Baker sworn in, releases $100M for roads, bridges
Just minutes after taking the oath Thursday as Massachusetts' 72nd governor, Charlie Baker made good on a campaign promise by making his first official action as governor to release $100 million for local road and bridge repairs.
The funding, which had been authorized by the Legislature but withheld by former Gov. Deval Patrick, will be dispersed to cities and towns to pay for local infrastructure projects.
Patrick released $200 million for Chapter 90 last year, but held back the additional funding because he said the borrowing capacity was needed for other transportation priorities.
Lawmakers were highly critical of Patrick's decision not to release the funding, and Baker, during the campaign, pledged to release the funding as soon as he took office.
During his inaugural address, Baker said he hoped to address a "spending problem" in state government to address a midyear budget gap that he estimated at more than $500 million.
Baker, who supported a November ballot law that unhinged the gas tax from an inflation index, said during his address that he would hold the line on taxes but that everything else was on the table in the upcoming budget-balancing exercise.
The governor must file a fiscal 2016 spending plan by March 4, though a proposal to address the midyear gap could be rolled out before that date.
Taking aim at red tape to help business.
Baker also said his administration would aim to make it easier to do business in the Bay State by streamlining regulations on both startup and established businesses.
"There's no single initiative that can start and sustain a job creating economy. But there is clear evidence that we're too complex, too expensive, and too slow to move and make decisions," he said. "On this we must do better."
Baker also promised to attack the "burden" of health care costs, which he called an "enormous burden on everyone, dragging down our collective ability to grow and hire more people. We'll pursue many paths on this challenge. But the simplest one - ensuring full price and performance transparency - is long overdue. The same service in the same neighborhood, with the same outcome can vary in price by as much as 300 percent. This must change."
The new governor also placed energy as a high priority.
"There's also a direct link between economic growth and a sustainable and affordable supply of energy," he said in an advance copy of his address. "But as we begin the new year, families and businesses across New England are being hit with unprecedented increases in their energy and electric bills. At exactly the same time energy prices across the rest of the country are falling. This increase is being driven in large part by inadequate delivery systems, the result of poor planning and coordination."
Baker's inauguration was preceded by that of Karyn Polito, the former state representative from Shrewsbury who will serve as lieutenant governor.
"All 200 (state legislators) wish you the very best," Senate President Stanley Rosenberg said during remarks in the House chamber prior to the swearing-in of Baker and Polito.
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