Massachusetts Lawmakers Announce Deal On Overdue Budget
BOSTON (AP) — Eighteen days into the state's new fiscal year, House and Senate negotiators reached agreement Wednesday on a $41.9 billion budget, potentially ending an impasse that has left Massachusetts the only U.S. state without a permanent spending plan in place.
The compromise would increase the total size of the budget by more than $600 million over earlier versions of the plan, thanks to higher revenue projections after Massachusetts ended its most recent fiscal year with a more than $1 billion surplus.
The six-member conference committee that labored behind closed doors for weeks to arrive on the compromise dropped from the final agreement Senate-backed immigration language, angering immigrant advocacy groups that had pushed for stronger protections.
The chief House and Senate budget negotiators, Democratic Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez, of Boston, and Democratic Sen. Karen Spilka, of Ashland, said in a joint statement that the budget deal "supports the most vulnerable amongst us, and ensures our economy grows for the benefit of all residents."
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