Boston- With the beginning of the state’s fiscal year on July 1 fast approaching, the House and Senate have approved, and sent to Governor Baker’s desk, an interim budget that will keep state government running if a Fiscal Year 2016 state budget isn’t in place by that date.
The $5.4 billion spending plan now before the Governor would only become operative if no annual budget is made law by July 1st, and would only spend at the same rate as the current Fiscal Year 2015 state budget, or General Appropriations Act, is in place.
“House and Senate budget negotiators should be able to resolve the different versions of the FY 2016 budget in time for the new fiscal year, but if they don’t, the safeguard just passed will ensure the continuity and stability of state government that our Commonwealth deserves,” said Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester).
The House passed the $38.1 billion budget in April
and the Senate followed suit in May with the adoption if its own budget. A conference committee consisting of three
members from the House; Representative Brian
Dempsey, Representative Stephen
Kulik and Representative Todd
Smola, and three from the Senate; Senator Karen Spilka, Senator Sal
DiDomenico and Senator Vinny
deMacedo were appointed to reconcile the two versions at the end of May.
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