Patrick's $32.3B budget relies on new taxes, big savings, cutting jobs
Gov. Deval Patrick on January 25 proposed a $32.3 billion annual state budget plan that calls for $730 million in new savings from government-funded health care programs and would eliminate 300 jobs, close a Norfolk prison with 330 inmates, and generate $260 million in new revenues, in part by raising the cigarette tax and taxing candy and soda sales. Patrick's fiscal 2013 budget, which will likely undergo extensive revision before it's returned to him in early summer, would raise state spending by nearly 3 percent from current estimated spending levels and 5.5 percent from the budget Patrick signed last July. The budget would withdraw and spend $400 million from the state's rainy day fund, leaving it with just over $1 billion. Read more here.