Things to know Massachusetts' state budget delay

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http://www.wcvb.com/news/things-to-know-massachusetts-state-budget-delay/33994214



Legislators insist budget deal is close

Things to know Massachusetts' state budget delay
11:41 AM EDT Jul 04, 2015

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BUSINESS AS USUAL

There is no government shutdown and state operations are continuing as usual thanks to a $5.5 billion stopgap budget signed by Gov. Charlie Baker. The governor wanted a two-week interim budget, but the Legislature gave him one that would cover the entire month of July if necessary, which was seen as a possible sign that talks were progressing slowly. The stopgap budget keeps agencies funded at last year's levels, but the longer it's in place, the longer it will take for new budget initiatives, or targeted spending increases, to take hold.

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DEALMAKERS

It's up to a six-member conference committee - three from the House, three from the Senate - to resolve budget differences between the chambers. The House members are Reps. Brian Dempsey, D-Haverhill; Stephen Kulik, D-Worthington; and Todd Smola, R-Warren. Sens. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland; Sal DiDomenico, D-Everett; and Vinny deMacedo, R-Plymouth, comprise the Senate contingent. But the heavy lifting is almost certainly being done by Dempsey and Spilka, the chairs of their chambers' Ways and Means panels. Legislative rules allow the conference committee to negotiate under a virtual cloak of secrecy, with meetings closed to public view.

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TAX TROUBLES?

The secretive nature of the budget negotiations make it difficult to pinpoint what any sticking points might be, but one possible hang-up could be over a tax amendment that was added during Senate debate. The proposal calls for freezing the state's income tax rate at its present 5.15 percent, while also increasing the earned income tax credit by 50 percent over three years. House leaders - and Baker - are supportive of boosting the EITC, but much less so of freezing the income tax rate, which critics say amounts to a tax hike since under current law the rate would be allowed to gradually fall to 5 percent.

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MBTA REFORMS

The specter of last winter's disastrous public transit failures has loomed over the budget process and both chambers included proposals aimed at strengthening MBTA management. But it now appears more likely that any major reforms will be dealt with in a separate bill later this summer. Disagreements remain among lawmakers over proposed changes in arbitration rights for MBTA unions and whether the T should be exempted from the state's anti-privatization law. Regardless, the agency should be somewhat better off financially as both the House and Senate backed a $65 million hike in state subsidies over the previous fiscal year.