Updates from state government

• As of Monday night, DPH reported a total of 121,046 cases of COVID-19. The state has now confirmed a total of 8,925 deaths from the virus.
• Having taken in $1.992 billion in tax revenue in August, state tax collections are running $124 million or more than 3 percent ahead of their pace one year ago, the Department of Revenue reported Friday. Of the $1.992 billion collected last month, all but $13 million will go towards fiscal year 2021.
• Counting the $1.979 billion that will be recorded in FY 2021, August collections were $7 million less than the August 2019 collections, DOR said. But through two months of FY 2021, DOR said it has collected roughly $4.135 billion, which is $124 million or 3.1 percent more than it had collected during the same period of fiscal 2020.
• State officials, citing estimated provided while the pandemic has unfolded, have estimated that fiscal 2021 tax collections could fall anywhere from $2 billion to $8 billion below fiscal 2020 levels. It is unclear how August’s actual collections compare to the expectations of state budget managers in the administration and Legislature.
• After a December hearing, administration and legislative officials agreed to a projection of $31.15 billion in fiscal 2021 tax revenue, but that outlook has not been officially revised and DOR has not shared its benchmarks for monthly revenue collections.
• Massachusetts is also without a plan for the fiscal year 2021 budget, which typically would be in place by now. Instead, the state is running on a $16.53 billion interim budget that will keep state government operating through at least the end of October. Lawmakers and administration budget officials have said they need to know what, if any, relief the federal government is going to provide to states before they can craft a budget for the rest of fiscal year 2021.
• The Gaming Commission and the Cannabis Control Commission are both meeting on Thursday.
• With the unemployment insurance trust fund suddenly facing a multibillion-dollar deficit over the next four years, the contributions required from Massachusetts businesses are set to increase nearly 60 percent when the calendar turns to 2021 and then continue growing at a smaller rate through 2024. Those higher taxes, estimated at an average of $319 more per qualifying employee next year, will be due starting in April, raising concerns that the sharp uptick will put a drag on the economic recovery from the ongoing COVID-prompted recession and make it more difficult for employers to bring back jobs they cut.
• To help prevent the fund from becoming insolvent, the average cost per employee is estimated to increase from $539 in 2020 at rate schedule E to $858 in 2021 at rate schedule G. Officials expect to remain at the highest rate schedule through 2024, topping out at an average cost per employee of $925 in the final year of projections.
• With more than 1.7 million claims for standard or expanded unemployment insurance since the start of the pandemic, Massachusetts residents have leaned heavily on the system. The state has topped national rankings in unemployment rate for each of the past two months, at 17.7 percent in June and 16.1 percent in July.
• The higher assessments are also scheduled to kick in at the same time that workers gain access to paid family and medical leave under a 2018 law. Payroll taxes of 0.75 percent to fund those forthcoming benefits started on Oct. 1.

From Mayor McGee’s office: The Lynn Public Health Department has confirmed that as of today, the number of active, confirmed positive COVID-19 cases is 572 with 1 new case today. 3,960 Lynn residents have recovered and 117 have died. The total number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in Lynn since March 21, 2020, including those who have died and recovered, is 4,649. Please visit the City of Lynn COVID-19 Data Dashboard which is updated daily.

We will continue to provide regular updates on COVID-19 through the City website (www.lynnma.gov), social media, and the Smart 911 emergency notification system (sign up at www.smart911.com).