Baker Budget Fix Ahead, Introspection Ahead

Baker team likely to look inward for cost savings and program efficiencies

BAKER: BUDGET FIX PLAN EXPECTED NEXT WEEK

Gov. Charlie Baker expects to have a "hard estimate" of the midyear state budget gap next week and a plan to close it, he said Thursday.

Baker's predecessor, Gov. Deval Patrick, in early November identified a $329 million deficit, imposing unilateral spending cuts to cover most of that gap, while Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation President Michael Widmer estimated a gap closer to a billion dollars.

"I would expect that by the time we're talking about this next week, we'll have sort of a hard estimate of our own and a set of plans with respect to what to do about it," Baker said during

the "Ask the Governor" segment on WGBH. "I do think it's at least $500 million."

He added: "I'm not open to raising taxes to deal with a budget deficit that was started by a budget that began, you know, less than 12 months ago. I mean, c'mon people. Folks built a budget, they signed off on it in June, we should be able to figure this out."

After he was sworn in last week, Baker instituted a state government hiring freeze, while his budget chief Kristen Lepore said the state was "bleeding" money.
- Gintautas Dumcius/SHNS

ADDP Legislative Luncheon

January 27, 2015

11:30 am to 1 pm

Massachusetts State House

Great Hall of Flags

Hall of Flags

Honoring All

Massachusetts

House and Senate Members

and

Special Guest

2015 ADDP Legislator

of the Year

Rep. Jay Kaufman

New Governor Has More Time to Submit FY16 Budget

Though new Governor Charlie Baker is expected to soon announce his fix on the current FY 2015 budget hole he inherited from his predecessor, his next major hurdle will be to roll out his own FY 2016 Budget by early March 2015.

Budget, agency and advocacy leaders are likely to find themselves and their programs exposed to whole different level of review, dissection and analysis under the new leadership brought in by Governor Baker.

Baker's prior experience as Secretary of Administration and Finance, and Health and Human Services means that the executive office knows more about the details and history of programs than the professional staff carrying them in for review. Usually programs like disability agencies and advocacy organizations like ADDP see themselves as carrying the historical and institutional knowledge about their programs, hoping to convince the new team about the worthiness of each program and "why we do things the way we do things."

In the case of Baker and his EOHHS team, led

by Secretary Marylou Sudders, advocates will be working with leaders appointed by Baker who know more about why things work (or why they don't work) and will likely be challenged to think more deeply about "why we do things the way we do things".

Thus the advocacy community and advocates of current programs will be asked to answer questions like:

Are you delivering the outcomes for which you are paid?
Is there a more efficient and cost effective way to achieve the needed outcomes?
Are others duplicating your service at less or more cost?
At the state level, do we have the right infrastructure in place?
What improvements have been made to program operations over the last 10 or more years?

As the FY 2016 Budget begins to take form, likely these questions and concerns may be a growing focus of discussions.

Caregiver Wage, Overtime Protections Struck Down

A federal judge has put a stop to a new rule requiring that in-home care workers assisting people with disabilities be paid minimum wage and overtime.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said this week that the U.S. Department of Labor overstepped its authority when it moved to mandate pay protections for caregivers.

Under a law dating to back to the 1970s, in-home care workers have been classified much like baby sitters and exempt from many wage protections. The Obama administration sought to change that, instituting regulations - which were set to take effect this month - mandating that the nation's 2 million home care workers receive at least the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour and qualify for time-and-a-half for working more than 40 hours per week.

Trade groups representing agencies that employ many in-home care workers challenged the new requirements and in two rulings - one in late December and a second this week - Leon put a halt to the Labor Department regulations.

"While the Department of Labor's concern about the wages of home care providers is understandable, Congress is the appropriate forum in which to debate and weigh the competing financial interests in this very complex issue affecting many families," Leon wrote in his latest opinion.

Following the ruling, the Labor Department said it stands by the regulations and is considering all of its legal options. (which could include an appeal)