Patrick says he will restore budget cuts
By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff
Governor-elect Deval Patrick announced today he will restore $383 million in budget cuts made by Governor Mitt Romney, saying that the state can afford the spending and that the cuts would hurt education, social services, and other needed programs.
"Overwhelmingly, these broad-based cuts, especially coming mid-year, have a serious negative impact on thousands of Massachusetts residents who have planned for the relief and relied upon the services these programs provide," Patrick said in a statement.
The money that Patrick plans to restore after taking office next month includes funding for preschool and kindergarten programs, domestic violence hotlines, and elder outreach.
Patrick said that slightly higher-than-expected state revenues in November and December paved the way for his decision. His administration will look for savings in the second half of the state's fiscal year.
Romney originally slashed $425 million on Nov. 10, saying that the cuts were needed to avert a spending crisis caused by the Legislature dipping too deeply into reserve funds.
He restored $41 million of that total on Dec. 1, after November tax collection figures came in. Also, the state's psychiatric hospital executives and mental health advocates had warned that the cuts would have required the hospitals to stop admitting new patients and the state Department of Mental Health to eliminate about 170 staff positions
(what are you thoughts)
posted by Shawn Hartman @ 2:24 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
spen wisely!
While there is a need to protect employees from these type of budget shortfalls and erasures we must keep in mind that now we are in transition. We are moving from an incoherent administration to one that better represents the people by and large. Take the recent addition of 7 AFL-CIO labor leaders during the transition between the Romney-Healey and Patrick-Murray administrations.
See:
http://www.massaflcio.org/node/914
Also, Senator Kennedy became the powerful Chair of the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which is one of the most important government committees for working families. So, for the first time in many years we have not only the desire, but the representatives in place to carry out our agenda.
Happy New Year!!
www.prometheuslabor.com
I think Patrick looks like crap. He needs to try some clear pores.
I think it's par for the course that the budget was so misrepresented by the last administration.
It may take some time, but if Gov Patrick can keep us pulling together, we'll make it in massachusetts, yet.
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