A down payment on progress
GOVERNOR Deval Patrick's first budget is signed and delivered, with a modest $41 million in vetoes to match a modest growth in spending. The first Democratic governor in 16 years praised the "really great spirit of collaboration" with the Legislature in crafting the $26.8 billion budget, and the short veto list is a reflection of that co operation. But the echoes of Patrick's ambitious campaign agenda are not so distant that they still can't be heard, and they describe the work with the Legislature that still remains.
The dire predictions that one-party government would lead to a spending spree have not come to pass; indeed, the 2008 budget holds spending growth to 4.4 percent -- smaller than the growth rate of the last three budgets under the former Republican governor, Mitt Romney. Still, it manages to fund a few important initiatives, most notably the new universal healthcare law, which weighs in at $1.8 billion. That includes the subsidized insurance plans for lower-income residents, payments to hospitals, and outreach and cost-control measures associated with the new law.
Other programs Patrick touted as a candidate, however, received what can only be called down payments, including early childhood education, full-day kindergarten, and additional community police. Also, Patrick was not able to deliver on his promise of property tax relief, either through expanding the senior circuit breaker or more direct funding of cities and towns.
The budget depends too heavily on reserves and one-time payments -- some $600 million in drawdowns or deferred payments to the state's rainy day funds. This problem, as well as the unfinished agenda on education and property tax relief, can be addressed by other Patrick proposals still pending in separate legislation: Closing tax loopholes and allowing municipalities more freedom to raise their own revenues through local meals or hotel surcharges. These are reasonable proposals that deserve legislative support.
Beyond sheer dollar figures, Patrick also sent important policy signals in the budget. He vetoed some $20 million in earmarks -- pet projects of legislators that are sometimes worthy but should be able to stand on their own merits. For example, 58 individual earmarks for workforce development grants, totaling $10 million, were vetoed because they went around the competitive process established for the grants.
And Patrick vetoed a federal grant of $712,000 for abstinence-only sex education in the public schools. These programs put young people at risk by denying them information about preventing pregnancy and disease. Massachusetts is right to reject the money --and the ideological strings attached.
So Patrick has survived his first budget workout. But there's still plenty more to do.
