Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: House hopes for the best, budgets for the worst

Thursday, April 11, 2024

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: House hopes for the best, budgets for the worst

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DOLLARS AND SENSE — House Democratic leaders put forward on Wednesday a $57.9 billion budget plan that they said could weather the fiscal storm clouding the state.

But their bullet points and bottom line make clear that from the House vantage point, the state’s financial forecast remains gloomy.

The House’s proposal is $150 million below the $58.1 billion spending plan that Gov. Maura Healey submitted in January — the first time the lower chamber has released an annual budget less than the governor’s since 2019 (h/t MTF’s Doug Howgate). While Healey proposed a 3.7 percent spending increase over fiscal year 2024, the House pitched a smaller 3.3 percent bump.

House leaders are taking some of the same money-saving measures Healey proposed (closing MCI-Concord) and some of the new revenue sources she suggested (online lottery sales, diverting excess capital gains back into the budget) and pairing them with cuts to her spending plan — halving what she proposed for snow and ice removal and trimming her increase in unrestricted local aid.

And while House Speaker Ron Mariano and Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz said they haven’t spoken specifically about setting limits on earmarks when the budget hits the floor in two weeks, it seems they’ll be trying to keep things tight.

“We both agree that we will be looking at earmarks with how it fits in with the priorities that we've established in this budget,” Mariano told reporters at a budget briefing Wednesday at the State House. "We need to be consistent in our message on spending, and we intend to be.”

House Speaker Ron Mariano (left) and Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz unveil their "competitive" $57.9 billion budget proposal. | Lisa Kashinsky/POLITICO

Still, House leaders trying to balance fiscal prudence with their own spending priorities are also adding to the budget in key areas. Beyond boosting transportation spending, the House proposed $190 million for universal free school meals versus the $170 million that the governor budgeted. Democratic leaders also omitted Healey's proposed cuts to MassHealth’s Personal Care Attendant program amid pushback.

And they’re throwing more money at the state’s emergency shelter system than Healey — $500 million versus $325 million — though still hardly enough to cover costs that are expected to soar over $900 million next fiscal year. Mariano indicated that’s by design to let lawmakers “maintain as much control over this process as we can" because "we’re never quite sure what the numbers are going to be.”

But lawmakers might not have as much control as they want over what comes next — particularly if tax collections don’t continue their turnaround in the critical month of April. The House won’t pick up its budget — and the bevy of amendments that representatives are sure to file to it — until after the mid-month revenue report that could shape the spending debate. And Mariano said he wants to see at least three months of tax collections coming in above benchmarks before he’s ready to declare the state’s fiscal “winter” over.

“Until you get three months of positive numbers , you've not changed much at all,” Mariano said. “So, we still have a ways to go before we know if we’re out of the winter and into the spring.”

All of that could weigh on the Senate budget that’s due in May. Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues told Playbook on Wednesday that, given the current fiscal climate, he also doesn’t envision putting forward a budget plan that’s higher than Healey’s.

“We have the money” to keep investing in key areas like K-12 and early education, Rodrigues said. “But we’re going to be careful."

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. We've got more budget breakdowns below, and dive deeper into the differences with The Boston Globe and GBH News .

TODAY — Healey visits Boston Metal at 10:10 a.m. and joins former Govs. Deval Patrick and Bill Weld for a fireside chat with former Gov. Michael Dukakis at 4 p.m. at Northeastern. Healey also speaks at a Catholic School Foundation scholarship fund gala at 7:30 p.m. at the Boston Marriott Copley Place. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll speaks at state Sen. Liz Miranda ’s Eid al-Fitr celebration at 11 a.m. at the State House. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at a Boston Municipal Research Bureau meeting at 1 p.m. in the Seaport.

Tips? Scoops? Budget reactions? Email us: lkashinsky@politico.com and kgarrity@politico.com .

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DATELINE BEACON HILL

CONFERENCE CONSEQUENCES — The House’s plan to fund the emergency shelter system by combining $325 million in general funds with $175 million from a transitional escrow account could throw a wrinkle into ongoing negotiations over a different spending bill — the supplemental budget that would float the program through at least the end of June.

The Senate’s version of the supp would let Gov. Maura Healey empty more than $800 million stashed in the savings account to keep the shelter system running through the next fiscal year. But the House pitched giving Healey control over just $245 million from the account through June, and is now proposing the additional $175 million as part of its fiscal year 2025 budget.

Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues shrugged off Playbook’s questions about whether the House’s move could delay a deal that's already up against the clock with shelter funding due to run out later this month.

“We expect it to get done as quickly as possible,” he said. “We’re good at working under deadlines.”

That last part is questionable. As the Boston Herald points out , the Healey administration has already identified other pools of money to draw from if lawmakers don’t reach a deal in time.

House Speaker Ron Mariano | Lisa Kashinsky/POLITICO

WAITING ON WASHINGTON — House Speaker Ron Mariano is holding out some hope for federal immigration aid after all.

Weeks after declaring “we are on our own” in dealing with the migrant and shelter crisis, the Quincy Democrat and self-described “eternal optimist” suggested on Wednesday that might not be the case depending on the outcome of this November’s election.

“Hopefully common sense returns to Washington and we either get a policy that works or we get some financial help," Mariano told reporters. More from CommonWealth Beacon.

SURTAX SPLIT — The House is proposing a more even split than Healey when it comes to the $1.3 billion in "millionaires tax" revenue being budgeted for fiscal year 2025. Healey proposed $750 million for education initiatives and $550 million for transportation. The House would put $695 million toward education and $605 million toward transportation.

HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES — If you heard cheers and applause coming from the room where House Democrats huddled Wednesday to talk about their budget, it was for Mariano (jokingly) announcing plans to coach the newly proposed MBTA Academy ’s basketball team. The hypothetical squad would be composed mainly of “a lot of 5’5 drivers,” Mariano said.

Access New York bill updates and Congressional activity in areas that matter to you, and use our exclusive insights to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more .

FROM THE HUB

IN OTHER BUDGET NEWS — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu filed a $4.6 billion budget with the City Council on Wednesday, an 8 percent increase in spending over this fiscal year. A big chunk of that increase, Wu said at the city’s budget breakfast, comes from a recently approved plan to pull the Boston Planning and Development Agency (and its budget) under city control. Aside from that, “growth this year in the budget is very similar to almost exactly the same as from last year,” Wu said.

Wu also had a clear message for the fiscal doomsdayers who have been warning of a bleak picture for the city’s finances in coming years as the commercial real estate market continues to deal with the impact from the pandemic.

“To point to some false information that the city might be experiencing a billion-dollar shortfall, that is just simply not true,” Wu told the room of councilors and policymakers. “The city is in a very strong position. ... To suggest that we need to take drastic action or impose a hiring freeze or put some major changes on the table is simply irresponsible.”

Wu is still awaiting the city council’s approval on a home-rule petition that would let the city raise taxes on commercial real estate to prevent a spike in residential tax bills. There’s no word yet on which legislator might carry the proposal on Beacon Hill, but Wu’s team has been in touch with state legislators as the petition winds its way through the process — starting with a City Council hearing next Tuesday.

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BALLOT BATTLES

— “Audit-the-Legislature ballot effort sees slim majority support,” by Katie Lannan and Gintautas Dumcius, GBH/CommonWealth Beacon: “A slight majority [53 percent] of Massachusetts residents support a potential ballot question that would grant state Auditor Diana DiZoglio the power to probe the inner workings of her former colleagues in the Massachusetts Legislature, according to a CommonWealth Beacon/GBH News poll.”

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

‘TRAIN MAN’ — The House’s proposed funding boost for the MBTA is a vote of confidence in its new leader, General Manager Phil Eng .

“The last couple of folks that have run the T came out of the philosophical think tanks," Mariano, the House speaker, told reporters during his budget unveiling.

Now "we have a train man,” Mariano said. “A man who can walk the tracks and not electrocute himself. It's a gentleman that we feel is going to make an impact, and we're excited to work with him as he makes changes."

— “Connecting North Adams and Boston by train is years and hundreds of millions of dollars away. Here's what the planning study outlines…” by Sten Spinella, The Berkshire Eagle: “The plan laid out six possibilities for the route, with the different paths falling on either end, or in-between, a price range of just under $900 million to $2.9 billion.”

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FROM THE 413

— “‘I joined the Russian army,’ former Holyoke city councilor tells lawyer in call from Russia,” by Shelley Murphy, The Boston Globe: “In January, a day before former Holyoke city councilor Wilmer Puello-Mota was expected to plead guilty to child pornography and other charges in Rhode Island, his lawyer called to remind him to arrive at the courthouse on time and said he was startled to learn Puello-Mota was in Russia. At a square. Eating sushi. ‘He said, “I joined the Russian army,” or something like that,’ Rhode Island attorney John M. Cicilline said during a telephone interview. ‘I thought he was joking.’”

— “Northampton High students walk out of school, camp in mayor’s office over proposed cuts to theater department,” by Alexander MacDougall, Daily Hampshire Gazette.

— “‘Glass ceiling just came down’: Springfield officially swears in Lawrence Akers as the city’s 1st Black police superintendent,” by Jeanette DeForge, Springfield Republican.

WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD BE READING

— “State Police left decades’ worth of confidential case files at old Fernald school in Waltham,” by Elizabeth Koh and John Hilliard, The Boston Globe.

— “Attleboro mayor's proposed diversity committee hits a snag,” by George W. Rhodes, The Sun Chronicle.

— “How the EPA’s new limits on ‘forever chemicals’ will affect Mass.,” by Greta Jochem, Springfield Republican: “The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday a new rule limiting “forever chemicals” in drinking water across the country. … ‘Massachusetts has been a national leader in addressing PFAS contamination ... and will update our standards to align with the new federal level,’ [DEP spokesperson Ed Coletta said.]”

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MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

GRANITE STATE OF PLAY — Republican entrepreneur Vikram Mansharamani , who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2022, has entered the race to replace Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster for NH-02, per WMUR .

TRUMP CONNECTION — The Republican state representative and former cop who reportedly threatened to kill his fellow officers and rape his chief’s wife is also former President Donald Trump ’s Sullivan County campaign chair. More from HuffPost .

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

SPOTTED — Gronk flexing while opening a new weight room at Boston’s Mission High.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Ethel Kennedy, former Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson, WEEI’s Meghan Ottolini, Henry Gass, Matt Tannenbaum, Ted Dooley, Kevin Gilnack, Todd Domke, David Wofford and Darlene Murray.

Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com .

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