The FY07 Budget Heads to Conference Committee
The State Senate wrapped up its budget on May 25, giving plenty of time to complete the FY ‘07 state budget by July 1, 2006, the start of the new fiscal year. The Senate budget tends to be a bit more generous than the House because revenue estimates tend to be higher as the year unfolds. Some significant progress has been made this budget session:
Direct Care Worker Salary Increase
For the first time, $28,000,000 has been allocated in both the House and Senate for direct care worker salary increases. This is the first time in memory that this allocation went beyond $20,000,000. Though various advocates were looking at a $44,000,000 allocation, and clearly the need for salary increases is without question, it important that that both the House and Senate went with the $28,000,000 figure. Governor Romney, in the House 1 (Governor's) budget, did not allocate any funding at all for direct care workers.
Turning Twenty-Two
This is a major initiative of The Arc of Massachusetts. The House added an additional million above the Governor’s House 1 allocation, bringing the total from $6,467,670 to $7,467,670. The Senate added an additional $1,032,320, for a total of $8,500,000. The exciting initiative in the Senate is the increase in the annualization amount from $13.6 million to $17.6 million.
Department of Mental Retardation, Autism Division
The Autism Division is a new initiative in the Department of Mental Retardation. In the FY ‘06 budget, $1.2 million was allocated. In this year's budget, the House added $1 million, bringing the amount to $2,200,000. The Senate’s number is $3,000,000 with a $1.8 million earmark for the Autism Medicaid Waiver that is being submitted to the federal government.
Banning the Use of Electric Shock Therapy
An amendment was included in the Senate budget that would ban the use of electric shocks and other aversive therapies used to modify the behavior of people with disabilities. This language is not in the House budget and must be approved in the Conference Committee.
Students in Special Education to be enrolled in Higher Education
The House approved a new line item, 5948-0012, to create a pilot program to allow school districts to enroll Ch. 766 students with disabilities in public higher education institutions, as defined in Chapter 71 of the Massachusetts General Laws. This language is not in the Senate budget.
Special Education Circuit Breaker, Line item 7061-9600
The House maintained the $202,829,838 amount. The Senate increased the line item, adding $5,370,172 for a total of $208,200,000.
Click here to read about the results of budget amendments taken up by the Senate (viewing this document requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).
Next Step: Conference Committee
Now that the Senate has completed its version of the FY ‘07 budget, a six-person conference committee will be formed, composed of three members from the House and three from the Senate. Expected membership is House Ways and Means Chair, Robert DeLeo; Vice Chair, Marie St. Fleur; ranking House Republican Vinny deMacedo; Senate Ways and Means Chair, Therese Murray; Vice Chair, Stephen Panagiotokas (also Vice Chair, Steve Tolman participates); and ranking Senate Republican Michael Knapik.
The Conference Committee will continue through the first half of June. The conference report must be approved by both the House and the Senate through an up or down Concurrance vote (no amendments accepted) and a final Enactment vote. The Conference Committee budget is then sent to Governor Romney for his signature. He has ten working days to review the budget. With line item veto power, the Governor can strike or cut both budget language and funding allocations. He cannot add money. He will often cut allocations that were not in his House 1 budget. It is expected that the Governor will complete this part of the budget process by June 30, 2006.
Legislators can override a Governor's veto with a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate. July is an important month because according to House Rules, the 2005-2006 session ends on July 31, 2006. Overrides must originate in the House and will take place throughout the month of July. The Speaker of the House has discretion on what overrides are taken up.
No roll call votes can occur between August 1, and December 31, unless the Speaker calls back the membership in a special session. Informal sessions will continue every seventy-two hours throughout the year to conduct the business of the Commonwealth.