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Conference committee mulls spending plans; Interim state budget passed by Daniel J. Fitzgibbons, Chronicle staff 
he House and Senate versions of the fiscal 2003 state budget are currently before a six-member conference committee charged with reconciling differences in the two bills. Anticipating that the committee cannot complete its work before the new fiscal year starts on Monday, lawmakers this week approved an interim budget to keep the state operating through July. While the legislative spending plans are similar in many respects, the Senate's version carries a $23.2 billion price tag. The House approved a $22.9 billion budget. The Senate bill includes more funding for education and health care than the House measure. Unlike the House, the Senate did not adopt a spending cap. The conference committee includes Sen. Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford), who chairs the Senate Ways and Means Committee, and his House counterpart, Rep. John Rogers (D-Norwood). Also on the committee are Rep. Nancy Flavin (D-Easthampton) and Rep. John Lepper (R-Attleboro), Sen. Frederick Berry (D-Peabody) and Sen. Michael Knapik (R-Westfield). Funding
for the University system is among the items to be addressed by
the conference committee. In its budget, the House approved $449
million for the University, $11.5 million or 2.5 percent less than
this year's maintenance appropriation of $460.6 million. The Senate
budget, however, essentially level funds the University. The conference committee will also have to weigh funding for the University's endowment incentive program, which provides matching funds for gifts to endow faculty chairs. The House approved $2 million for the initiative, but the Senate did not allocate any funds for the program. Senators did approve an amendment offered by Sen. Stan Rosenberg (D-Amherst) to eliminate the 20 percent cap on refilling vacancies created by the state-sponsored early retirement incentive program. Since the House budget does not include a similar provision, that issue must also be reconciled by the conference committee. The two budgets also contain different amounts for the Education Reference Materials (ERM) reserve, which provides funding to libraries across the University, state college and community college systems. The House approved $2.4 million for the ERM, while the Senate plan calls for $5 million for the reserve. The University usually receives about 60-65 percent of ERM funds. During its budget debate, the Senate also approved a one-time reserve to fund the FY02 salary increases contained in various public employee collective bargaining agreements. The House earlier approved a similar measure. Once the conference committee reaches agreement on a compromise spending package, the panel's report will be sent first to the House and then to the Senate for approval. Both chambers must adopt the measure before it can be sent on to Acting Gov. Jane Swift. Swift will have 10 days to veto line items or suggest changes in the budget. Her actions can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate. Swift has already warned of vetoes, citing declining revenue projections for the coming year. According to Swift administration officials, legislative budget planners are counting on $540 million in revenues that are unlikely to materialize. That claim was bolstered this week as the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation issued a report asserting that the House and Senate FY03 budget plans could be out of balance by as much as $600 million, even with $1.2 billion tax increases approved by lawmakers. Meanwhile, legislators voted Monday to use $300 million from the state's "rainy day fund" to cover part of a shortfall in this year's budget. The action leaves a gap of about $150 million for FY02, which ends June 30. State leaders were scheduled to meet Wednesday to discuss options for covering the remaining shortfall. Swift has proposed using money from the state's tobacco settlement to close most of the gap. |
