Weekly round-up: Show me the money bill
Likely the new fiscal year will start without a new budget in place
- See more at: http://www.capecodtoday.com/article/2015/06/21/224872-Weekly-round-Show-me-money-bill#sthash.fphF0FX1.dpuf
Confused about "money bills" and how a budget proposing to spend $38.1 billion might not count as one?
The legal minds at the Supreme Judicial Court attempted to answer that question this week with an opinion that will make the first Dempsey vs. Spilka budget throw-down compelling must-see TV ... if only it were televised, or even remotely public.
As budget talks dragged into the danger zone to get a spending plan in place for July 1, Secretary of State William Galvin guaranteed that Bunker Hill Day would not be lacking for pomp and circumstance, making a show on Wednesday of reburying a more than two-century-old time capsule in the cornerstone of the State House.
And Gov. Charlie Baker drew some unwanted attention to himself that had nothing to do with him gleefully swinging a sledgehammer or roasting S'mores with "double marshmallow" to celebrate Great Outdoors Month.
The justices of the state's highest court issued their advisory opinion settling the spat between the House and Senate over whether the Senate and its leaders were within their constitutional rights to pack that chamber's version of the state budget with tax reforms.
By siding with the Senate in their opinion, the justices effectively set the parameters for conference negotiations between House Ways and Means Chairman Brian Dempsey and his Senate counterpart Sen. Karen Spilka.
The Senate's plan to tax flavored cigars, expand the earned-income tax credit, increase personal tax deductions and freeze the scheduled rollback of the income tax to 5 percent are fair game for inclusion or trade-offs, giving Spilka extra chips in talks with Dempsey and the House.
The justices opined that that the budget was, in fact, a "money bill" due to the House's decision to suspend the implementation of a business tax deduction known as FAS 109, which would positively impact the state's tax collections. House Speaker Robert DeLeo had hoped the court would just make the Senate's tax plan go away, but now the House must figure out how to respond, with a likely veto from Gov. Charlie Baker in their back pocket.
As it appears increasingly likely the new fiscal year will start without a new budget in place, Baker's finance secretary Kristen Lepore said she is preparing to file a two-week interim budget on Monday and Dempsey said the House will deal with it accordingly so as to ensure government remains open.
Baker, who finalized his own $4.1 billion capital budget for fiscal 2016 this week and pumped a few extra dollars into gang violence prevention and school transportation, found trouble outside his comfort zone of spread sheets and planning documents.
The governor, upon entering office, seemed to make an early calculation that wading into matters outside his bailiwick proffered more risk that reward. But he got bitten by his own parochialism this week when a radio host asked him to weigh in on South Carolina flying the stars and bars at the state capitol.
The question, posed by Boston Public Radio's Jim Braude, followed the horrific church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina that killed nine black Bible study participants, including a Palmetto state lawmaker who was the pastor.
The governor initially tried to hide behind a "to each his own" philosophy, suggesting the decision to fly the Confederate flag, despite the history of slavery that many associate with it, was one for South Carolinians to make for themselves.
He quickly recanted after he said he heard from friends wondering what he was thinking, telling The Boston Globe, "I abhor the symbolism and the history of that flag as much as anybody...I think they should take the flag down. The symbolism of this one is important and I should have done a better job of appreciating that."
Turns out that Baker can get away with saying he's "not supporting anybody" and also "supporting everybody" in the crowded GOP field for president, but can't be so dodgy on everything that happens outside the border.
The ninth consecutive months of job gains provided welcome news for the state's economy. The unemployment rate fell to 4.6 percent in May, its lowest level since December 2007.
Some employers may also get a longer reprieve on health insurance premium hikes now that the feds have agreed to give Massachusetts an extra year to come into compliance with a provision of Obamacare that requires a change in the way premiums are calculated.
Baker had requested an "indefinite extension" of the state's waiver, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services say they don't do "indefinite" so the administration settled for an extra year allowing until January 2018 for state-specific rating factors to continue to be used.
Boston 2024 continued to drip its venue plans for an Olympic bid, naming Quincy's Squantum Point Park looking out over Boston Harbor as its preferred plot for beach volleyball and a temporary 20,000 seat stadium. Organizers backed off the idea of converting Boston Common into a sandy volleyball oasis, hoping the residents of Quincy will be more receptive.
Unsurprisingly, the TD Garden would play host to Olympic basketball, as well as gymnastics, if the games ever do come to the hub.
Speaking of games, as Plainridge Park Casino prepares to throw open its doors next week, Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby was exonerated by the Ethics Commission of any wrongdoing in his involvement with the licensing of Wynn Resorts to build a full-fledged casino in Everett.
CO-STORIES OF THE WEEK: The Senate gets its money bill .... and Team Hacks thump the Flacks 14-3 in their second annual softball tilt behind solid defense, the power bat of WBUR's Jack Lepiarz and the dominant pitching of WCVB's Jim Lokay and the Globe's Milton Valencia and David Filipov.
About the Author »
Matt Murphy covers major media, lobbying firms, government agencies, political junkies as well as towns Statewide. He likes to cover politics and campaigns.
CapeCodToday.com welcomes thoughtful comments and the varied opinions of our readers. We are in no way obligated to post or allow comments that our moderators deem inappropriate. We reserve the right to delete comments we perceive as profane, vulgar, threatening, offensive, racially-biased, homophobic, slanderous, hateful or just plain rude. Commenters may not attack or insult other commenters, readers or writers. Commenters who persist in posting inappropriate comments will be banned from commenting on CapeCodToday.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment