Baker Files Fiscal 2017 Budget Proposal

(Associated Press) - Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has filed a nearly $40 billion state budget that his administration says will target ``unsustainable'' spending growth in Massachusetts government.

The budget submitted to lawmakers on Wednesday calls for an overall 3.5 percent increase in state spending in the fiscal year starting July 1, but most state agencies will receive little or no additional money.

The administration says the state faces a $635 million structural deficit in the budget, caused by spending obligations rising faster than tax revenues.

To erase that gap, Baker is proposing several steps including nearly $300 million in savings through reforms in Medicaid.

The $39.6 billion budget calls for no new taxes and would return more than $200 million to the state's reserve, or rainy-day account.

Meantime, critics are saying Gov. Charlie Baker's proposed state budget is short-sighted.

Democratic Senate President Stan Rosenberg said Wednesday the state is facing a revenue problem, not a spending problem.

Rosenberg says Baker's budget spends all the tax dollars available but still leaves Baker's education goals unfulfilled, in part because tax cuts in past years have siphoned up to $4 billion in revenue.

The Massachusetts Democratic Party faults Baker's ``bare bones vision for Massachusetts.''

The Massachusetts Production Coalition says Baker's proposal to adjust the film tax credit would harm the industry.

Others praised Baker.

The Home for Little Wanderers, one of the nation's oldest child welfare agencies, applauds Baker's plan to fund pay increases for human service providers.

The state's top judges welcomed extra funding to expand the Housing Court.