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SENATE'S ANNUAL BUDGET NOTED FOR SIMILARITIES TO HOUSE SPENDING PLAN
By Matt Murphy
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, MAY 14, 2014.... With additional money prioritized for pre-school, housing supports and child welfare, Senate leaders on Wednesday presented a $36.25 billion budget plan for next year that increases total state total spending by almost $1.7 billion from this year.
The Senate budget goes further than the House to chip away at the waiting list for early education programs and also increases spending in the embattled Department of Children and Families by about $25 million to reduce caseloads for social workers and equip the department with new technology to help track and manage families under its watch.
Democratic leaders also earmarked millions of dollars to fight "the scourge of substance abuse" that has emerged in recent months as top priority for lawmakers in the both the House and Senate, with overdose deaths tied to heroin and opiates on the rise and making headlines around the state.
The total spending in the Ways and Means budget is $77 million shy of the final House version and $124 million less than proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick in January. Leaders are proposing to spend just under the level of anticipated revenue growth of 4.9 percent in fiscal 2015.
 Senate Ways and Means Chairman Stephen Brewer, a Barre Democrat, said he was proud that the budget his committee produced, which will be his last as he plans to retire at the end of the year, makes strides toward tackling the opioid addiction crisis.
"Everyone has to be in on this because kids are dying," Brewer said Wednesday morning.
Brewer said mental health services would also see a $27.8 million increase under his proposal that keeps Taunton Hospital open and directs $7.8 million in new funding to the Worcester Recovery Center to open unused wings with a total of 52 new patient beds.
While the budget proposal includes no new taxes or fees, which must originate in the House, Senate leaders are relying on $20 million in anticipated slot parlor revenues and $53 million from casino licensing fees that are in doubt as anti-gambling advocates are fighting in court to let the voters decide in November whether to allow a gaming expansion in Massachusetts.
The budget also relies on $140 million from the rainy day fund, $412 million in spending controls, and a total of $250 million in one-time revenues, which is about $30 million less than the House budget, to balance the books.
"This is the best budget I've worked on in a recovery economy," said Brewer, noting that the total of one-time revenues used in the budget is the lowest it's been in a decade. "It does present a different set of challenges than a hemorrhaging economy."
The budget reflects the agreement reached early with the House to increase local aid for public schools by $100 million and boost unrestricted aid by $25 million over last year, but Brewer said his committee is also recommending full funding for the special education circuit breaker and a $17 million increase to $70 million for regional school transportation.
While the Department of Children and Families would receive an additional $25 million over fiscal 2014 spending levels, Brewer said the funding would help reduce caseloads, but wouldn't guarantee that it was sufficient to meet the goal of a 15-to-1 case ratio per social worker. He also said the Senate was "less prescriptive" than the House in setting limits on types of cases DCF social workers can handle at one time, but set aside $4 million for the Children's Trust Fund to augment family home visits.
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05/14/2014
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