March 29, 2024

House passes $38.1 billion Fiscal Year 2016 budget

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Boston – Representative Howitt (R-Seekonk) joined with his colleagues in approving a $38.1 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2016 that holds the line on taxes, increases local aid to cities and towns and implements key transportation reforms at the MBTA. The budget passed the House of Representatives today on a vote of 153-1.

The final budget includes a $4.5 billion allocation for Chapter 70 education aid, which represents an increase of $111.2 million, or 2.5 percent, over the current year. Unrestricted general government aid, which helps fund many other essential municipal services, will see an increase of $34 million, bringing the statewide total to $979.8 million, an increase of 3.6 percent over current levels.

According to Representative Howitt, "the Towns of the 4th Bristol District will receive a collective $24,510,958 in Chapter 70 aid under the Fiscal Year 2016 budget plan, along with $5,742,806 in unrestricted general government aid. Also included are projects secured to fund the Children’s Advocacy Center, The Arc of Bristol County, People, Inc., and the Fire Chiefs Association of Bristol County. It is gratifying to be able to generate this support benefitting the constituents of the 4th Bristol District."

The budget calls for significant increases in reimbursements to cities and towns to help offset the costs associated with special education and regional school transportation services. The special education reimbursement, also known as the Circuit Breaker, is funded at $271.7 million, an increase of 7.2 percent, or $18.3 million, over this year, a level that fully funds the state’s share of special education aid for local school districts at 75 percent. Regional school transportation will see a 14.6 percent increase, bringing the statewide total to $59 million, up $7.5 million from the current year.

An additional $80.5 million has been set aside for charter school reimbursements to cities and towns. This represents an increase of $3.6 million, or 4.7 percent, over current reimbursement levels.

For the first time in 8 years, the budget does not rely on a draw down from the state Stabilization Fund for balance. It also includes no new taxes, but does provide for an increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) from 15 percent of the federal award to 23 percent of the federal award, effective January 1, 2016.

The current state EITC award ranges from $74.40 – which is available to qualifying single heads of household with a federal adjusted gross income of $14,590 and married couples filing jointly with an adjusted gross income of $20,020 – to a high of $921.45 for single heads of household with 3 or more children and an adjusted gross income of $46,997, as well as married couples filing jointly with 3 or more children and an adjusted gross income of $52,427. With the increase included in the Fiscal Year 2016 budget, the allowable state credit cap will now range from a low of $114.08 to a high of $1,412.89, based on the same family size and income guidelines.

The Fiscal Year 2016 budget also contains several key transportation reforms that have been endorsed by Governor Charlie Baker and the House Republican Caucus to put the MBTA back on solid financial footing and to ensure proper oversight of the authority’s operations moving forward. In addition to expanding the MassDOT Board of Directors from 7 to 11 members appointed by the Governor, the budget also creates a 5-member Fiscal Management Control Board that will remain in place until June 30, 2018. The budget contains provisions that would allow the Fiscal Management Control Board to continue for an additional two years, if the board and the Governor determine that it would be “in the best interest of the public and necessary to achieve operational stability and to establish performance metrics for the MBTA.”

One of the most significant transportation reforms included in the budget is a three-year moratorium on the Pacheco Law, which will provide the MBTA with more flexibility in determining whether certain operations can be outsourced at a savings to the state’s taxpayers. A new report released this week by the Pioneer Institute estimates that the MBTA has foregone nearly $500 million in savings since the late 1990s due to the restrictions imposed by the anti-privatization law.

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