House budget zaps Baker tax proposals; seeks boost in education spending

Boston Herald (MA)

April 10-- Apr. 10--The House reported out its version of a $42.69 billion dollar budget today, eliminating many of the taxes Gov. Charlie Baker had in his own proposal and making its own attempt to address the state's underfunded school system.

The House version of the fiscal year 2020 budget does not include an expanded tax to include e-cigarettes, an increase excise tax through property sales or the tax on gross receipts of opioids that Baker proposed in his own budget in January. Speaker Robert DeLeo said he expects those will be "discussed at a later date."

"As is the House's history in the past, I think that you will find this budget to be fiscally responsible," DeLeo said in a media briefing this morning. "You will see various targeted investments in terms of growing our economy as well as making sure that we increase support for our most vulnerable residents of the Commonwealth."

As part of the revenue projections, the House is anticipating $294 million from gaming, which includes revenue from Encore Boston Harbor, whose license is currently being weighed by regulators over the handling of sexual misconduct allegations against former CEO Steve Wynn.

"I think we are looking, watching closely what happens with Encore," said House Ways and Means Committee Chair Aaron Micheliwtz. "It does assume that Encore is going to open up at an approximate time, I think we will just watch that closely and pay attention to that as we go forward."

The House is recommending "historic levels of investment," into Chapter 70 funding, Michlewitz said, proposing $5 billion in spending, $17.7 million more than Baker's budget and $218 million more than the previous fiscal year. An additional $16.5 million would be dedicated to a low income reserve.

"We felt it was appropriate to set aside available funds as a down payment as the legislative process continues to move forward on this important issue," Michlewitz said, referencing a number of bills that are being considered to address the education funding formula. "We are hoping to head back towards a fully funded system within the next two years."

The House is also "hitting the reset button" on how the state handles Charter School reimbursement to "create a more predictable scale," said Michlewitz, adding that the formula has become "substantially unsustainable."

A $2 million dollar SHARE grant program would enhance access to social services and behavioral health services "to support students beyond their academics," DeLeo said.

"I think that what we have learned over the years is the importance of the intertwine, shall we say, between academics and health care services and social services and the like," DeLeo said, "and with the SHARE program, we're doing just that."

MassHealth spending would increase by $345 million from the previous fiscal year and a provision would be added to allow the Executive office of Health and Human Services to negotiate with drug manufacturers, similar to the governor's bill.

"We're hopeful that this is going to be of assistance in our efforts to try to contain costs," DeLeo said.

One of the major differences between the governor's proposal and the House, according to Michlewitz, is that theirs did not include a process to include the Attorney General because they felt the AG already had the tools necessary to look at the drug-pricing issue if she should chose to.

The budget, which recommends approximately $1.8 million less spending than the governor's H1 budget, would add $260 million to the rainy day fund, bringing that account total in excess of over $2.5 billion, according to the Speaker.

The budget also proposes a $30 million dollar funding increase to nursing homes as well as the establishment of a task force to examine how they are run, a provision of $2 million to promote restaurants and $10.1 million investment in homeless student transportation.

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