Massachusetts House Tackles $38B State Spending Plan

The Massachusetts House has begun what is expected to be several days of debate over a nearly $38 billion state budget.

Lawmakers on Monday were plowing through some of the more than 1,000 amendments proposed to the spending plan, which was unveiled earlier this month by Democratic House leaders.

The budget calls for hiking overall spending by 2.8 percent over the current year. Like an earlier plan submitted by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, it seeks to close a $1.8 billion structural gap between projected revenues and expenditures in the fiscal year starting July 1.

The House Monday rejected an amendment that called for elimination of the state's tax credit for filmmaking in Massachusetts. The issue, however, could resurface later in the legislative session.

Baker supports repeal of the tax credit.