The crisis in the state's finances has entered a new and challenging phase. While improved revenues have led some to conclude that the crisis is over, the reality is much less certain.

The 2005 budget moved one step closer to its final form last week with Governor Romney's exercise of his veto power under the Massachusetts Constitution. With the Legislature scheduled to conclude formal sessions for the year before the end of July,...

In a recent news release, the Foundation called on the Legislature to enact a major overhaul of the state's transportation agencies. Both the full Senate and the Joint Transportation Committee have put forth comprehensive and thoughtful proposals to...

While the strong revenue performance of recent months is welcome news, the state's budgetary difficulties are far from over. Even with the improving revenue picture, 2005 revenues will barely be sufficient to support ongoing spending in state...

In a major report released today, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation called on state leaders to remove a series of financial and bureaucratic obstacles to educational excellence at the University of Massachusetts.

In this major report, MTF calls on the Governor and the Legislature to reform the state's transportation agencies to produce more comprehensive and integrated priority setting, to enhance the state's capacity to finance transportation investments,...

Reflecting the reality of the state's ongoing fiscal crisis, Governor Romney's 2005 budget proposes the fourth straight year of spending cuts. While education is the budget's primary area of emphasis, the modest increases in local school aid and...

In its annual review of state spending, the Taxpayers Foundation concludes that the fiscal 2005 state budget will require a fourth year of significant spending cuts to help close a $1.1 to $1.4 billion budget gap. The report, State Budget '04: The...

At the annual consensus revenue hearing on Beacon Hill, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation predicted state tax revenue growth of slightly more than four percent in both fiscal 2004 and 2005, based on conservative assumptions about the pace of...

In a striking outcome of the deliberations on this year's budget, the state in 2004 will for the first time in decades spend more on prisons and jails than on public higher education. While this change in budgetary priorities has occurred during a...