Massachusetts Lawmakers Let Stand Most of Governor’s Budget Vetoes, Freeing Funds To Reverse Cuts to Mental Health Services
The Massachusetts Legislature on Dec. 5 "let stand" $45 million in vetoes to the state budget by Acting Gov. Jane Swift (R), "freeing up a pot of money" that will be used in part to "reverse cuts" to state mental health services, the Boston Globe reports (Klein, Boston Globe, 12/6). The lawmakers' actions come days after Swift announced she had vetoed $250 million from a Legislature-approved budget plan and asked that funding be restored for Medicaid and mental health programs. Faced with a $1.4 billion budget deficit, state lawmakers on Nov. 26 approved a $22.6 billion budget that would have cut $650 million from earlier spending plans, including $22 million earmarked to place mentally disabled adults in group homes (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 12/4). The state Legislature on Dec. 5 agreed to restore $16.6 million to the state Department of Mental Health's budget, meaning that more than 300 people will continue to receive care from the department, which also will be able to keep accepting mental health patients released from private hospitals (Walker, Boston Globe, 12/6).
No Action Yet on Supplemental Budget
Swift, however, did not get all the vetoes that she sought. The state Legislature overrode her plan to cut $134 million from the state's public employees' pension plan, which Swift said should be used to fund "dozens of programs relied on by the needy and disabled." Lawmakers also did not act on Swift's $600 million supplemental budget request, which she said was "crucial so that the state doesn't shirk its legal obligations in areas such as Medicaid and services for the mentally retarded." But legislative leaders said that funds for those services can come out of a $350 million pool in the budget that is not earmarked for specific programs. "We will restore some of the cuts that have been made. We would hope to do a supplemental budget within one week's time," state Senate President Thomas Birmingham (D) said. The state Legislature also restored funding for two health programs that Swift had vetoed: $17 million for smoking prevention programs and $5 million for cancer screening programs (Klein, Boston Globe, 12/6).
