Oh, No, Late Again.

For the eighth time in as many years, Mass. House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka missed the annual July 1 deadline to pass a budget. According to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania are the only two states in the entire country whose legislative bodies have not agreed to a state budget.

The situation drew jeers from a familiar quarter, the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance.

“Failing to meet basic expectations seems to be an annual tradition under Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka," stated spokesperson Paul Diego Craney. 

Missing the annual budget deadline for the eighth year in a row is not something to be proud of, it’s an embarrassment, Craney chided. 

"While legislative leaders may not think it’s a big deal, it sends the signal that Massachusetts is not serious. Our legislative leadership ignoring the annual budget deadline hurts local municipalities. Annual policies that are renewed in the state budget are delayed. Massachusetts has recently been on the path of becoming an outlier as a very high tax state, and adding eight years in a row with a late budget also makes us a poorly run state,” added Craney.

But, with the holiday behind us, it's a new week on Beacon Hill....