Jones Calls Patrick Budget Proposal 'Heavy on Spending'

House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones Jr. (R-North Reading) isn’t impressed with Gov. Deval Patrick’s $36.4 billion fiscal year 2015 state budget proposal, which would be a 4.9% percent over the current budget.

Patrick’s proposal expands early education, looks to close the achievement gap in schools, tackles affordable health care and focuses on cutting violence “among young people and in urban areas,” according to the Associated Press.

Read the Associated Press article for more about specifics in the plan.

In a statement on Friday, Jones said the budget highlights Patrick’s “lame-duck status.” 

“Once again, the Governor is treating the taxpayers of Massachusetts as an endless revenue stream, proposing to hit them again for revenue in the form of new statewide taxes. This approach has not garnered support from taxpayers in the past, and it will once again fall flat,” he said.

“In spite of hundreds of millions in new taxes and revenue initiatives, proposed by Governor Patrick and green-lighted by Democrats on Beacon Hill, the Governor continues to rely on tapping into the state’s reserves in order to fund his FY15 budget proposal. For a Governor who consistently touts a nation-leading ‘Rainy Day’ fund – left to him by his Republican predecessors – this plan further highlights the Governor’s myopic approach to the state’s finances.

“Once again, the Governor has produced a budget that is heavy on spending and far too reliant on dubious revenue sources. While Governor Patrick’s focus seems to be cementing his legacy, the Legislature must set its sights on producing a budget for the taxpayers that balances meeting the needs of today in a fiscally responsible and sustainable fashion."

The governor’s budget will go to the House and Senate, which will create their own plans and comprise on one that will be delivered to Patrick as a compromise budget by the end of the fiscal year on June, reported the Associated Press.