Hold line on budget
Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez (D-Jamaica Plain) should ponder whether he wants his opening act as the new head of the House Ways and Means Committee to be packing more spending into the budget, despite a murky revenue picture.
Of course, any final decision on whether to override budget vetoes issued in July by Gov. Charlie Baker would be made at the top, by House Speaker Robert DeLeo (in consultation with Senate President Stan Rosenberg, but veto overrides must start in the House). The House budget chief would not be acting on his own.
And we’re confident that Sanchez and his team of experienced budget hands understand that two months’ worth of revenue — months in which tax collections did not meet expectations, although they came close — isn’t enough to justify a spending
Still, Sanchez told State House News Service last week that his team is reviewing the final budget, evaluating current revenue figures and that the House indeed plans to “take some things up.” That would be unwise.
Baker trimmed some $320 million out of the $39.4 billion state budget; after accounting for federal reimbursements, the net cut is just under $200 million. That may not seem like a lot to restore, in context.
But Beacon Hill had to adjust revenue figures downward repeatedly in the last fiscal year, finishing $733 million below what budget-writers had originally planned for. Over the first two months of fiscal 2018 tax collections are trailing benchmarks. Just yesterday Baker’s Department of Transportation had to trim spending slightly, in synch with current budget expectations.
But the Democratic-controlled Legislature seems to take a generally rosy view of revenues — at least, when there are pay raises to approve for themselves or vetoes to be overridden.
Sanchez told the News Service his office has been fielding calls from House members who hope to restore spending for their policy priorities or their local districts. Those calls will never stop. There is no end to the demand for town gazebos financed by state taxpayers. House leadership shouldn’t feed the beast.