Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, $1,080,000,000 is hereby appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2003, to meet necessary expenditures before the enactment into law of the general appropriation act for that fiscal year, for the maintenance and operations of the several departments, boards, commissions and institutions, including federal grant and Intragovernmental Service Fund expenditures, for other necessary services and for meeting certain requirements of law. Said amount shall be in addition to the amount made available for the purposes in section 1 of chapter 148 of the acts of 2002. The authorization contained in this section shall cease to be operative as of the effective date of the general appropriation act, and all actions taken under this section shall apply against the general appropriation act. All expenditures made under this authorization shall be consistent with appropriations made in the general appropriation act.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on July 28, 2002.