Plans for a North Shore Alliance for Economic Development headquartered at Salem State College could be in trouble. An appropriation of $250,000 aimed at getting the regional development group off the ground was among the items in the state budget vetoed by Gov. Deval Patrick earlier this month.
State Rep. Steven Walsh, D-Lynn, a major backer of the initiative, said the governor's vetoes hit this area particularly hard, though he was quick to add he didn't think the slight was intentional. (Cape Cod legislators are complaining about cutbacks in the state Office of Travel and Tourism, which they say could hurt the effort to attract visitors to that region.)
The governor cut $122.5 million from the $28.223 billion in spending approved by legislators for the fiscal year that began July 1, stating that "our present fiscal challenges simply demand increased restraint."
But Walsh insists cutting funds aimed at promoting more economic activity is counterproductive. Also eliminated from the budget were monies aimed at encouraging new development at brownfield sites and creating a biotech incubator in his home city.
Meanwhile, SSC President Patricia Meservey and others are trying to rally support for an override, which Walsh said could come before the House for a vote the last week in July.
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Municipal officials are understandably concerned over Patrick's request that the Legislature grant him more authority to cut spending, including the amount allocated for local aid.
Reducing the amount of money the state gives to cities and towns would be a last resort for any chief executive concerned about his political future. But should voters endorse the initiative on November's ballot calling for the elimination of the state income tax, the very idea of local aid could become a distant memory.
The thought of doing away with the state's most important revenue source seems crazy, but some may view it as the only way of abolishing a culture of entitlement in the public sector in which a Boston firefighter can feel completely comfortable competing in bodybuilding competitions while being out on "disability" leave.
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State Treasurer Tim Cahill is right to be concerned over yet another effort by the governor and legislative leadership to burden future generations with expenses incurred today. Yet the proposal to refinance $800 million in Massachusetts Turnpike Authority debt at lower rates by using the state's credit rating, makes a certain amount of sense.
The alternative is having to assess toll-payers for the cost of paying those obligations earlier; or worse, defaulting on the bonds. The highway system, including the new roads and tunnels through Boston, makes life easier for everyone in Massachusetts, and paying for it should be the responsibility of every taxpayer.
Besides which, were the Turnpike Authority to go belly-up, the state and its taxpayers would have no alternative but to bail it out.
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Smart move by the House of Representatives eliminating the ban on drug-company gifts and meals to physicians from the health-care bill making its way through the Legislature. Legislators aren't qualified to either dictate how pharmaceutical companies conduct their business or advise the medical community on its ethics.
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Funny how all the pressing issues facing the commonwealth these days couldn't deter the Great and General Court from moving swiftly to repeal the 1913 law that had prevented out-of-state gay couples from getting married in Massachusetts. If only it could move that quickly on things like casino gambling or legislation allowing the use of flagmen instead of expensive police details at construction sites.
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Democrat Donald Bumiller, who's seeking to unseat incumbent state Rep. Brad Hill, R-Ipswich, this fall, was recently elected president of the Essex County Bar Association. Bumiller is a Boxford resident with a law practice in Lynn.
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Politicians have become fond of conducting "listening tours," figuring that as long as their constituents are allowed to speak their minds they won't notice the things falling down around them.
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Nelson Benton's political column appears every Friday.
