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News from East Boston's best information
utility! |
House passes
supplemental budget; reinvests $350 million in Rainy Day Fund;
Protects the most in need
(BOSTON) – State Representative Carlo Basile
joined his colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives
in passing a balanced supplemental budget. The budget reinvests $350
million in the Stabilization Fund, devotes more than $28 million for
those most in need and provides $23 million in order to keep local
courts open.
“Reinvesting in our stabilization fund will help keep our state on a
strong financial footing,” House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo
(D-Winthrop) said. “This supplemental budget targets funds at job
creation and local priorities, those most in need and those whose
lives have been disrupted by storms.”
“As we close out the 2011 fiscal year, this supplemental
appropriation bill continues the House’s commitment to be fiscally
responsible,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Brian Dempsey
(D-Haverhill) said. “Although revenues over the summer were
promising, the Commonwealth has not yet fully recovered from the
economic downturn. That is why directing $350 million of surplus
funds toward our rainy day account and only addressing the most
severe recent budget cuts through this legislation was the top
priority.”
"This $350 million will go a long way in helping
people get jobs, aiding local economies, and supporting our most
needy," said Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Committee,
Carlo Basile. "I thank Speaker DeLeo for his unwavering leadership
in getting this supplemental budget passed."
The investment in the Stabilization Fund follows the decision last
month of Standard & Poor’s to increase the state’s bond rating from
AA to AA+, a move that will save Massachusetts millions in borrowing
costs. The bill also provides $19 million for damage as a result of
this past summer’s tornado, the 2008 ice storm and the 2010 floods
in southeastern Massachusetts.
Some of the other funding priorities included in the supplemental
budget are as follows:
Health and Human Services
• $8.2M –Clothing Allowance
• $6M – 10 Day Bed Hold
• $500K –HIV Prevention Services
• $5.5M – DDS Respite and Family Services
• $5M – DDS Community Residential Services
• $3M – DMH Adult Support Services
• $107K – Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities
Job Creation
• $3M – Adult Basic Education
• $1M – Quality Care Fund
• $10M – Expansion of the Low Income House Tax Credit Program
• $38M – Infrastructure Development Projects
• $500K – STEM Pipeline Fund
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