Amidst new reports of state revenue declines, House Speaker Robert DeLeo on Wednesday defended House plans to restore spending to probation and trial court programs, raising public safety concerns. DeLeo said the overrides were "very much" responsible. "If we're talking about reducing those budgets, then how are we going to protect the public safety of the people that we represent?" DeLeo said the cuts proposed by Patrick would likely hit GPS monitoring of convicts. "I don't want to be in a position where two weeks or a month from now, you're going to be coming back into me and saying, 'You know what, Mr. Speaker, as a result of that cut which the governor made, such and such a tragedy happened'." DeLeo said cuts to probation had run deeper than "many other" reductions across the budget. In a supplemental budget veto, Patrick also vetoed $18.8 million in funds that went unexpended by the Legislature last fiscal year.

The House on Wednesday intends to restore spending cut by Gov. Deval Patrick in probation, trial court and legislative accounts, according to two state representatives who attended a private House caucus Wednesday. Patrick cut the spending as part of his plans to balance this year's budget and address a $600 million hole identified in the budget last month. Administration officials said the supplementary budget does not address Patrick's plan to cure Medicaid budget deficiencies.

State tax collections this fiscal year are down $423 million, or 6.6 percent, through mid-November, compared to the same four-plus month period in fiscal 2009, new revenue department data shows. State tax collections for the first half of November fell $21 million below the same period last year, as October's gains in withholding numbers were reversed due to timing issues, according to new revenue figures. The state took in $463 million through Nov. 13, 4.3 percent less than a year ago. In establishing the monthly benchmark on which the budget is based, state officials assumed growth of 1.7 percent for the full month