State House of Representatives approves $135 million in supplement spending

– News covered by Quincy Quarry News with commentary added.

State House of Representatives approves $135 million in supplement spending.

The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed its first significant bill of the young legislative session Wednesday, unanimously endorsing a bill that adds $135 million in mid-year spending at a time when state tax collections continue to trail behind projections to the tune of upwards of close to a half a billion behind expectations at last report.

Close shaves for big spenders
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The bill is intended to funnel money in the current fiscal year to state accounts that either have run out of cash or will soon run dry, began with a proposal Governor Charlie Baker filed late in January but House leaders shaved about $30 million from the bill before bringing it to a vote Wednesday.

“The proposal is fairly limited, reflecting a total cost of $134.9 million with a net cost of $124 million to the commonwealth. This is significantly under the governor’s original proposal that called for $165 million in spending,” House Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz said.

Follow the money
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Put another way, if the overwhelmingly Democratic Party controlled state legislature trimmed the governor’s ask by twenty percent, it is only reasonable to assume that tax receipts are sotto voce expected to continue to fall short of expectations.

Source:  House approves $135 million in new spending

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