Post by Logan on Jan 21, 2016 20:28:58 GMT -6
Fiscal responsibility to highlight Baker’s State of the State
Gov. Charlie Baker — who’s ridden a wave of reforms and fiscal prudence to lofty approval ratings in his debut year — intends to use his first State of the State speech today to call for more belt-tightening on Beacon Hill, where battles already await on state spending.
The theme — one Baker also campaigned on — is part of several he’ll hit on inside the House chamber at 7:30 tonight to mark the unofficial start of his second year in the Corner Office. Among the new initiatives he intends to roll out are several intended to put the state on a more “fiscally responsible course” which will be baked into his budget proposal due out next week, according to Baker aides.
The administration declined to give further details ahead of the speech, but Baker is also expected to unveil a new job-training program and use the bully pulpit to urge lawmakers to pass his opioid legislation, which currently is being hashed out in conference committee.
In his inaugural address last year, Baker — who campaigned on being a counterweight to the Democratic measure — spoke to similar ideas, labeling the state as having a “spending problem.” But budget woes have not receded, and an outside group is predicting the state could face as high as a $1 billion budget gap for the next fiscal year.
Continued at www.bostonherald.com/news/local_politics/2016/01/fiscal_responsibility_to_highlight_baker_s_state_of_the_state .
Gov. Charlie Baker — who’s ridden a wave of reforms and fiscal prudence to lofty approval ratings in his debut year — intends to use his first State of the State speech today to call for more belt-tightening on Beacon Hill, where battles already await on state spending.
The theme — one Baker also campaigned on — is part of several he’ll hit on inside the House chamber at 7:30 tonight to mark the unofficial start of his second year in the Corner Office. Among the new initiatives he intends to roll out are several intended to put the state on a more “fiscally responsible course” which will be baked into his budget proposal due out next week, according to Baker aides.
The administration declined to give further details ahead of the speech, but Baker is also expected to unveil a new job-training program and use the bully pulpit to urge lawmakers to pass his opioid legislation, which currently is being hashed out in conference committee.
In his inaugural address last year, Baker — who campaigned on being a counterweight to the Democratic measure — spoke to similar ideas, labeling the state as having a “spending problem.” But budget woes have not receded, and an outside group is predicting the state could face as high as a $1 billion budget gap for the next fiscal year.
Continued at www.bostonherald.com/news/local_politics/2016/01/fiscal_responsibility_to_highlight_baker_s_state_of_the_state .