MassBudget: Brief overview of the Legislature's budget for 2018

MassBudget Information. Participation.  Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center Democracy. Brief Overview of the Legislature's Budget for Fiscal Year 2018    On Friday the Legislature enacted a Fiscal Year 2018 (FY 2018) budget that assumes less revenue will be available than initially projected and accordingly provides less in funding than the budgets approved by both the House and Senate. The state budget is how our government sets funding levels for everything that we pay for through our state government: local services and transportation infrastructure; our schools, colleges, and universities; child care, job training, and other work supports; enforcement of laws that keep our communities safe and our air and water clean; a safety net for when we face hard times; and other basic services that improve the quality of life in our Commonwealth. The Legislature's budget eliminated some modest proposed funding increases (such as the 3 percent increase in higher education funding in the Senate budget) and reduced funding to levels below both the House and Senate proposals in other cases. For instance, disability services receives about $26 million less than the amounts proposed by the House and Senate, although more than FY 2017 funding levels. This budget also relies more on temporary revenue than the original House and Senate budgets. It includes a provision to count as revenue $205 million that the Legislature hopes will be left over in various accounts at the end of FY 2018 (this revenue source is called "reversions" because it is money that would ordinarily revert to the General Fund if not spent on the purposes for which it was appropriated). Recognizing that this budget underfunds a number of accounts, budget writers create a new reserve account that sets aside $104.1 million in contingency funds for several accounts: sheriffs, public defenders, and transportation (the account for paying the cost of removing snow and ice from roads is underfunded). MassBudget's Budget Browser shows the funding levels for each line item and budget category for the budget enacted by the Legislature, along with the proposals by the House and Senate and the Governor. The Budget Browser also provides historic funding levels for each account. MassBudget's Children's Budget provides additional information about each program in the state budget that serves children. After the Governor signs the budget and makes his vetoes, MassBudget will produce a complete Budget Monitor examining each major section of the budget. The bullets below provide a brief summary of significant elements of the budget enacted by the Legislature. Education:  The Legislature's budget provides a modest increase above FY 2017 levels in funding for early education and care, with new funding dedicated to increase the rates paid to providers of care. The budget provides a 2.6 percent increase from FY 2017 in Chapter 70 Local Aid for Education. It provides less funding, however, for building schools than was included in the House and Senate budgets because this funding is set at a portion of sales tax receipts and the Conference Committee adopted a lower projection of such receipts. The Legislature's higher education budget for FY 2018 comes in at $7.5 million, or 0.6 percent, above FY 2017 levels, which is not enough to keep up with inflation. This is $35.1 million, or 2.9 percent, below the Senate's proposed FY 2018 allocation and $5.2 million, or 0.5 percent, below the House's proposed FY 2018 allocation. While the Senate's higher education budget would have made tuition and fee increases less likely, the Conference Budget, which hews more closely to the House proposal, makes these increases more likely. The House had approved $96.6 million in funding for the State Scholarship Program; the Senate $96.9 million. The conference budget comes in below both the House and Senate proposals, at $95.9 million -- 0.2 percent above FY 2017 levels. Housing: The Legislature's budget for the Emergency Assistance (EA) shelter program for low-income, homeless families is $155.9 million, which is level with the House's recommendation and $10.2 million below the amount recommended by the Senate. The Senate allocation for this program was expected to meet projected caseload levels for FY 2018. By adopting the lower level in its final budget, it is likely that the Legislature will need to provide supplemental funding for this program over the course of FY 2018.  The Legislature's budget provides $92.7 million for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) rather than the $100 million that both chambers approved in their respective budgets. Both chambers estimated that this higher funding level would have created 300-400 new vouchers for low-income renters. The Legislature's budget also increased the amount of income that low-wage renters can earn before they lose their vouchers.    Human Services: The Legislature reduced funding below the levels proposed by the House and Senate for many of the line items that help support and stabilize families involved in the state's child welfare system, most notably cutting supports for adoption and foster care services to $568.8 million, over $4 million below the amount proposed by either the House or the Senate. The total for the line items funding caseworker support stayed steady at $240.0 million. This total is $13.6 million, or 6 percent, above FY 2017 funding. There is also language in the budget creating an identification card for caseworkers and protections for caseworkers from being asked to share information such as home addresses or personal telephone numbers while on the job. Total funding for disability services, elder services, and juvenile justice programs is below both the House and Senate proposals, but marginally higher than current FY 2017 levels (between 2 to 4 percent). Disability services, in particular, receive the largest decline from House and Senate proposals, $25.6 million and $26.7 million, respectively, due to various cuts across most services. For transitional assistance programs, funding is level with House and Senate proposals and 5 percent below FY 2017 levels. The reduction is largely because of anticipated caseload declines. Law and Public Safety: The major story in law and public safety is that the Legislature underfunds two significant accounts. This budget provides $44.6 million less in funding for sheriffs than the state expects it will need and $45.9 million less for Private Counsel Compensation (PCC) than will likely be needed. As noted in the introduction, the Legislature has included a reserve account of $104.1 million that could be used to supplement funding for, among other items, the sheriffs and PCC accounts.  Mental Health: The Legislature's budget reduced several line items within the Department of Mental Health below levels proposed by the House or the Senate. For example, adult mental health receives $387.1 million, $1.3 million less than the House or Senate proposals. Child and adolescent services, receive $91.7 million including expanded case management services for young adults, and $3.7 million for the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project (MCPAP). This funding also includes the MCPAP for Moms program to screen for postpartum depression and directs MCPAP to report on care coordination and on recommendations for expanding the reach of the program. MassHealth: The Legislature's FY 2018 MassHealth budget includes $16.20 billion for the MassHealth program, $260.1 million below the Senate, and $311.7 million below the House. Most notably, the Fee-for-Service line items are $241.7 million below the Senate, and $267.6 million below the House. The Legislature states that the program will see $150 million (presumably net of reduced federal reimbursements) in savings under this budget, "...related to caseload, program integrity and other efficiencies." These efforts would likely include maximizing the use of the MassHealth Premium Assistance Program when it is in the financial interest of the state to do so, and also enacting stricter requirements for enrollment and redetermination procedures. Although the Governor had proposed a variety of MassHealth reforms towards the end of the Conference Committee deliberation process, the Legislature did not include them in the budget proposal. These reforms would have involved new federal Medicaid waiver changes, changes to eligibility and benefits, and reforms to the commercial health insurance market. The Legislature included language that creates a new two-tiered Employer Medical Assistance Contribution (EMAC). This budget increases the EMAC by $26 per employee and assesses a $750 fee for each employee receiving publicly-subsidized health care either through MassHealth or through ConnectorCare. This proposal would generate $200 million in revenue. At the same time, the Legislature proposes changing the unemployment insurance schedule, which would allow employers to pay $334 million less than under the current schedule. Transportation: The Legislature reduces funding to the Massachusetts Transportation Trust Fund (MTTF) by $39.7 million compared to the FY 2017 budget. But, for the most part, this will likely not turn out to be a cut. The Legislature appears to be significantly underfunding the account for potential snow and ice removal costs. This reduction is likely to be largely offset by the Legislature's new contingency fund created for underfunded accounts. The Legislature's budget reduces funding for the state's 15 Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) to $80.4 million in FY 2018, which is below the House and Senate recommendations and the $82.0 million the RTAs received in both FY 2017 and FY 2016. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, 15 Court Square, Suite 700, Boston, MA 02108 Sent by nberger@massbudget.org in collaboration with Try it free today link to Senate Fiscal Year 2018 Budget

Senator Spilka Announces Funding for Franklin & Medway in Final FY 2018 Budget

The Massachusetts Senate on Friday to approve a final $40.202B billion budget for Fiscal Year 2018. The budget makes reductions in spending from the originally proposed Senate budget due to revised revenue forecasts, but maintains a strong commitment to Chapter 70 education funding and preserving local aid to cities and towns.

Funding specific to Franklin & Medway includes:

- $25,000 for the Franklin, Medway, and Bellingham Army Corps of Engineers flood plain and wildlife habitat efforts

- $50,000 for the substance abuse coalition in Franklin 

- $5,000 for the Franklin Historical Commission for  equipment to preserve historical artifacts

- $15,000 for the Franklin Downtown Partnership, Inc

- $50,000 shall be expended for the T.H.R.I.V.E. Substance Abuse

Prevention Program

- $25,000 for a community garden at the Medway Community Farm

Chapter 70 Funding includes:

- $28,078,451 for Franklin Chapter 70 - $174,540 (0.6%) increase over FY17 GAA

- $10,368,909 for Medway Chapter 70 - $67,440 (0.7 %) increase over FY17 GAA

Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA) includes:

- $2,468,462 for Franklin Unrestricted General Government Aid - $92,656 (3.9%) increase from FY17 GAA

-$1,218,791 for Medway Unrestricted General Government Aid - $45,749 (3.9%) increase from FY17 GAA

The FY 2018 conference committee report passed the Senate with a vote of 36 to 2.  The budget will now go to Governor Baker for his signature.

link to Senate Fiscal Year 2018 Budget

Senate Passes Final FY 2018 Budget

The Massachusetts Senate voted today to approve a final $40.202B billion budget for Fiscal Year 2018. The budget makes reductions in spending from the originally proposed Senate budget due to revised revenue forecasts, but maintains a strong commitment to Chapter 70 education funding and preserving local aid to cities and towns.

"This budget was negotiated in a tough fiscal environment, as projected revenues fell short for a variety of complex reasons," said Senator Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland), Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.  "We have worked hard to balance fiscal responsibility with our longstanding commitment to the residents of our Commonwealth.  Our fiercest commitment is to our children, and so the final budget contains an overall increase in Chapter 70 education funding.  We also increased local aid to cities and towns, and fought to ensure that the Governor's late-proposed healthcare package was not adopted without the proper public process and transparency."

The FY 2018 budget includes $40.202B in total spending with investments in education, local aid, health care, substance addiction services, developmental services and children and families.  It also deposits $100M into the state's Stabilization Fund.

"This is the harshest state budget since the last recession. It would have been somewhat better had it contained the Senate's modest revenue proposals including those on Airbnb, internet hotel resellers, flavored cigars, film tax, and the CPA," said Senate President Stan Rosenberg (D-Amherst).  "We can take some measure of pride in what we were able to do for local aid, children, and veterans, but too many were left behind."

"Despite difficult fiscal challenges, this year's budget still includes critical investments in many of our most valuable services and programs," said Senator Sal DiDomenico, Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. "I was proud to work with my colleagues on the conference committee to create a comprehensive final budget that protects many of our communities' top priorities, while also remaining financially responsible. I am confident that the budget we have produced will address the needs of our residents and will continue moving our entire Commonwealth forward."

"This budget makes important strides toward recognizing a fiscal reality that demands both reform and spending restraint," said Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester).  "Difficult choices, maintaining priorities like education and local aid, and the absence of a host of new tax initiatives make it a workable document to move forward, yet there is still much to be done in the future."

In response to below benchmark FY2017 revenue, the conference committee took the following steps to close the budget gap:

·      $400M in spending reductions relative to the House and Senate budgets, including a $150M reduction to MassHealth because of efficiencies and enhanced program integrity and $250M in reductions in other areas of the budget

·      $205M in anticipated department efficiencies

·      $83M in additional revenue because the income tax rollback will not be triggered

·      $50M in non tax revenue increase from agencies, departments, trusts or federal resources

The conference committee reviewed and considered the package of proposals submitted by the Baker/Polito Administration regarding the employer assessment and MassHealth benefit and eligibility changes.  The final budget proposes:

·      Including the targeted two-tiered EMAC contribution to generate $200M in revenue

·      Modifying the unemployment insurance schedule that will allow employers to pay approximately $334M less over 2 years than they would have paid under the current schedule

·      Not including any of the new reforms at MassHealth requiring federal waiver changes, other changes to eligibility and benefits, or commercial market reforms

Significant final investments include:

·      $4.74B in Chapter 70 education funding, a $118.9M increase, which amounts to a $30 per pupil increase, 85% effort reduction, and a significant down payment on foundation budget health care rate increases

·      $1.061B for Unrestricted Local Aid to Cities and Towns – a $40M increase

·      $15M for Early Education and Care (EEC) rate reserve

·      $132.5M for the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services to continue to fund beds, treatment centers, life-saving medications and recovery options

·      $61.7M increase to developmental services, particularly in support of the growing Turning 22 population

·      $36M increase in overall DCF funding to continue important initiatives designed to ensure that every family has a healthy, supportive environment

Further recommendations preserved in the conference committee report include:

·      Expansion of the Housing Court, to stabilize housing and keep residents in their homes

·      Creation of a dedicated reserve for CPCS to ensure that these attorneys will be paid regularly for their crucial work moving forward

·      Maintenance of $2M in the budget for the cannabis commission so that the will of voters continues to move forward in a smooth and transparent manner

The FY 2018 conference committee report passed the Senate with a vote of 36 to 2.  The budget will now go to Governor Baker for his signature.

link to Senate Fiscal Year 2018 Budget

In the News: Bissanti arrested on gun charge, MA legislature passes budget

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Town Council member Andrew Bissanti is facing criminal charges after authorities said he fired a handgun in the air to drive away his daughter’s boyfriend who showed up at their home last Sunday. 

Dennis Lamoureaux, 36, of Woonsocket, R.I., told police he was dropping off a bathing suit belonging to his girlfriend, Francesca Bissanti, 30, around 7 p.m. at her 148 Brook St. home when he was confronted by her father, Bissanti, and her uncle, Vincent Lombardi, 48, of East Brookfield. They yelled at him and told him to leave the property, Lamoureaux said. 

Lombardi then hit Lamoureaux in the face with a soda can, according to reports. As Lamoureaux walked back to his Volvo, Bissanti fired a gun into the air, he said. That is when Lamoureaux said he called police. When they questioned Lamoureaux police said they saw a cut and bruise under his right eye. 

Bissanti told police he only fired his Smith and Wesson Bodyguard 380 semi-automatic pistol when Lamoureaux ignored his repeated requests to leave the property."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170707/town-council-member-andrew-bissanti-arrested-on-gun-charge

Town of Franklin photo of Town Councilor Andy Bissanti

"House and Senate leaders agreed to a $40.2 billion budget that avoids tax increases and mostly holds spending flat at state agencies for fiscal 2018, according to two sources close to the negotiations, including one of the legislators involved in the talks. 

The bill, filed Friday at 9:40 a.m., and scheduled for passage Friday afternoon reflects a new forecast of fiscal 2018 tax revenues that is roughly $700 million below the projection the House and Senate used to build their budget bills this spring, according to Sen. Vinny deMacedo, a Plymouth Republican. 

A separate source close the negotiations said the conference committee agreed to $733 million in budget fixes, including about $400 million in direct cuts from the bills the House and Senate approved this spring. Further explanations about the budget fixes and the327-page bill, which includes 153 outside sections and was crafted behind closed doors of the past month, were not available as lawmakers who crafted the spending plan were not available to discuss it."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170707/house-and-senate-leaders-agree-on-budget

Senator Spilka: Joint Statement on Fiscal Year 2018 Budget

"On behalf of our fellow conferee's we would like to announce that the Conference Committee working on the FY2018 Budget, has reached an agreement to resolve all differences between the House and Senate versions. The Conference Report will be filed tomorrow morning and the branches will act on the Conference Report in session tomorrow."

- Representative Brian S. Dempsey (D- Haverhill) Chair, House Committee on Ways and Means
- Senator Karen Spilka (D-Ashland) Chair, Senate Committee on Ways and Means

Senator Spilka: Joint Statement on Fiscal Year 2018 Budget

ICYMI: no state budget yet; Hock Y awards; PanMass Challenge; rail trail improvements

ICYMI from the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Five days into the new fiscal year, Massachusetts has scant and dwindling company on the list of states yet to finalize a 2018 spending plan. 

After Maine and New Jersey reached deals to end their government shutdowns, just six states remain in budgetary limbo: Massachusetts, Oregon, Wisconsin, Illinois, Rhode Island and Connecticut, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. 

The sticking points differ among the six outliers, though little is known about the status of talks on Beacon Hill, where conference committees choose to meet privately and negotiators refuse to discuss their dealings. The six conferees did not have their next meeting scheduled as of Wednesday morning, and it’s not known when they last held a meeting."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170705/still-no-deal-on-pot-law-overdue-budget/1

"The Hockomock Area Y recently recognized several local young adults as the organization’s Youth Leaders of the Year, including Franklin High graduate Hailey DeMello. 

The award recognizes youth members for their commitment and dedication to the community and the positive impact they have. The honors were given at the Y’s annual meeting in May at Lake Pearl in Wrentham."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170704/local-youth-leaders-jeff-nutting-honored-by-hockomock-area-y

"Carolyn Bohmiller, 54, and her husband, Paul Bohmiller, 53, are gearing up for their second ride together in the annual Pan-Mass Challenge, two-day bike-a-thon. 

The couple will ride 192 miles from Sturbridge to Bourne Aug. 5-6. While they train, they are collecting donations for the event, which goes toward cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170704/franklin-couple-takes-on-pan-mass-challenger-together

"The state recently overhauled a section of a rail trail that runs through Franklin and Bellingham, but a local group says more work needs to be done. 

Marc Kaplan, the president of the Franklin & Bellingham Rail Trail Committee, said the Department of Conservation and Recreation has finished a project along the local leg of the Southern New England Trunkline Trail. The improved segment, he said, runs between Bellingham’s Lake Street and Prospect Street in Franklin. 

“The work started about the second week of June, so it’s been a three- to four-week project,” he said. ”(That segment) had been cleared out to a certain extent, but there had been a lot of waling (ruts) left over from motorbike usage. It was passable, but it was just a rough stretch of the trail.”

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170703/bellingham-franklin-rail-trail-segment-improved

parking for the SNETT off Grove St in Franklin

MassBudget: Conference Preview - Differences between House and Senate Budgets for FY 2018

Differences between Senate and House budgets for FY 2018

MassBudget Information. Participation.  Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center Democracy. Conference Preview:  Differences  between House and Senate Budgets for FY 2018 With a Conference Committee of three Representatives and three Senators meeting to meld the proposals of the two branches into a final budget to present to the Governor, we are entering the final stages of the annual budget debate. As MassBudget's new Budget Monitor describes,the House and Senate proposals have a lot in common: both modestly increase funding for K-12 education and both make new investments in early education (although in different ways); both take steps to address the cost increases borne by the state as the result of fewer employees getting health care coverage from their employers; and both increase funding for affordable housing to help reduce homelessness. Both branches also incorporate revenue from the Governor's initiatives to require larger on-line retailers to collect state sales taxes. There are also significant differences that will need to be worked out in conference: the Senate provides more funding for higher education and raises modest amounts of additional revenue by taxing on-line rentals through services such as Airbnb and by changing the way taxes are calculated on hotel rooms booked on-line; the House funding levels are higher than the Senate in several areas including MassHealth and the Municipal Regionalization and Efficiencies Incentive. The Senate also included a proposal that was not in the House budget to begin a process of examining the costs and benefits of tax expenditures. The state loses over a billion dollars a year in revenue as a result of various special business tax breaks that are part of our tax code and not regularly evaluated. In the links below, this Budget Monitor describes all of the major differences between the House and Senate budget proposals in each section of the budget. While the May tax revenue numbers came in a little above projections, overall tax revenue for the year is $439 million below projections with one month to go. The good news is that revenue from income tax withholding has been reasonably strong - and that is a good measure of current economic circumstances. The big drop we saw in April was due mostly to payments with returns when people filed their 2016 taxes. Part of that drop may have been due to taxpayers with significant business and investment income anticipating federal income tax cuts in 2017 and shifting income from 2016 to 2017 (such as by waiting to sell stocks that had increased in value). But while there are some positive signs, tax revenue this year is below projections and there is always the danger that our national economy will weaken. It will be important for the 2018 budget to be as structurally balanced as possible. The budgets enacted by the two branches of the Legislature both rely on over $500 million in temporary solutions. This is considerably more than the amount relied on in the Governor's budget because he had proposed addressing the state costs of fewer employees getting health care coverage from their employers by enacting a permanent assessment on employers who don't meet certain benchmarks for providing coverage. That plan would have raised $300 million in FY 2018 and more in future years. The House and Senate plans would raise only $180 million in FY 2018 and nothing after two years. MassBudget's new Budget Monitor describes the major amendments adopted during the Senate budget debate and examines the differences between the House and Senate proposals. The links below also allow readers to jump quickly to specific sections. Click here to read the full Budget Monitor, "Conference Preview: Differences Between the Senate and House Budgets for FY 2018." Individual sections:  Child Welfare Disability Services Early Education Economic Development Elder Services Environment and Recreation Higher Education Housing Juvenile Justice K-12 Education Law and Public Safety Libraries Local Aid MassHealth and Health Reform Mental Health Other Administrative Other Human Services Pensions Public Health Revenue (tax and non-tax) State Employee Health Insurance Transitional Assistance Transportation Additional Line Item Differences The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, 15 Court Square, Suite 700, Boston, MA 02108 Sent by nberger@massbudget.org in collaboration with Try it free today

MassBudget