Massachusetts House Speaker Thomas Finneran (D-Boston) outlined his budget goals and discussed housing and fiscal policies in an address to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Thursday at the Boston Hyatt hotel.
“We need to make sure we don’t impose any new taxes [and] that we use our reserves in a strategic, skillful way,” Finneran said in an interview after the speech. While some budget cuts are necessary, he said all essential programs will be adequately funded.
He cited the affordability and availability of housing as one of the state’s most urgent problems.
“When we come down to the local level, we all tend to become resistant to the notion of additional housing in our communities” because it will result in additional traffic and expenses, Finneran said. He added that we need to eliminate “contentiousness” and encourage growth to meet the supply and demand of housing.
Responding to a question about his prediction on the outcome of the pending vote on gay marriage, Finneran said different legislators vote for different purposes, so it is too soon to predict the result.
“The Legislature is ridden by confusion and conflict on this [issue] as is the larger society,” he said.
Finneran also said the Legislature must pass a timely, transparent and balanced budget that must retain level funding for local aid, grow a reserve fund and maintain present capital spending.
“I’m optimistic this year we’ll get a good start on the way, and I hope that in the next two years ahead, we can move forward,” he said.
Finneran’s remarks drew mixed reactions from the audience.
“He’s remarkable and impressive” in his command of the issues, especially the budget, said attorney Edward Donahue.
Donahue called Finneran “about the brightest guy in the commonwealth,” while another businessman said the his remarks were “broad and penetrating.”
Five hundred local business people, most of whom are members of the Chamber of Commerce, paid to attend the breakfast, chamber spokeswoman Erin Murphy said.