According to the Beacon Hill Roll Call in this morning’s Lowell Sun, most of the Greater Lowell constituency, including Colleen Garry, the Lowell delegation (other than Panagiotakos) and Westford’s Jim Arciero all voted against the new state budget because of its being funded via increases in sales and liquor taxes.

Although individual residents in our area would be little effected by these taxes because of the ease at which we can go over the border.. that issue is exactly what will damage our local businesses. And as the businesses go, so do the taxe revenues to the towns and cities.

I have to give them credit, the Transportation Bill may actually be some reform.. not much.. but some (I would rather see the tolls gone and the turnpike just transferred to the mass highway system). The ramp down and eventual elimination of the Quinn bill will eventually be good for taxpayers throughout the state, but those communities like ours who made the mistake of adding that language into the local police contracts will take a hit until we can finally trim that out.

Pension reform cleaned up some problems, but there remain many more.. such as why do we provide pensions to state workers when the private sector has just about ended pension systems entirely?

Ethics reform will be interesting to watch. Ending legilators being able to take gifts? Lobbying being done transparently? How about open-meeting law applying at the state? I don’t see these things going through.