As budget talks heat up, let's keep ABE funding a high priority
Lawmakers have indicated that budget talks are resuming. A formal schedule for budget deliberations is expected in the next week or two. Across different analyses, state officials have estimated the revenue shortfall at anywhere between $2 billion and $8 billion, and we are still waiting to learn how much federal aid related to COVID-19 recovery will be headed our way.
Senate President Karen Spilka, House Speaker Robert DeLeo, Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Michael Rodrigues, House Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz, and Governor Baker and his staff have been informally meeting regularly as the state monitors economic and tax activity. In a recent presentation, Rodrigues said he anticipates tax collections in fiscal 2021 to be down $5 billion from last year and said lawmakers will need to use the state's $3.5 billion "rainy day" fund to cover the shortfall unless more federal aid is released to states. Rep. Michlewitz, Sen. Rodrigues, and Secretary of Administration and Finance Michael Heffernan will hold an economic roundtable event on October 7 to share updates on the economic impacts of COVID-19 and revenue projections.
State leaders will likely proceed assuming there will be no final decision on federal relief until after the November general election. Proposed federal relief packages have ranged from $650 billion to $3.4 trillion, and the House and Senate are far from reaching a compromise plan.
At the local level, communities are facing their own budget uncertainty, resulting in furloughs, layoffs, and postponed projects. The state has pledged to at least level-fund unrestricted municipal aid and Chapter 70 school aid for communities.
During this difficult time, we understand that people are struggling to meet basic needs for food, shelter, and healthcare, and they are looking to the government for additional services and assistance. ABE is just as essential for our current and prospective students, their families, communities, and the state to recover from the economic consequences of this pandemic. Adults need an education and skills to be self-sufficient. Our economy needs skilled workers to move forward.
