Substance Abuse Programs Get Temporary Reprieve
After Alcohol Tax Repeal

 

Governor Deval Patrick, seeking to blunt the impact of a voter-approved ballot question that eliminated the sales tax on alcohol, plans to protect substance-abuse programs that the tax funds for the next seven months. But the governor is making no promises about long-term support.

Patrick, citing unexpectedly strong tax collections this fall, has asked aides to fill the $43 million gap that will be created when the alcohol tax, which was funneling money to substance abuse programs, is removed Jan 1. But cuts in substance-abuse programs and other services could be necessary when the new budget year starts in July and the state is forced to close an estimated $2 billion gap.

The Gavin Foundation in South Boston, which receives $2 million from the state to run a variety of programs to combat substance abuse, was forced to cut in half the number of patients it could accept for detoxification during the state’s last fiscal crunch eight years ago. John McGahan, the foundation’s president, said he and other service providers are worried that a repeat of those cuts next year could force them to once again turn away many who are addicted to drugs and alcohol.

McGahan argued that, in addition to the toll on addicts and their families, taxpayers would also suffer, as many of those addicts end up in costly emergency rooms and jail cells. “The far-reaching implications of this are staggering,’’ McGahan said.

Patrick met this week with his budget chief, Jay Gonzalez, to work on a plan to protect the programs through July. The administration expects to be able to draw on revenue from other taxes, which is outpacing expectations by more than $400 million this year. But the governor said the elimination of the alcohol tax is nonetheless “very concerning.’’

“These are enormously important programs, as you know, and the sad fact is that substance abuse tends to go up in a recession, so the need for these programs is even greater in these times,’’ Patrick said Monday. “So I’m committed to finding a solution. I just don’t have one yet.’’

Although success rates vary, no one disputes the value of substance-abuse treatment in helping some people turn their lives around. One former addict, Ron, said he had been in and out of jail until he entered a six-month treatment program at Gavin House in his mid-20s. He stopped using drugs, learned basic job skills, and now, at age 32, works part time in construction. “Today, I’m productive,’’ said Ron, who asked that his last name not be printed. “That’s the most important thing.’’

The repeal of the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax on alcohol passed with 52 percent of the vote Nov. 2, little more than a year after the tax was imposed by the Legislature and governor. The ballot question was funded by a war chest of more than $2.4 million, mostly from liquor stores that had argued that the tax was driving many customers over the border, to New Hampshire, which has no sales tax. Many of those store owners are now hoping that the elimination of the tax will draw some of those customers back.

“We’re hopeful that the stores will regain some of the business they lost this year from the sales tax,’’ said P.J. Foster, a spokeswoman for the Yes on One Committee, which led the ballot drive. “They’re optimistic that their customers will no longer be driving to New Hampshire.’’

Foster said liquor store owners also hope that the state finds a way to spare substance-abuse programs from cuts, adding that the state had found other ways to fund them before the tax.

But advocates, who spent $339,000 in their losing effort to preserve the tax, said the outlook is bleak. The tax, which would have directed $62 million annually to substance-abuse programs, had helped insulate them from budget cuts borne by other state programs last year.

-From “ Substance abuse programs get reprieve; State will still fund after alcohol tax dies ”, by Michael Levenson, Globe Staff , The Boston Globe, November 18, 2010, http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/11/18/substance_abuse_programs_get_reprieve/, retrieved 11/18/10.

 

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