Legislature approves budget without dissent

The Legislature has unanimously approved a $26.8 billion budget for the new fiscal year, which began yesterday, and sent the compromise plan to Governor Deval Patrick's desk for his consideration.

The governor will have 10 days to review the document and issue his line-item vetoes. And so far, he's giving no hints about what he may target.

The new budget relies on more than $600 million in reserves and one-time revenues, including millions from the stablization fund, the Health Care Security Trust Fund, and interest earned on both accounts. That is far more than the $237 million in reserves that Patrick had proposed using, but less than the $674 million that the House had originally approved.

The final budget also delivers on a promise to increase state aid to localities by $220 million -- a figure that had been settled on months ago to give cities and towns an idea of what to expect.

The House approved the budget 152-0. The Senate soon followed with a 35-0 vote.