More details on state budget

In his column in the Sunday Telegraph, Kevin Landrigan combs through the legislation implementing the state budget, HB 2, and finds a number of changes not included in the Governor's Budget Address:

• State workers: Anyone hired after July 1 will have to contribute more toward their retirement – 40 percent more, as their "investment'' in the pension will go up from 5 percent to 7 percent of their wages. Turnpike/Interstate Division: This melds the state turnpikes and interstate highways into a single division with a new director and also a new director of policy and administration in the Department of Transportation.

The move is key to Lynch's plan to use turnpike toll dollars to spend on stretches of interstate state highways. For example, the state's highway fund for years has paid for the maintenance of Interstate 89.

It's pivotal to Transportation Commissioner George Campbell's bid to ultimately install a tollbooth on Interstate 93 in Salem near the Massachusetts border.

Design build: This allows the DOT to place any and all of its construction work through this faster track without traditional competitive bidding. Current law allows this only for projects up to $5 million.

Public kindergarten: Lynch had already said he would seek state-backed bonds for 2010-11 to make payments for school construction projects.

The Legislature gave him permission to do that last spring for 2009.

This bill adds to that a $3.6 million bond to finance state support of public kindergarten building space.

Juvenile diversion programs: State law sets aside 6 percent of all spending for troubled youths for diversion programs run in local communities that keep juveniles from ending up criminally delinquent or worse.

This change cuts that earmark to 3 percent.

Self-insurance reserve: Former Gov. Craig Benson converted to a self-insured health-insurance plan that a managed-care company runs for the state. The move created a one-time cash boon in excess of $20 million.

The Lynch change cuts what has to stay in reserve in that account from 8.3 percent to 5 percent of annual claims.

A smaller reserve means more of that cash can come out to support state spending.

Deputy commissioner: Administrative Services Commissioner Linda Hodgdon would get a deputy, but would have to find money elsewhere in her budget to pay the salary.

Print media: Lynch would permit any ad seeking state job applications or requests for proposals to do state work to be advertised on the state's Web site rather than in local or statewide newspapers. The change only requires an ad be bought that alerts the public to the Web site address for all information.