Lawmakers in Washington are scrambling to pass the remaining appropriations and avoid future funding gaps before they depart later in the week, with Congress still sorting out how to fund the federal government, which is running with hundreds of billions of dollars in annual deficits, including a roughly $1.8 trillion federal shortfall last fiscal year. This week in Boston, Massachusetts, legislators are kicking off their own state budget process for the coming year. State House News Service reporter Sam Drysdale explains what are we expecting to take center stage as that unfolds.
Sam Drysdale, SHNS: I think one of the main things we're going to be watching out for is lawmakers talking about softening revenues, as projected growth for general tax collections are still increasing, but at a slower rate than they had been increasing a few years past. There had been 4 to 6% annual spending growth pressures in recent years. Last year, they tried to keep spending at around 3% at the consensus revenue hearing. They ended up exceeding that, but I think we can imagine them setting that consensus revenue number at around the same amount this year as revenues have slowed, especially those general tax collections.
The surtax, which is the 4% tax that voters approved, that’s the so-called ‘millionaire's tax’ that continues to boom and be a big source of revenue for lawmakers. But they tend to separate that money out, as that can only be spent on education and transportation initiatives, while other tax collections are softening a bit. While those tax collections are softening, meanwhile, there's growing spending pressure. Health care is growing exponentially. MassHealth is going to be a top concern. We're seeing a lot of conflicting issues as revenues are slowing and there is a continued high appetite for spending on Beacon Hill. That's the main storyline I think we're expecting to see this week.
Carrie Healy, NEPM: Oh for sure. Since 2019, two key legislative leaders, Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Senator Michael Rodrigues, the chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, have both played central roles in shaping and reconciling the annual state spending plan. What attributes and backgrounds do the North End and South Coast lawmakers bring to this budget table, and how does that help them with complex revenue negotiations?
Yeah. Rep. Aaron Michlewitz he's a North End born and raised Boston guy. He’s represented that diverse urban district in the House since 2009. And he comes at negotiations from that perspective and his approach to negotiations. He always says that he talks to every member of the House. That's the big piece of what he does, and he feels like he's really advocating for his whole chamber when he goes into negotiations. He's had a long tenure of leadership roles across many committees before Ways and Means, and he is considered really detail oriented and methodical in his negotiations.
And then across the hall, Senator Michael Rodrigues, he hails from the south coast and from a business background. So, Rodrigues, has a degree in accounting from UMass Dartmouth, and has run his family business, a flooring company in Westport, for years. He often talks about how his perspective on owning a small business informs the way that he approaches legislating, and he has more than two decades in the legislature, including 14 years in the House. He historically describes himself as the political middle, aiming for consensus and compromise. He doesn't like ideologically driven fights.
These two lawmakers have worked beside one another for years. They were both appointed to be the budget chairman of their respective chambers in 2019, on the same day, actually, on Valentine's Day. They say that they work very well together and they do try to, at least publicly maintain, you know, some ‘bro-ey' camaraderie between one another.
I'm thinking about a draft of a recipe as compared to a baked cake. You know, ingredients or spending, they can be added or swapped or scaled back. That's how the annual state budget in Massachusetts has worked under Rodrigues and Michlewitz, right?
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Supplemental spending, which are the the mid-year appropriations that lawmakers approve throughout the course of the year, added on to the bottom line budget that they approve every summer that is really soared under Michlewitz and Rodrigues’ leadership running the budget committees. That surplus revenue is definitely a key piece of how budgeting is now done on Beacon Hill. It's really not done all in the summer anymore. It's done throughout the year.
Finally, Governor Maura Healey has nominated two seasoned Western Massachusetts court veterans, William Larkin and Scott Rathbun, to serve as clerk magistrates, both bringing years of experience. What can you explain about the roles that Larkin and Rathbun will take on as clerk magistrates, and why do these appointments matter for local Western Massachusetts courts?
Governor Healey's two nominees are stepping into one of the most important behind the scenes jobs in the court system. A clerk magistrate is sort of the court's chief operating officer. They run the clerk's office. They keep cases moving. They manage staff and make sure records and filings and hearings all happen the way they should. But they also have some judicial powers. They review criminal complaints, and they hear things like small claims cases and motor vehicle ticket appeals.
So, for a lot of people who come into the courthouse without a lawyer, the clerk magistrate is the first person who helps them understand what they should do next.
And the governor's council will review them next month?
Yes.
