New Fiscal Year Set To Dawn Without State Budget In Place

Another new fiscal year is set to dawn Thursday and once again it will arrive without an annual state budget in place.

Only one of the two branches plans to meet Wednesday, which is Fiscal New Year's Eve, and the limited agenda in the House calls for an override vote to ensure a project labor agreement will govern the construction of a new Holyoke Soldiers' Home.

Legislators and the Baker administration built fiscal 2022 budgets this winter and spring based on revenue projections that turned out to be way off, and state leaders haven't announced how they'll account for a glut of unbudgeted tax revenues.

Lawmakers expressed hope this year of getting the annual budget cycle back on track after the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic prompted them to wait until December to finalize a budget for fiscal 2021, which comes to a close on Wednesday.

State programs and services are not at risk of being disrupted due to the late budget since Baker and the Legislature have agreed to a $5.4 billion interim spending plan to cover state appropriations during July. Baker signed that spending bill Monday, the same day that the Legislature rushed it to his desk.