"House and Senate leaders broke a weeks-long impasse over a more than $1 billion surplus spending bill on Wednesday night, cutting a deal that dropped a controversial corporate tax change that would have financially benefited Massachusetts businesses and set aside $32 million for repairs on the MBTA, which is less than the $50 million sought by Gov. Charlie Baker.
The vote on the compromise budget bill to close the books on the fiscal year that ended back in June capped a tumultuous day during which Comptroller Andrew Maylor backed off a threat to sweep the entire surplus into reserves by mid-afternoon if the Legislature couldn’t resolve its differences.
The total spending in the final version of the budget clocked in at $541 million, which was significantly less than previous iterations of the bill that ranged from $723 million to $853 million. Instead of spending more of the surplus, the budget bill proposed to deposit $587 million into the state’s “rainy day” fund, pushing the balance of the reserve account to $3.45 billion.
House Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz said the compromise reflected a increased level of caution that leaders felt was appropriate after passing a major $1.5 billion, seven-year education funding overhaul and hearing last week from economists about the risk of an economic slowdown in 2020 and beyond."One key item of the bill
"The bill does establish and fund a period of early voting ahead of the March 3 presidential primaries, but it does not create an early voting window as recommended by the Senate before the 2020 state primary, which the bill scheduled for Sept. 1."Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20191212/house-senate-agree-on-541m-surplus-spending-bill
While the article didn't include the legislative reference number this appears to be the bill https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/H4246
