A Republican for Franklin County?

Is the GOP facing a revival in the Bay State? That is the question many political observers are asking themselves one day after Republican Scott Brown shook the state's, and indeed the nation's, political foundations with his surprise trouncing of the Democratic candidate- state Attorney General Martha Coakley- in the race for the US Senate.

While the jury remains out on whether or not Republicans will see more electoral gains in Massachusetts this year, early indications are that the party of Brown has an early lead in the race to fill the Franklin County House seat, which is being vacated by State Rep. Chris Donelan, D-Orange,  after he decided to seek the Franklin County Sheriff's post.

The Review Returns: With A Bit of Election News

An Editorial Note: The Review will be returning in the coming weeks. Expect a post detailing the blog's new approach in the coming days.

The field to replace State Representative Chris Donelan, D-Orange, appears set to become more crowded in the coming weeks. Greenfield Planning Board Chair Roxann Wedegartner has filed papers with the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance to run for the Franklin County Second Legislative District.

Mid-Day Mail: A Shot of Stimulus Please

With the $787 billion economic stimulus bill arriving on the President's desk today, the focus here in the Commonwealth turns to how much federal aid the state might receive and how such funds will be spent. Accordingly, today's Mid-Day is dedicated to taking a quick look at how Massachusetts might spend its piece of the stimulus pie.

The Globe reports that Massachusetts will receive $11.7 billion in federal stimulus aid. By the the paper's account, the state will receive $947 million for infrastructure projects while the Massachusetts Cultural Council could receive $400,000- the result of a House provision that will grant $50 million in additional funding to the National Endowment of the Arts. High speed rail projects could be a big winner in the Commonwealth, the Globe points out, following an $8

billion provision to fund such initiatives nationwide.

The Weekly Wonk: Surviving the Storm

The Weekly Wonk takes an in-depth look at policy issues facing Massachusetts each week. This week's version examines the state's health insurance programs amidst a deteriorating economy. 

A deteriorating economic climate poses a stern test to Massachusetts's innovative health care system. The Commonwealth's health care programs have seen the state achieve a coverage rate of  97%, the highest in the nation. Yet a projected fall in state revenues, 6.3% in fiscal year 2009 and 3.0% in 2010 by some estimates, threaten Massachusetts's ability to afford the universal health care initiative. This fiscal year Gov. Deval Patrick has already cut $1.1 billion from the state budget and next year promises to be even more difficult.  The Governor himself reckons the state faces a $3.5 billion deficit in FY2010.

Mid-Day Mail: Taxing the Pump

Equipped with dwindling dollars and faced with ever growing need, state policy makers are considering a variety of reforms and new revenue sources to help stabilize the Commonwealth's coffers. Gov. Deval Patrick's most recent proposal to raise the state's gasoline tax by 27 cents per gallon has proven especially prickly, setting off a round of criticism from lawmakers, editorial boards and taxpayers alike.

The proposed gasoline tax stems from a budget shortfall in Massachusetts's transportation system. A Transportation Finance Commission report filed in September of 2007 found that the state was $15 to $19 billion short of the funds necessary to maintain the Commonwealth's infrastructure over the next 20 years. The Commission noted that such a budget shortfall was a conservative estimate, as it did not include the cost of any expansions or improvements to the current system.

Podcast: Bob Pura talks School Regionalization

 The topic of the Review's inaugural podcast is school regionalization, the subject that has come to dominate much of the discussion surrounding public education reform in the Commonwealth today. To help provide insight on the matter the Review visited with Bob Pura, the President of Greenfield Community College and Chair of the Franklin County Public Education Study Group, which has set out to identify potential reforms to the public schools in Franklin County. President Pura has helped guide the work of the Study Group over the last two years and as such is ideally placed to help explain what school regionalization may or may not mean for Massachusetts.  The Review's interview with him can be heard below. It should be noted that the interview is quite long, a little over an hour in fact, and thus was broken out into segments regarding the various topics that were discussed. Furthermore, brief highlights are included for those who merely have time to scan the page.

Morning Headlines: Clouds on the Horizon

With the Governor recently announcing his 9C or emergency cuts to this fiscal year's budget, the attention now turns to next year's ledger. Indeed, fiscal year 2010 would seem to be more challenging than the current fiscal year. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center reckons the Commonwealth will be $3.5 billion in the red during FY2010, making this year's budget shortfall of $1.1 appear somewhat of a paltry sum. Accordingly, the Governor's budget for next fiscal year includes considerable cost cutting measures in order to trim the state's rolls.  A quick look at some of the items that are due to see their funding decreasing is provided below.   

• Education: (Source: Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center)
• The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center estimates that 153 of the Commonwealth's districts will not have spending requirements less than their foundation budgets- the minimum amount of education funding required by the state. Mass Budget largely attributes this outcome to the Governor's proposal to level fund Chapter 70 or educational aid in FY 201. 
• $10 million cut in tutoring  and other services provided to students in danger of failing the state's education exam, the MCAS.
• $14 million drop in special education. Mass Budget notes that this was achieved by eliminating earmarks and not by reducing funds distributed to districts.  
• 13% decrease in regional transportation aid. According to Mass Budget, a provision is included that is intended to provide greater incentive for regionalization. 
  
• Early Education and Care: $32 million cut in early education and care programs. 
• Higher Education: 16.5% decrease in funding to each of the state's 26 universities and community colleges. 

• Health Care: (Source Governor's Health Care Estimates)
• $8.68 billion for MassHealth, the Massachusetts Medicaid program which provides health insurance to low and moderate income residents. This represents a 3.14% increase from FY 2009 spending. The Governor estimates that the program will achieve $178 million dollars in net savings from the previous year's budget through implementing programs like expedited claim review and pharmacy savings.  
• 880$ million for Commonwealth Care, the subsidized health insurance program that the state offers to low and moderate income residents.  This represents a 7.3% increase over what was budgeted for the program in 2009. 

• Local Aid: (Source: Massachusetts Municipal Association)
• $375 million reduction in local aid assistance.
• $8 million cut in Police Incentive Career program.  
• $4 million cut in Library Aid 
• 28.5% reduction in lottery and additional assistance dollars. (Source: Governor's Local Aid Estimate)