By Edward Mason
Staff writer
July 09, 2008 12:13 am BOSTON — Gov. Deval Patrick said he will be sensitive to the political needs of lawmakers when deciding whether to veto their pet projects in the $28.3 billion budget the Legislature sent him. Lawmakers larded up the fiscal year 2009 budget they sent him last Friday with hundreds of earmarks. While Patrick has railed against this practice in the past, he told The Eagle-Tribune yesterday that he will consider the political implications of rejecting those earmarks. "This is politics," Patrick said in interview with The Eagle-Tribune yesterday. "It's an election year as well." Having to act by Sunday, the governor declined to discuss what specific actions he'll take to lower spending. Among the earmarks Patrick will consider is the $2.4 million appropriation for Haverhill to offset the crippling Hale Hospital debt. In his budget plan, Patrick proposed sending Haverhill just $1 million. While not tipping his hand, Patrick said the Haverhill problem needs more than what is in the budget. "We need a permanent solution and not just what we're doing now, which is plugging a hole," Patrick said. Concerns about spending come as budget watchdogs said the $28.3 billion budget the Legislature passed is woefully out of balance. Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, conservatively estimated the budget — which relies heavily on new taxes and reserves — is still $950 million out of whack. If the economy continues to sag and new corporate taxes enacted last week fail to take in the $291 million expected, the shortfall would be worse. "He's got to make some difficult decisions," Widmer said. "Is he going to sign a budget with a bottom line that puts the commonwealth at risk?" Patrick said he's keenly aware of the economic storm clouds threatening the state's fiscal well-being. "I'm taking a very hard look at this budget in light of evolving economic factors and projections," Patrick said. The budget sent to the governor was greater than earlier versions passed by both the House and Senate. That did not escape the governor's notice. He said sometimes people have trouble saying "no," and that's his job. "The buck stops with me," Patrick said. Patrick said he had "candid" conversations with House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi and Senate President Therese Murray on Monday. And a team led by Administration and Finance Secretary Leslie Kirwan is going over the 266-page state budget plan for what to veto outright or cut. "I'm looking at all these options," Patrick said. For Patrick, who ran against the Beacon Hill establishment, the concession to budget politics comes at the end of a two-year legislative session often seen as shaky. Nowhere was that more plain than in the lopsided defeat of the governor's casino gambling proposal, said John Berg, a political scientist at Suffolk University. "He underestimated the power of Speaker DiMasi," Berg said. "People who should have been allies weren't." Patrick, who in August will host a picnic for lawmakers at his Berkshires estate, said those perceived gaps have been overblown. The Legislature has passed major investments in life sciences, transportation, and higher education, all originating with his office. Yesterday, it approved his plan to reduce child abuse. "I think we're in a very nice groove right now," Patrick said. While blamed for not lowering property taxes, one of his major initiatives, Patrick put that squarely on the Legislature. He criticized lawmakers for not passing his plan to let cities and towns raise hotel and meals taxes. The proposal was part of his Municipal Partnership Act, one of his earliest pieces of legislation, aimed at giving municipalities new revenues to supplant the property tax. "We've been putting ideas on the table," Patrick said, "and they're not getting anywhere."
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