Monday, March 9, 2015
Governor Baker’s State Budget Plan
Last
week Governor Baker released his version of the FY’16 state fiscal budget,
which offers a glimpse of many of his priorities as governor. Governor Baker’s plan
comes at a difficult time with the Commonwealth facing a $1.8 billion budget
shortfall.
His
budget calls for the doubling of the state’s earned income tax credit to provide
an economic boost to certain low-income individuals (the Senate Republican
Caucus has been advocating for a similar measure for the past few years).
The
Governor’s budget also increases two major accounts; transportation and local
aid, with the MBTA receiving a $64.5 million increase to assist with the many
issues that were exposed during this winter.
Governor
Baker’s budget is a commonsense, straight forward plan that avoids raising any
broad-based taxes. It’s an excellent first step in the legislative process of
passing a state fiscal budget, which must be signed into law prior to July 1st.
In April the House will begin debate of its version of the spending bill, and
in May the Senate will debate its version.
To
review the Governor’s budget proposal, please click here to be directed to the
administration’s FY’16 budget page.
