MA House Passes Balanced FY ’13 Budget

The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a balanced FY ’13 budget aimed at increasing government efficiency, cutting costs and preserving essential services across the Commonwealth. The House closed a projected $790 million budget gap through cuts and adjustments to state spending, one-time revenues, and a $400 million withdrawal from the Rainy Day fund.

Important amendments filed by Rep. DiNatale and adopted into the House budget included language addressing certification of the Fitchburg Public Library, a funding increase for One-Stop Career Centers, as well an amendment that returned Shannon Grant funds to $5.5M, essential to youth anti-crime programs.

“This budget makes significant investment in Local Aid to our municipalities, despite the continued pressure on our financial resources.  Our commitment to our partners in municipal government and the people of Massachusetts is a responsibility that must continue to be prioritized”, said Rep. DiNatale.

• This budget fully funds S899M in Unrestricted General Government Aid that municipalities rely on to balance their budgets each fiscal year.
• It includes an additional $65M that was sent out last year in the form of a supplemental budget.
• It guarantees all municipal, vocational and regional school districts an increase over Fiscal Year 2012 Chapter 70 funding for a total increase of $164M.
• It assists school districts in meeting their special education obligations by funding circuit breaker at $221.5M.
• It has appropriated $11.3M in funds to offset the expense of the federal mandate (McKinney-Vento) requiring communities to incur the costs of transporting their homeless student population.
• Furthermore, the House was able to prioritize regional school transportation, funding it at $45.4M.

Related posts:

1. Lieutenant Governor Murray Announces More Than $5.2 Billion In Local Aid For Cities And Towns And Record Investment In Education
2. $169 Million Supplemental Budget Bill Promises to Create Hundreds of Jobs and Provide Local Aid to MA Communities
3. Lt Governor Murray Announces $11 Million Increase in Veterans Services in FY13 Budget
4. MA Governor Patrick Signs House and Senate Redistricting Bills Creating More Minority-Based Districts in the Commonwealth
5. Patrick-Murray Administration Announces Increase In Heating Assistance Benefit For Massachusetts Residents

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Posted by jcashman on Apr 28 2012. Filed under Featured - For home page featured article, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry