Alcohol deliveries soar during pandemic, Massachusetts Treasurer Deb Goldberg says
Updated Mar 03, 2021;
By Chris Lisinski | State House News Service
A surge in home deliveries of alcoholic beverages, disproportionate job losses among women during the pandemic, and long-sought authorization for cashless lottery sales are all on Treasurer Deborah Goldberg’s mind as the Legislature kicks off its annual budget review.
The COVID-19 pandemic created months of uncertainty on the state’s financial outlook, but Goldberg told the Joint Ways and Means Committee that the fiscal picture “remains relatively robust” as Massachusetts approaches the one-year anniversary of its public health state of emergency.
How the fiscal 2022 budget could affect mail-in voting, education and taxes in Massachusetts
Updated Mar 03, 2021;
Massachusetts agency leaders overseeing elections, criminal justice and other areas of government came into the budget hearing with one complaint: they need more money than what the governor’s fiscal 2022 budget offers.
The Ways and Means Committee heard from Baker administration officials overseeing the state’s finances, criminal investigations and technology during a four-hour hearing Tuesday focusing on Gov. Charlie Baker’s $45.6 billion budget plan. The Republican governor’s budget has a smaller bottom line than his previous budget did, a first in recent memory but not entirely unexpected as the state assesses the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.