April 5, 2011

It was another busy month working for the people of the 37th Middlesex District. I worked with my colleagues to pass a supplemental budget, met with many constituents, and attended a number of informational seminars.

This month, I joined my colleagues in the House and Senate to pass a supplemental budget for fiscal year 2011. The $325 million spending bill is paid for from increased funding we received from the federal government and higher than expected revenue. After setting aside $100 million for the state's Rainy Day Fund, we allocated, among other items, $50 million to cover unexpected snow and ice removal costs, $180 million for state hospitals and $30 million to pay Trial Court employees. This bill will hopefully cover all of our unanticipated costs for the remainder of the fiscal year as we begin discussing next year's budget in earnest. The same day, we also passed a $200 million bond bill to provide funding for cities and towns to make needed repairs to municipal roads. This will serve as a job creator, give a boost to our recovery and provide a solid foundation on which our local businesses can grow and prosper.

To help us better prepare for the upcoming budget debate I participated in a leadership seminar at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst earlier this month. For two days, I joined my fellow Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen in discussions and briefings with professors from the University. We analyzed the history of the economic recession, discussed various ways to address the current state of the recovery, and looked at budget projections for the coming fiscal years. We also examined how changing demographics will impact future budgets and state services.

I also had the opportunity to attend a New England Fiscal Leaders meeting in Providence, Rhode Island in March. As a member of the Joint Committee on Revenue, I joined the House Chairman and Vice-Chairman, as well as the Vice Chairman of Ways and Means, during a two-day seminar at the Rhode Island State House. I had the opportunity to share information with other state's fiscal leaders about how they are addressing their budget deficits. It was encouraging to learn that Massachusetts has weathered this recession better than most of our surrounding states. I plan on bringing what I learned back to my colleagues to help us craft budgets and legislation that will set Massachusetts further down the road to economic recovery.

Not surprisingly, all of my meetings this month have dealt with budget concerns in one form or another. During my bimonthly meetings with the district's town managers and council on aging directors, potential budget cuts were the primary concern. I heard again and again about the challenges of meeting the needs of our towns, our schools and our people, with fewer resources. It is important to remember the real impact of every budget cut we make. I was reminded of this during the Advocacy Network to End Family Homelessness Forum held in Concord this month. Reducing funding to local budgets or state programs has real life consequences for the residents of the Commonwealth. The House is set to debate our budget during the last week in April and, as always, I appreciate hearing from you.

I would love to hear from you. Please get in touch with me by calling my Boston office at 617.722.2017, joining me on Facebook or following me on Twitter.