BOSTON — Downtowns, youth sports programs, churches, food pantries and nonprofits are among the myriad interests angling for a piece of the state’s nearly $58 billion budget.
State lawmakers loaded the spending package for next fiscal year with requests for money for local projects and programs, along with changes in public policy ahead of a debate on the bill in the House of Representatives this week.
The fate of many of those requests will be decided upon in closed-door meetings with House Democratic leaders before the final budget comes up for a vote.
Many of the local earmarks seek to divert more state money to local governments, schools, cash-strapped community groups and nonprofit organizations. Some restore unilateral budget cuts made by Gov. Maura Healey earlier this year in response to revenue shortfalls.
That includes an amendment filed by Reps. Sally Kerans, D-Danvers, and Kristin Kassner, D-Hamilton, calling for $75,000 for the town of Topsfield to restore 9C budget cuts made by Healey and provide funding for the Downtown Economic Development plan.
Kerans is also seeking $25,000 for the Topsfield Historical Society to build a parking lot, which was also cut by Healey.
Rep. Frank Moran, D-Lawrence, is seeking $25,000 for the Dominican Carnival in the Merrimack Valley, $50,000 for a basketball club for low-income youth, $50,000 for Casa Dominicana to provide ESL classes, and $25,000 for the Andover Baptist Church for “structure repairs and maintenance costs,” among other funding requests.
Other proposed earmarks, filed by Rep. Jerald Parisella, D-Beverly, seek $100,000 for Beverly’s 400th anniversary and $200,000 for Gillis Park renovations.
House lawmakers filed nearly 1,500 amendments to the budget. Only a handful will likely make it into the final spending plan. Most will be withdrawn or consolidated by legislative leaders through the vetting process that largely happens behind closed doors.
Overall, the House budget unveiled last week would increase state spending by about 3.3% next fiscal year, slightly less Gov. Maura Healey’s initial $56.1 billion package filed in January.
State aid to cities and towns, used for everything from closing local budget gaps to fixing sidewalks, would come in at more than $1.25 billion. Education aid would increase to more than $6.86 billion under the spending plan.
The House budget would divert $500 million to the state’s emergency shelter system, which is bursting at the seams amid a surge of migrants.
The plan also calls for spending $1 billion in proceeds from the millionaires’ tax on a range of education and transportation programs, along with new initiatives. The new voter-approved law, which went into effect in January, set a 4% surtax on incomes above $1 million.
But the final price tag for the budget is almost certain to be driven up by local earmarks during next week’s debate on the spending package.
Critics of earmarks — including fiscal watchdogs — argue that they encourage patronage and government waste.
Lawmakers defend the practice as a means to getting money for local projects, since the executive branch largely controls the budget for capital and one-time expenses.
The requests for additional funding come as state budget writers urge fiscal responsibility following several months of lackluster tax collections and rising costs from a surge of asylum seekers.
Healey wielded her executive powers in February to slash $375 million from the current fiscal year budget to close a gap between spending and revenue.
Last year, Healey used her veto pen to slash a total of $272 million in spending in her first budget as governor. The Democrat also spiked an outside section of the $56 billion spending plan that called for another $205 million of one-time funding.
Healey’s predecessor, Republican Charlie Baker, often feuded with lawmakers over earmarks in the budget, but his vetoes were usually overridden by the Democratic-controlled Legislature.
Once the House wraps up its work on the budget, the spending package moves to the Senate for consideration.
The new fiscal year begins July 1.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.