STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JAN. 25, 2012…..Gov. Deval Patrick on Wednesday proposed a $32.3 billion annual state budget plan that calls for $730 million in new savings from government-funded health care programs and would eliminate 300 jobs, close a Norfolk prison with 330 inmates, and generate $260 million in new revenues, in part by raising the cigarette tax and taxing candy and soda sales.
Patrick’s fiscal 2013 budget, which will likely undergo extensive revision before it’s returned to him in early summer, would raise state spending by nearly 3 percent from current estimated spending levels and 5.5 percent from the budget Patrick signed last July. The budget would withdraw and spend $400 million from the state’s rainy day fund, leaving it with just over $1 billion…
The proposed budget, however, also includes cuts to transportation where the Governor proposes…
…A $15 million cut to the Department of Transportation, which administration officials say will require the agency to generate additional, unspecified revenues or cut Registry of Motor Vehicles services. The cut comes as the MBTA, which falls under the department, considers plans to increase fares by between 35 and 43 percent this spring, with no momentum behind financing alternatives on Beacon Hill. Secretary of Administration and Finance Jay Gonzalez said transportation officials are eyeing revenue initiatives to make up for the cut. Gonzalez said only that state transportation officials planned to “leverage assets” to raise revenue and that if they are unsuccessful they will look at staffing levels.
– Michael Norton and Kyle Cheney
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
