BOSTON – With Gov. Charlie Baker considering where and how deep to cut spending from the current fiscal 2016 budget, December tax collections could help crystallize some the decisions the governor is expected to finalize "shortly."
The Department of Revenue is expected to release a revenue report for the month of December on Wednesday, figures that Baker said Monday he and Legislative leaders were waiting on before moving forward with mid-year budget corrections. This is the second year in a row Baker has had to tinker with the state budget while also preparing his own budget proposal for next year, but so far has resisted placing any blame on lawmakers who overrode tens of millions of dollars in spending vetoes.
The gun control measures a tearful President Barack Obama announced Tuesday would not have prevented the slaughters of 20 first-graders at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, or 14 county workers at a holiday party in San Bernardino, California.
Obama's executive action expands mandatory background checks to gun shows, flea markets and online sales, adds more than 230 examiners and staff to help process them and calls on states to submit accurate and updated criminal history data.
