The Healey administration's first budget hearing was held last week before the Legislature's Joint Committee on Ways and Means. Things we should take note of included serious concerns raised by Gov. Maura Healey's Finance Secretary Matthew Gorzkowicz over federal funding that supports more than $16 billion of the state's budget.
Reporter Chris Lisinski of the State House News Service explains how the state is preparing for a potential loss of federal funding.
Chris Lisinksi, SHNS: We didn't exactly learn what the contingency plan is, but we heard a whole lot more about how dire the situation could be if those federal dollars start to dry up.
Federal funding is good for something like $16 billion in the state budget. For context, the governor's budget proposal for next year is about $62 billion. So, it is obviously a very, very big chunk of this. And something that really caught a lot of attention in this hearing was Healey's budget chief, Matthew Gorkiewicz, saying outright that if federal funding starts to evaporate, the problem is going to be bigger than the executive branch can handle on its own. It's going to require work with partners in the Legislature, some kind of legislative appropriations response to solve the problem.
Carrie Healy, NEPM: Did you find that phrase that the matter is, “too significant for the executive branch to address alone”…unusual?
I certainly did. I can't really recall an instance when the executive branch has come out and said this. Of course, the Legislature is always involved in the budget setting process. The governor files a bill. The House and Senate create their own version of spending plans. The governor asks the House and Senate for several supplemental spending plans during the year. So, requiring their involvement isn't new, but for the administration to kind of put down a flag at this point, that they alone won't be able to handle any Washington disruption, is certainly eye catching.
Several times during the budget hearing, Governor Healey addressed the potential elimination of the Department of Education. How did she characterize the impact of potential education cuts to the state?
Her response about the Department of Education was fairly similar to what her budget chief said about federal cuts more broadly.
Healey said that we as a state, would not be able to absorb or make up for cuts to the U.S. Department of Education [funding and] said that it's something that Massachusetts really cannot take on fully by itself.
So, let's zoom out, but stay at that hearing. Auditor Diana DiZoglio was among those who testified, and at one point she asked, 'Madam Vice Chair, what are we doing here today?'
So, Chris, first, I know this is not what she was actually asking, but why do lawmakers hold these budget hearings?
I think you're you're right to know that that question was a bit more of a political back and forth with some Democrats who were hinting at frustrations over the 'Audit the Legislature' campaign, but what they are actually trying to do, what these hearings are, is a long process.
Reviewing the budget bill that [Gov.] Healey puts forth before the House and Senate roll out their own counter proposals. Last week's hearing was the first of several [PDF]. It's going to be more than half a dozen (I couldn't tell you about the exact number off the top of my head) each looking at a different part of the roughly $62 billion budget bill.
Remember, the annual state budget is the largest piece of legislation the House and Senate take up every year. There is an absurd amount of work that goes into it, and these hearings give lawmakers and the public a chance to learn more about what is in this proposal, what some of the pressure points are, and what changes lawmakers might make to the budget before it gets back to Healey's desk.
And the budget hearings continue today on the road. What are some of the departments weighing in on this morning?
That's right. Lawmakers will be up in Gloucester after the first budget hearing. They usually tour around the state, convened these hearings in different communities, give a chance for more locals to get involved without trekking to Boston.
Today we've got several more executive offices. We have the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities and the Executive Office of Economic Development, plus some divisions that fall under their purview, like the Department of Business Development.
So, in the broad sense, expect a lot of talk about investments in housing, investments in businesses, investments in job growth.
