GOVERNOR'S 9C CUTS
REDUCE FY17 ABE FUNDING BY $644,444
- On December 6, Governor Baker issued his 9C cuts to the FY17 state budget, including a cut in the ABE line item of
$644,444.
- As a result, the current FY17 appropriation for the ABE line item #7035-0002 has been reduced from $29,468,517 to
$28,824,073.
- ACLS is expecting to issue information next week as to how the ABE cuts will be implemented.
- When the cuts were announced on Tuesday, Democratic leaders, House Speaker DeLeo, Senate President Rosenberg and Senator Spilka (Senate Chair of Ways and Means) said they felt the Governor's action was premature and unnecessary. Back in September, Speaker DeLeo and Senate President Rosenberg urged the Governor not to institute the 9C cuts he was planning to implement at that time.
- While Governor Baker has said that he will consider restoring some of the cuts if revenues got "dramatically better", Democratic legislators are increasingly angry and believe that the Governor made these cuts under the guise
of necessary 9C cuts when he is really trying to install the vetoes he made to the FY 2017 budget in July that were subsequently overriden by the legislature.
- Speaker DeLeo said he hopes to restore some of the cuts
through passage of a supplemental budget early in the year. Supplemental budgets are passed during a fiscal year to address a budget deficiency or new/expanded budget purpose.
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WHAT ARE 9C CUTS?
- According to the state constitution and Massachusetts General Laws Part I, Title III, Chapter 29, Section 9C, the Governor is required to ensure that the budget is balanced.
- Every quarter, revenue is checked against budget expenses. If the Governor thinks the revenues are not keeping pace with the project expenses, he can unilaterally make budget cuts without the permission of the legislature.
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WHAT YOU CAN DO
- Call your state representative and state senator to urge them to support a FY 2017 supplemental budget that would restore much needed funding to the ABE line item #7035-0002.
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A VERY IMPORTANT NOTE:
Please do not confuse this call with the calls you were asked to make in Alert #1 that was sent earlier this week to ensure that ABE is on your legislators' FY 2018 wish list.
- Alert #1 is regarding the
FY2018 budget wish list. Alert #2 is about the possible
FY2017 supplemental budget. They are not the same.
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Thank you for your help during this budget season and always!
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NEXT MCAE PUBLIC POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING
DECEMBER 16 10 a.m. to 12 noon World Education
44 Farnsworth St - 7th floor
Boston
via videoconference:
Picknelly Education Center, Holyoke, MA contact [email protected] for exact room location |
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