Acting Gov. Jane Swift, who announced her spending plan for 2003 yesterday, said she would close the $1.6 billion budget gap by cutting programs sponsored by the Department of Public Health and by tapping into the state’s “rainy day” reserve fund.
Swift said eliminating outreach programs like DARE, the state’s Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, was “painful.”
“Fiscal good news certainly is in short supply,” Swift said.
The governor said she recognized many of the choices she made are unpopular cuts, she said they are necessary to meet the tremendous challenges the Commonwealth faces during the current economic downturn.
In order to achieve a total of $500 million in spending reductions, Swift said she would reduce the state workforce by 4,000 employees, eliminate paid interns and continue the hiring freeze on most state positions through the next fiscal year.
Swift said she would draw $750 million from the “rainy day” reserve, a stabilization fund designed to help the state survive a fiscal crisis.
“Like families everywhere, the Commonwealth is spending no more money than it can afford,” she said. “Facing the bottom line demands tough choices.”
Swift’s plan also relies on $275 million in lottery revenue through a restructuring of prize money payouts. Swift, who said she “took a hard look at the purpose of the lottery,” said she concluded adjusting prize disbursement is “judicious and wise.”
Decreasing winnings will provide money for critical services that help meet the responsibilities of struggling families and those that protect abused and neglected children, Swift said.
Swift said she hopes to restore confidence in the state government by honoring a voter-supported referendum to hold the line on taxes. Swift said implementing the tax cut will put $230 million back in taxpayers’ pockets.
“Massachusetts is a high cost sate; now is not the time to back off the state’s commitment to voters,” she said.
The budget will decrease state expenditures by $102 million.
But “certain things must be funded,” Swift said of her plan to increase spending on education and healthcare.
“My greatest hope is that the budget process is respectful and responsible,” she said. “Families are paramount, not partisan politics.”
Swift’s proposal includes a $100 million increase in education spending over the current fiscal year.
Swift said she plans to increase funding for technology and special education as well as Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System extra help programs, including $2.5 million for grants to high school seniors who have not passed the exam.
An additional $578 million for Medicaid and the new Prescription Advantage Plan will shield senior citizens from rising prescription drug costs and “provide relief to the needy,” Swift said.
Swift, who said one of her priorities in formulating the budget was public safety, also announced an increase of $16.8 million for state police. She also said she would set aside $23 million for Clean Elections.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
