Budget conferees face a two-fold challenge as they hash out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the fiscal 2004 budget: minimizing the $300 to $500 million gap between proposed spending and on-going revenues in the two budgets;...

The Legislature's $23.1 billion budget for fiscal 2004 goes a long way toward closing an estimated $2.5 billion structural deficit, while taking meaningful steps toward governmental reform. However, the budget's reliance on $400 million of one-time...

According to a new analysis, the proposed 2004 budget recently adopted by the House -- like the Governor's budget -- fails to fully close the structural hole in the state's finances. Following almost $2 billion of spending reductions over the last...

The Foundation's updated analysis of spending changes over the past two fiscal years concludes that the state has reduced expenditures by $1.9 billion in a host of programs -- not including the additional spending cuts that will be needed to address...

MTF calls on state policy makers to take advantage of the need for extraordinary solutions to the fiscal crisis and seize the best opportunity in years to undertake important reforms of state government. The bulletin highlights a number of issues...

Despite a decade of progress, high business costs in key areas continue to hold back the Massachusetts economy, and more must be done to make the Commonwealth competitive. That is the conclusion of the latest update in MTF's series comparing business...

In its annual analysis of state spending, the Taxpayers Foundation calls on state leaders to develop a fiscal blueprint for 2004 and 2005 to address the Commonwealth's massive and growing structural deficit. The report recommends that legislative...

Because of the continuing weakness of the state and national economy -- and the uncertainty about future economic growth -- state tax revenues will fall short in fiscal 2003 and grow at an anemic pace in 2004, according to a forecast presented by MTF...