumstances for 2249 achieving water quality goals, including natural systems restoration, alternative on-site 2250 technologies and more traditional technologies such as satellite, cluster and centralized treatment 2251 technologies; (iii) scientific data that supports the calculation of nitrogen loads and estimates the 2252 impact of various land use patterns, technologies and other factors on water quality; and (iv) 2253 planning level cost estimates of wastewater infrastructure costs to Cape Cod taxpayers and 2254 potential rate payers to meet water quality goals. The model shall allow the user to vary land use 2255 development patterns, wastewater infrastructure technologies and tax and rate structures to 2256 understand the environmental and financial implications of various decisions related to 2257 wastewater planning. The comprehensive model shall be completed not later than June 30, 2013.
 
Community Preservation Act – Effective Date
SECTION 158. Sections 57 to 71, inclusive, shall apply to all Community Preservation 2290 Fund appropriations approved by a city or town’s legislative body on or after the effective date 2291 of acceptance of sections 3 to 7, inclusive, of chapter 44B of the General Laws in any such city 2292 or town.
Community Preservation Act
SECTION 57. Section 2 of chapter 44B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010 835 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Annual income” the 836 following definition:- 837
“Capital improvement”, reconstruction or alteration of real property that: (1) materially 838 adds to the value of the real property or appreciably prolongs the useful life of the real property; 839 (2) becomes part of the real property or is permanently affixed to the real property so that 840 removal would cause material damage to the property or article itself; and (3) is intended to 841 become a permanent installation or is intended to remain there for an indefinite period of time. 842
Community Preservation Act
SECTION 58. Said section 2 of said chapter 44B, as so appearing, is hereby further 843 amended by striking out, in line 24, the words “or eligible for listing”.844
Community Preservation Act
SECTION 59. Said section 2 of said chapter 44B, as so appearing, is hereby further 845 amended by striking out the definition of “Maintenance” and inserting in place thereof the 846 following definition:- 847
“Maintenance”, incidental repairs which neither materially add to the value of the 848 property nor appreciably prolong the property’s life, but keep the property in a condition of 849 fitness, efficiency or readiness.850
Community Preservation Act
SECTION 60. Said section 2 of said chapter 44B, as so appearing, is hereby further 851 amended by striking out, in line 54, the words “, but not including maintenance”.852
Community Preservation Act
SECTION 61. Said section 2 of said chapter 44B, as so appearing, is hereby further 853 amended by striking out the definition of “Rehabilitation” and inserting in place thereof the 854 following 2 definitions:- 855
“Rehabilitation”, capital improvements, or the making of extraordinary repairs, to historic 856 resources, open spaces, lands for recreational use and community housing for the purpose of 857 making such historic resources, open spaces, lands for recreational use and community housing 858 functional for their intended uses including, but not limited to, improvements to comply with the 859 Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal, state or local building or access codes; 860 provided, however, that with respect to historic resources, “rehabilitation” shall comply with the 861 Standards for Rehabilitation stated in the United States Secretary of the Interior's Standards for 862 the Treatment of Historic Properties codified in 36 C.F.R. Part 68; and provided further, that 863 with respect to land for recreational use, “rehabilitation” shall include the replacement of 864 playground equipment and other capital improvements to the land or the facilities thereon which 865 make the land or the related facilities more functional for the intended recreational use. 866
“Support of community housing”, shall include, but not be limited to, programs that 867 provide grants, loans, rental assistance, security deposits, interest-rate write downs or other forms 868 of assistance directly to individuals and families who are eligible for community housing or to an 869 entity that owns such housing, for the purpose of making housing affordable. 870
Community Preservation Act
SECTION 62. Section 3 of said chapter 44B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by 871 inserting after subsection (b) the following subsection:- 872
(b½) Notwithstanding chapter 59 or any other general or special law to the contrary, as an 873 alternative to subsection (b), the legislative body may vote to accept sections 3 to 7, inclusive, by 874 approving a surcharge on real property of not less than 1 per cent of the real estate tax levy 875
against real property and making an additional commitment of funds by dedicating revenue not 876 greater than 2 per cent of the real estate tax levy against real property; provided, however, that 877 additional funds so committed shall come from other sources of municipal revenue including, but 878 not limited to, hotel excises pursuant to chapter 64G, linkage fees and inclusionary zoning 879 payments, however authorized, the sale of municipal property pursuant to section 3 of chapter 880 40, parking fines and surcharges pursuant to sections 20, 20A and 20A1/2 of chapter 90, existing 881 dedicated housing, open space and historic preservation funds, however authorized, and gifts 882 received from private sources for community preservation purposes; and provided further, that 883 additional funds so committed shall not include any federal or state funds. The total funds 884 committed to purposes authorized under this chapter by means of this subsection shall not exceed 885 3 per cent of the real estate tax levy against real property, less exemptions, adopted. In the event 886 that the municipality shall no longer dedicate all or part of the additional funds to community 887 preservation, the surcharge of not less than 1 per cent shall remain in effect, but may be reduced 888 pursuant to section 16.889
Community Preservation Act
SECTION 63. Said section 3 of said chapter 44B, as so appearing, is hereby further 890 amended by striking out, in lines 28 to 30, inclusive, the words “or (3) for $100,000 of the value 891 of each taxable parcel of residential real property” and inserting in place thereof the following 892 words:- 893
(3) for $100,000 of the value of each taxable parcel of residential real property; or 894
(4) for $100,000 of the value of each taxable parcel of class three, commercial property, 895 and class four, industrial property as defined in section 2A of said chapter 59.896
Community Preservation Act
SECTION 64. Section 5 of said chapter 44B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by 897 inserting after the word “preservation”, in lines 23 and 24, the following words:- , including the 898 consideration of regional projects for community preservation.899
Community Preservation Act
SECTION 65. Subsection (b) of said section 5 of said chapter 44B, as so appearing, is 900 hereby amended by striking out paragraph (2) and inserting in place thereof the following 901 paragraph:- 902
(2) The community preservation committee shall make recommendations to the 903 legislative body for the acquisition, creation and preservation of open space; for the acquisition, 904 preservation, rehabilitation and restoration of historic resources; for the acquisition, creation, 905 preservation, rehabilitation and restoration of land for recreational use; for the acquisition, 906 creation, preservation and support of community housing; and for the rehabilitation or restoration 907 of open space and community housing that is acquired or created as provided in this section; 908 provided, however, that funds expended pursuant to this chapter may not be used for 909
maintenance. With respect to community housing, the community preservation committee shall 910 recommend, whenever possible, the reuse of existing buildings or construction of new buildings 911 on previously developed sites. With respect to recreational use, the acquisition of artificial turf 912 for athletic fields shall be prohibited. 913
Community Preservation Act
SECTION 66. Said section 5 of said chapter 44B, as so appearing, is further amended by 914 striking out subsection (d) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:- 915
(d) After receiving recommendations from the community preservation committee, the 916 legislative body shall take such action and approve such appropriations from the Community 917 Preservation Fund as set forth in section 7, and such additional non-Community Preservation 918 Fund appropriations as it deems appropriate to carry out the recommendations of the community 919 preservation committee. In the case of a city, the ordinance shall provide for the mechanisms 920 under which the legislative body may approve or veto appropriations made pursuant to this 921 chapter, in accordance with the city charter.922
Community Preservation Act
SECTION 67. Said chapter 44B is hereby amended by striking out section 6, as so 923 appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:- 924
Section 6. In each fiscal year and upon the recommendation of the community 925 preservation committee, the legislative body shall spend, or set aside for later spending, not less 926 than 10 per cent of the annual revenues in the Community Preservation Fund for open space, not 927 less than 10 per cent of the annual revenues for historic resources and not less than 10 per cent of 928 the annual revenues for community housing. In each fiscal year, the legislative body shall make 929 appropriations from the Community Preservation Fund as it deems necessary for the 930 administrative and operating expenses of the community preservation committee and such 931 appropriations shall not exceed 5 per cent of the annual revenues in the Community Preservation 932 Fund. The legislative body may also make appropriations from the Community Preservation 933 Fund as it deems necessary for costs associated with tax billing software and outside vendors 934 necessary to integrate such software for the first year that a city or town implements the this 935 chapter; provided, however, that the total of any administrative and operating expenses of the 936 community preservation committee and the first year implementation expenses shall not exceed 937 5 per cent of the annual revenues in the Community Preservation Fund. 938
Funds that are set aside shall be held in the Community Preservation Fund and spent in 939 that year or later years; provided, however, that funds set aside for a specific purpose shall be 940 spent only for the specific purpose. Any funds set aside may be expended in a city or town. The 941 community preservation funds shall not replace, but shall augment, existing operating funds.942
Community Preservation Act
SECTION 68. The second paragraph of section 7 of said chapter 44B, as so appearing, is 943 hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following 944 sentence:- The following monies shall be deposited in the fund: (i) all funds collected from the 945 real property surcharge or bond proceeds in anticipation of revenue pursuant to sections 4 and 946 11; (ii) additional funds appropriated or dedicated from allowable municipal sources pursuant to 947 subsection (b½) of section 3, if applicable; (iii) all funds received from the commonwealth or 948 any other source for such purposes; and (iv) proceeds from the disposal of real property acquired 949 with funds from the Community Preservation Fund.950
Community Preservation Act
SECTION 69. Said chapter 44B is hereby further amended by striking out section 10, as 951 so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:- 952
Section 10. (a) The commissioner of revenue shall annually on or before November 15 953 disburse monies from the fund established in section 9 to a city or town that has accepted 954 sections 3 to 7, inclusive, and notified the commissioner of its acceptance. The community shall 955 notify the commissioner of the date and terms on which the voters accepted said sections 3 to 7, 956 inclusive. The municipal tax collecting authority shall certify to the commissioner the amount the 957 city or town has raised through June 30 by imposing a surcharge on its real property levy and 958 shall certify the percentage of the surcharge applied. In the event a city or town accepts said 959 sections 3 to 7, inclusive, pursuant to subsection (b½) of section 3 the municipal tax collecting 960 authority shall certify to the commissioner by October 30, the maximum additional funds the city 961 or town intends to transfer to the Massachusetts Community Preservation Trust Fund from 962 allowable municipal sources for the following fiscal year. Once certified, the city or town may 963 choose to transfer less than the certified amount during the following fiscal year. 964
(b) The commissioner shall multiply the amount remaining in the fund after any 965 disbursements for operating and administrative expenses pursuant to subsection (c) of section 9 966 by 80 per cent. This amount distributed in the first round distribution shall be known as the 967 match distribution. The first round total shall be distributed to each city or town accepting said 968 sections 3 to 7, inclusive, in an amount not less than 5 per cent but not greater than 100 per cent 969 of the total amount raised by the additional surcharge on real property by each city or town and, 970 if applicable, the additional funds committed from allowable municipal sources pursuant to 971 subsection (b½) of section 3. The percentage shall be the same for each city and town and shall 972 be determined by the commissioner annually in a manner that distributes the maximum amount 973 available to each participating city or town. 974
(c) The commissioner shall further divide the remaining 20 per cent of the fund in a 975 second round distribution, known as the equity distribution. The commissioner shall determine 976 the equity distribution in several steps. The first step shall be to divide the remaining 20 per cent 977 of the fund by the number of cities and towns that have accepted said sections 3 to 7, inclusive. 978 This dividend shall be known as the base figure for equity distribution. This base figure shall be 979 determined solely for purposes of performing the calculation for equity distribution and shall not 980 be added to the amount received by a participant. 981
(d) Each city and town in the commonwealth shall be assigned a community preservation 982 rank for purposes of the equity distribution. The commissioner shall determine each community's 983 rank by first determining the city or town’s equalized property valuation per capita ranking, 984 ranking cities and towns from highest to lowest valuation. The commissioner shall also 985 determine the population of each city or town and rank each from largest to smallest in 986 population. The commissioner shall add each equalized property valuation rank and population 987 rank, and divide the sum by 2. The dividend shall be the community preservation raw score for 988 that city or town. 989
(e) The commissioner shall then order each city or town by community preservation raw 990 score, from the lowest raw score to the highest raw score. This order shall be the community 991 preservation rank for each city or town. If more than 1 city or town has the same community 992 preservation raw score, the city or town with the higher equalized valuation rank shall receive the 993 higher community preservation rank. 994
(f) After determining the community preservation rank for each city and town, the 995 commissioner shall divide all cities or towns into deciles according to their community 996 preservation ranking, with approximately the same number of cities and towns in each decile, 997 and the cities or towns with the highest community preservation rank shall be placed in the 998 lowest decile category, starting with decile 10. Percentages shall be assigned to each decile as 999 follows: 1000
decile 1 140 per cent of the base figure 1001
decile 2 130 per cent of the base figure 1002
decile 3 120 per cent of the base figure 1003
decile 4 110 per cent of the base figure 1004
decile 5 100 per cent of the base figure 1005
decile 6 90 per cent of the base figure 1006
decile 7 80 per cent of the base figure 1007
decile 8 70 per cent of the base figure 1008
decile 9 60 per cent of the base figure 1009
decile 10 50 per cent of the base figure 1010
After assigning each city and town to a decile according to their community preservation 1011 rank, the commissioner shall multiply the percentage assigned to that decile by the base figure to 1012 determine the second round equity distribution for each participant. 1013
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the total state contribution for 1014 each city and town shall not exceed the actual amount raised by the city or town’s surcharge on 1015 its real property levy and, if applicable, additional funds committed from allowable municipal 1016 sources pursuant to subsection (b1/2) of section 3. 1017
(h) When there are monies remaining in the Massachusetts Community Preservation 1018 Trust Fund after the first and second round distributions and any necessary administrative 1019 expenses have been paid in accordance with section 9, the commissioner may conduct a third 1020 round surplus distribution. Any remaining surplus in the fund may be distributed by dividing the 1021 amount of the surplus by the number of cities and towns that have accepted sections 3 to 7, 1022 inclusive. The resulting dividend shall be the surplus base figure. The commissioner shall then 1023 use the decile categories and percentages as defined in this section to determine a surplus equity 1024 distribution for each participant. 1025
(i) The commissioner shall determine each participant's total state grant by adding the 1026 amount received in the first round distribution with the amounts received in any later round of 1027 distributions, with the exception of a city or town that has already received a grant equal to 100 1028 per cent of the amount the community raised by its surcharge on its real property levy. 1029
(1) Only those cities and towns that adopt the maximum surcharge pursuant to subsection 1030 (b) of section 3 and those cities and towns that adopt the maximum surcharge and additional 1031 funds committed from allowable municipal sources such that the total funds are the equivalent of 1032 3 per cent of the real estate tax levy against real property pursuant to subsection (b½) of said 1033 section 3 shall be eligible to receive additional state monies through the equity and surplus 1034 distributions. 1035
(2) If less than 10 per cent of the cities and towns have accepted sections 3 to 7, inclusive, 1036 and imposed and collected a surcharge on their real property levy, the commissioner may 1037 calculate the state grant with only 1 round of distributions or in any other equitable manner. 1038
(j) After distributing the Massachusetts Community Preservation Trust Fund in 1039 accordance with this section, the commissioner shall keep any remaining funds in the trust for 1040 distribution in the following year.1041
Community Preservation Act
SECTION 70. Section 12 of said chapter 44B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by 1042 striking out subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:- 1043
(a) A real property interest that is acquired with monies from the Community 1044 Preservation Fund shall be bound by a permanent restriction, recorded as a separate instrument, 1045 that meets the requirements of sections 31 to 33, inclusive, of chapter 184 limiting the use of the 1046 interest to the purpose for which it was acquired. The permanent restriction shall run with the 1047 land and shall be enforceable by the city or town or the commonwealth. The permanent 1048 restriction may also run to the benefit of a nonprofit organization, charitable corporation or 1049 foundation selected by the city or town with the right to enforce the restriction. The legislative 1050
body may appropriate monies from the Community Preservation Fund to pay a nonprofit 1051 organization created pursuant to chapter 180 to hold, monitor and enforce the deed restriction on 1052 the property.1053
Community Preservation Act
SECTION 71. Section 16 of said chapter 44B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by 1054 inserting after the word “chapter”, in line 5, the following words:- , including reducing the 1055 surcharge to 1 per cent and committing additional municipal funds pursuant to subsection (b ½) 1056 of section 3.1057
Community College Reform
SECTION 72. Section 4 of chapter 74 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby 1058 amended by adding the following 2 sentences:- Pursuant to section 21 of chapter 15A, 1 1059 member of the board shall be designated by the district trustees to serve as a nonvoting member 1060 of the board of trustees for any community college that shares the same geographic region as the 1061 independent vocational-technical school.
  

Link to final House budget, as amended.

Link to proposed House Budget amendments 

April 26, 2012: The House approved a $32.4 billion budget for fiscal 2013 that included record levels of local aid for education and general government and reforms to the state's welfare system.

April 13, 2012:   The deadline for filing amendments to the House Ways and Means Committee budget proposal was 5 PM on April 13.  Debate will begin on April 23, 2012.

Link to House Ways and Means Committee Budget

April 11, 2012:  The House Ways and Means Committee today unveiled its $32.3 billion spending proposal for fiscal year 2013.  Amendments are due by 5 pm on April 13.  Budget debate is scheduled to begin in the House on April 23, 2012.

Line Item Analysis by Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications:
Line Item: 1595-6368:
This line item funds MassDOT and its operating divisions. The House budget recommendation matched the Governor’s budget of $165,191,136 for the MA Transportation Trust Fund which is a decreased of roughly $15 million in funding due to budget restrictions while still supporting operations.

Link to House 1, the Governor's FY2013 Budget Proposal:

January 25, 2012:  Governor Patrick Announces $32.3 Billion Budget Proposal for FY2013

Governor Deval Patrick's fiscal 2013 budget proposal was released today.  This bill is known as House 2.   

The Governor’s FY13 budget recommendation proposes state spending of $32.3 billion, or a 2.98 percent increase from the current year estimated spending levels.  This year-on-year spending growth of $935.9 million is significantly less than originally projected because of significant program reductions, positions eliminations and reforms.  

A number of efforts are being made to control the largest cost drivers in the state budget, particularly health care costs. Even with these cost-saving measures, many areas of state government will see flat or reduced funding levels and, in the aggregate, total funding for state government outside of health care, safety net and certain legally-obligated fixed costs will be reduced from FY12 levels.