WHAT’S NEXT?

By State Representative Don Humason, Jr.

May 10, 2008

Early last Saturday morning the House of Representatives took our vote on passing to be engrossed the House Ways and Means version of the Fiscal Year 2009 budget.  This came after a full week of debate on the more than 1500 amendments filed by House members.  Most were dispatched in a series of consolidated amendments. 

The vote was 136-19, strictly along party lines.

I was one of the 19 to vote against the final House version of the budget.  Why?  In a word:  Unsustainable. 

The House, against the advice of Republican legislators and the Democratic State Treasurer Timothy Cahill, chose to dip into the state’s emergency reserves, our so-called “rainy day fund,” to increase the spending on the annual state budget to $28.2 billion, a level that many agree is unsustainable, especially in light of a cooling Massachusetts economy.

As Republican Leader Brad Jones succinctly put it, “This budget is like we took a grocery cart to our favorite supermarket and went up and down the aisles filling the cart with things we needed, things we liked, and things we wanted.  Now we’re at the checkout and we don’t know how to pay for all of it without putting it on our charge card.”

I know it’s not easy to be the one who always says “No.”  As I wrote last week in my column, I’d love to go along with my friends in the Majority Party.  But I’m worried.  I just don’t think it’s honest to go along with a budget that may bankrupt the state.  And the mid-year cuts that would be necessary would have a devastating impact on so many important state programs.

So what’s next for the budget?  This week was quiet as the budget analysts in Ways and Means compiled a complete list of all the actions taken by the House during our debate last week. 

Next the state Senate Ways and Means Committee will release their version of the FY’09 budget, most likely in about 2 weeks.  Then, the week before Memorial Day, the full Senate will debate the amendments their members file to the budget.

When their debate is complete we will have 2 separate versions of the state budget.  A Conference Committee consisting of 3 House members and 3 Senate members (including our own Senator Mike Knapik) will be appointed to negotiate and hammer out the differences between the different versions.

When the Conference Committee is finished, they will release a report that goes back to the House first, then the Senate, so that we may take a final vote.  That vote is either a yea or nay.  Debate is still allowed but there can be no further amendments.

After the final vote, the budget will go to Governor Deval Patrick so he and his staff can review it.  By law they have 10 days to do so.  He will sign the budget, but can veto sections he doesn’t like, or send them back to us with suggested changes.

The Legislative branch gets the last crack at the budget.  We can vote to override or sustain any vetoes the Governor makes.  After that, the budget becomes law.  All of this is supposed to be accomplished before July 1, the start of Fiscal Year 2009.

Incidentally, my amendment, filed to keep the sales tax exemption on the sales of aircraft and aircraft parts in place, was the first amendment to the budget that was debated last Monday.  It failed by 19 votes, 67 - 86.

I was talking to my predecessor Representative Cele Hahn by email and she said it best,
“I read about the aircraft tax reversal ... how stupid some folks can be.   Let's just drive them all out of Massachusetts.  Hope Barnes, now with its improvements, terminal, etc. survives!”

Cele said to say hello to everybody in Westfield.  She and Curt are doing fine.  She told me to say she was back in Massachusetts for some health care at Mass General Hospital in Boston, but she’s back on her feet now and heading home to the beach in Mexico.  Sounds nice!

I’d like to conclude by wishing my mom, and all moms out there, a Happy Mother’s Day!

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Representative Don Humason and his legislative aide Sarah Latour may be reached at their Westfield District office, 64 Noble Street, Westfield, MA 01085, 568-1366.
                                                              
Their Boston address is State House Room 542, Boston, MA 02133, (617) 722-2803. 
Email address: Rep.DonaldHumason@Hou.state.ma.us