Gov. Patrick Meets With Mass. Delegation On Stimulus Plan

Governor Deval Patrick is bringing together dozens of business and community leaders to decide how the state would spend its share of a possible federal stimulus package.

WBUR's Martha Bebinger has more.

The governor is creating task forces that will set priorities for clean energy, building renovations, transportation and other capital investments. A federal aid package for states may also include money for schools, low income assistance programs and health care. But Governor Patrick cautions that it won't offset the need for further state budget cuts.

PATRICK: Even at its most ambitious, we haven't seen anything that suggests we're out of the woods here. We've made a lot of those hard decisions and there are some more to make.

The tasks forces will begin meeting weekly in hopes there is money to spend early next year.