Senate budget mirrors House

The Senate plan mirrors the House budget passed last month in making across-the-board cuts to avoid raising taxes and dipping into the state’s rainy day fund. Governor Deval Patrick, by contrast, submitted a budget earlier this year that would remove sales tax exemptions on candy and soda while using some rainy day money, in hope of protecting local aid and school funding from further cuts.

The Senate’s chief budget writer, state Senator Steven Panagiotakos, said lawmakers are concerned that unemployment remains 9.3 percent in the state and that the financial picture will not be improving any time soon. After increasing the sales tax rate from 5 percent to 6.25 percent last year, lawmakers could not ask for more, he said.

“This budget will not rely on any new taxes,’’ said Panagiotakos, the chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, who plans to retire at year’s end. “We have said that, last year, when we did the tax package, that was our one answer when it comes to taxes, trying to get ourselves through the terrible recession.’’

The promise does come with trade-offs. The Senate budget reduces funding at almost every level of state government; 321 of about 650 line items have been cut to make ends meet. The end result could mean layoffs of many state employees and a loss in services for many residents.

The most obvious effect will be felt in classrooms and local services. The Senate budget, like the House’s, would cut local aid and school funding by about $160 million, against the wishes of Patrick, who wanted to maintain this year’s funding level. Mayors around the state have been warning of layoffs, larger class sizes, and shorter hours at town halls.

“While this is not a surprise — municipal leaders have been expecting this — it is clear that this will be very painful,’’ said Geoffrey C. Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association

Panagiotakos said he most regretted cutting $6 million from a separate grant program that helps fund all-day kindergarten in certain districts. The remaining $19.6 million in the program will be targeted at districts most in need, he said.

Patrick’s top budget official, Jay Gonzalez, warned that State Police and the Department of Correction would be underfunded in the Senate plan, just as the Commonwealth needs a new class of 150 State Police cadets to build a depleted force.

In a statement, he called the Senate proposal fiscally responsible and praised it for including reforms. “We are concerned, however, about the reduced level of funding provided for certain programs, including K-12 education and higher education, local aid, and certain public safety services,’’ he added.

The Senate is scheduled to debate the budget next week and then work out differences with the House before submitting it to Patrick.

The Senate proposal did provide some relatively good news to college students. It proposed cutting $51 million in higher education funding, far less than the House version, which would reduce funding by $132 million.

“It’s clearly a lot better,’’ said Richard Freeland, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education.

Freeland said he was concerned that some of the restored money comes from federal stimulus grants, meaning it will not be available in future years. But he remains hopeful that some programs, such as one that allows high school students to enroll in college courses, were restored in the Senate’s spending plan after being removed in the House.

Senators also pointed to a number of budget issues they said would reform the way government works and retain a safety net for the most vulnerable residents. The Senate added $2 million to renovate an estimated 750 public housing units, out of 2,000, that are currently uninhabitable. Restoring some of them will allow the state to rely less on hotels and motels as emergency housing for the state’s homeless population.

The budget would also require the state to test, using a program for children with asthma, a “global payment’’ system for its public health care program, which would pay providers a set amount per patient, rather than reimbursing for individual services. The change in payments has been part of a state and national debate on controlling health care costs.

Though many political leaders call the budget plan painful, they warn that the 2012 budget year could be far worse, with a hole now projected at $3 billion, because the 2011 budget relies on federal stimulus funds and other one-time sources to make ends meet.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,’’ said state Senator Michael R. Knapik, a Westfield Republican who serves on the Ways and Means Committee. “It will be a long, slow slog.’’

Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com.