FY 2005 Budget is finally finished!
End of the Year
Wrap-up
In the wee hours of Saturday,
July 31, the House and Senate wrapped up most their work for the year. The
Legislature will not be in full formal session until it begins the next Session
in January 2005 (members can be called in for a special session if both the
Speaker and Senate President wish). From now until the November elections,
state representatives and senators will be concentrating on their re-election
campaigns and working on, and watching, the presidential campaign.
Considering where we were at
the start of the budget process in January 2004, few would have expected we
would have completed the year with so many victories. With the release of the
Governor’s budget proposal in January, we were looking at the loss of day &
work programs for almost 800 people. DMR area offices were carefully
considering who would be cut from these programs.
There is no question that it’s
been a long and arduous journey but we have a great deal to be proud of.
Regional Arc chapters throughout the state proved the power of local advocacy.
It certainly worked!
Some of the final FY2005 Budget
highlights include:
Day, Work and Transportation
This was our biggest worry in
January, 2004. With funding at $97,039,279, the Governor’s House I budget
translated into 798 people losing services, causing great anxiety from
consumers and families. Following a series of legislative breakfasts, State
House rallies and individual legislator meetings, the House budget added $11.5
million to the Day and Work line item, and $5 million for transportation. The
Senate added an additional $600,000 leaving us with a total of $17 million in
additional dollars, averting the need for cuts at this time.
Direct Care Worker Salaries
In his January budget proposal,
the Governor chose not to fund any cost of living adjustments for human service
workers. Both the House and the Senate included $20 million for the salary
reserve. However, when Governor Romney received the Conference report of the FY
2005 budget, he vetoed this amount. The House and Senate overrode the
Governor’s budget by unanimous votes in both chambers. This huge achievement
means that workers will get their first cost of living adjustments in three
years.
Boulet, Waiting List
The Governor’s House I budget
did include $20 million for the Boulet/waiting list line item, as per the terms
of the settlement agreement. The House
Ways and Means Committee only included $8 million,
but an additional $2 million was added on the floor of the House. The Senate
identified $20 million and the Conference Committee agreed on the full $20
million allocation.
Turning 22
Both the House and Senate
funded new DMR Turning-22 students at $6,467,670. The Senate included an
additional $600,000 for new Turning 22 students at the Massachusetts
Rehabilitation Commission and the Conference Committee accepted that figure:
$1,065,000.
Flexible Family Supports
Funding was held at $48.8
million, by the Governor, the House and Senate.
Surplus Property at DMR/DMH
Facilities
Outside Sections 56 and 57 in
the Conference Report would create state school/state hospital disposition
funds for surplus property for use in the creation of supported housing for
DMH/DMR clients. The language was vetoed by the governor and was not
overridden.
Workforce Study Commission
A bill championed by The Arc
and DMR was passed in an outside section, creating a Workforce Study Commission
to investigate problems of staff recruitment, retention, and other barriers
facing the DMR workforce. The commission would be comprised of members of the
Legislature, the Administration, and one member of The Arc of Mass. and one
member of the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers (ADDP).
Health Care Assessment Fee
A new initiative was proposed
in the House and Senate to generate additional Medicaid dollars, Sections 171,
172. This was vetoed by the Governor. Overridden in the House and Senate.
Caps on CommonHealth
The Executive branch announced
that they were going to Cap the number of recipients for CommonHealth at 15,000
people. Individuals in the disability field who are working full time but
dependent on CommonHealth saw serious increases in their co-payments and feared
that people who wanted to work would opt to stay at home rather than risk
losing their health coverage. Following a huge outcry by the disability
community the cap on CommonHealth was dropped.
Asset Tests
Another battle was waged around
a proposed asset test for people receiving CommonHealth. Study commission
language was proposed by the House. By the end of the budget process, lawmakers
decided this would be too difficult to implement and for the moment, the
proposal is dead.
Personal Care Attendants
This is an area where we were
not as successful as we had hoped. The Administration has been changing the
format on determining eligibility and the number of hours available for
personal care attendants. Language was inserted into the House budget, different
language in the Senate budget, compromise language in Conference and vetoed by
the Governor. This language was not taken up for an override.
LEGISLATION
H 5037 (Formerly H4911, S734)
An Act Authorizing the Funding for the Production and Modification of Housing
for Persons with Disabilities
This legislation was one of the
top priorities in the disability community. It received final passage at the
very end of the legislative session, now H5037. It is now on Governor Romney’s
desk. This legislation will provide $25 million for Home Modification, $50
million for Housing Improvement funds (HIF), $25 million for community based
housing and $100 million in the Facilities Consolidation Fund (FCF). This is a
huge victory for the disability community.
Chapter 40B
Despite attempts to reach
consensus on a compromise bill that would have preserved Chapter 40B while
making changes to address concerns raised by municipalities, the legislation
did not pass.
Changing the Name of the
Department of Mental Retardation
In June, Representative Michael
Costello (D-Newburyport), filed legislation on behalf of MASS (Massachusetts
Advocates Standing Strong) to change the name of the Department of Mental
Retardation to the Department of Developmental Services. Because the bill was
filed so late in the session, House leaders decided not to act on it at this
time. There are plans to re-file the bill in December for the next legislative
Session.
Outlawing painful aversives
Every two years Representative
Carol Donovan files legislation outlawing the use of painful aversive therapy.
This year the Human Services Committee actually released this bill with
language allowing the courts to decide when painful aversives can be used. Advocates
roared their disapproval of the court-allowance and the bill was sent back to
the Human Service committee with no action taken.
THANK YOU
A huge thank-you to the
individual legislators; Speaker Finneran; House Ways and Means Chair, John Rogers;
Senate President Robert Travaglini; and Senate
Ways and Means Chair, Therese Murray.
A SPECIAL THANK-YOU
TO THE FOLLOWING LEGISLATORS, WHO ARE NOT RUNNING FOR OFFICE AGAIN:
Representative Paul Demakis –
Always made the Waiting List one of his top priorities
Representative Carol Donovan –
Carried the anti-aversives legislation, Legislative champion on Turning 22 and
Waiting List, formerly the Chairman of the Board of the Central Middlesex Arc
Representative Michael Ruane – We
called him the father of Turning 22
Representative Reed Hillman –
Always made the Department of Mental Retardation one of his priority issues
Senator David Magnani – A
fantastic advocate on all disability issues
Senator Joanne Sprague – One
of the first legislators to make the Waiting List a budget priority
Senator Guy Glodis – He
made direct care workers one of his top legislative priorities
Senator Linda Melconian –
Championed Early Intervention as one of her top priorities