Legislature restores $97M to budget before Aug. recess
Lawmakers powered through two days of voting to override roughly 87 vetoes and restore about $97 million in spending to the fiscal 2016 budget cut by Gov. Charlie Baker out of concern that the budget could fall out of balance later in the year.
Both the House and Senate will now recess from formal sessions during August, with plans to possibly come back in September to deal with public records reform legislation, a budget bill filed by Baker to close out fiscal 2015 and spend down some of that year's surplus, and to address a bill in the Senate pertaining to clearing titles on foreclosed properties.
The foreclosure bill was laid aside Thursday in the Senate after Ways and Means Chairwoman Karen Spilka said some members had questions and concerns and requested more time to review. Sen. Michael Moore, Democrat of Millbury, expressed his disappointment during debate that the bill was being delayed.
"It's better to take the time and make sure members feel comfortable with it and we get it right," said Spilka, an Ashland Democrat.
The Senate also recessed Thursday before taking up some vetoes made by Baker to outside policy sections in the budget that were overridden in the House. Some senators raised questions about those items, Spilka said.
Among the spending restored to the budget were dozens of earmarks for local projects and institutions, like $75,000 for Gallery 51 at the Berkshire Center, and items disapproved by the governor, including $200,000 to hire a state climatologist. Spilka said 48 other states have a climatologist.
Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, a Jamaica Plain Democrat, voted against some of the overrides, which she said was a principled opposition to earmarks and she said she did not vote in favor of any of the overrides on earmarks. Chang-Diaz said she doesn't file earmarks and "instead advocated for statewide policy initiatives."
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