In a joint statement, House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi and Senate President Therese Murray said, “The Legislature agrees with the governor on the need to make cuts now across state agencies under his statutory authority and we will cooperate in that effort and in our continuing efforts to find greater savings and efficiencies in state government.”
Substantial budget cuts, consolidating resources and dismantling the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority are among measures Gov. Deval Patrick outlined Thursday after announcing the state will need to make up $233 million due to lower-than-expected revenues in the fiscal year’s first quarter.
All of the details of the expected cuts and layoffs weren’t laid out Thursday, but Patrick said they would collectively result in “hundreds of millions of dollars” and that he would know more in two weeks once the revenue estimates have been recalculated. He also called cutting local aid “a last resort.”
Though revenue is $233 million below its benchmark, $80 million of that will be made up in anticipated one-time payments. Patrick said he will cut the executive office’s budget by 7 percent and will ask other departments to cut back, as well.
“As disruptive as these actions may be, the circumstances demand action,” Patrick said.
Though Patrick said the revenue losses only represent a fraction of the state’s $28 billion budget, he admitted “they signal worse news ahead.” He also acknowledged future legislative initiatives may have to be scaled back or delayed.
As for the Turnpike Authority, Patrick wants to merge it into the rest of the state’s transportation agencies, a move former Gov. Mitt Romney failed to achieve.
The aggressive move would help restructure the Big Dig debt load, but Patrick wasn’t sure exactly how much it would eventually save. He said he hopes to file legislation to dissolve the Turnpike and reform the state and MBTA pension systems in January along with next year’s budget.
