AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2008 TO PROVIDE FOR SUPPLEMENTING CERTAIN EXISTING APPROPRIATIONS AND FOR CERTAIN OTHER ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS.
Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purposes, which are forthwith to make supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2008 and to make certain changes in law, each of which is immediately necessary to carry out those appropriations or to accomplish other important public purposes, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.
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. To provide for supplementing certain items in the general appropriation act and other appropriation acts for fiscal year 2008, the sums set forth in section 2 are hereby appropriated from the General Fund unless specifically designated otherwise in this act or in those appropriation acts, for the several purposes and subject to the conditions specified in this act or in those appropriation acts, and subject to the laws regulating the disbursement of public funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008. These sums shall be in addition to any amounts previously appropriated and made available for the purposes of those items.
SECTION 2.
JUDICIARY
Committee for Public Counsel Services
0321-1510............................................................................................................................................ $10,425,019
OFFICE OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER
Office of the State Comptroller
1599-3384............................................................................................................................................ $2,000,000
EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
Group Insurance Commission
1108-5200............................................................................................................................................ $29,398,522
1108-5500............................................................................................................................................ $100,000
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF EDUCATION
Department of Early Education and Care
3000-4050............................................................................................................................................ $1,158,987
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Department of Veterans' Services
1410-0400............................................................................................................................................ $3,182,626
Division of Medical Assistance
4000-0500............................................................................................................................................ $36,000,000
Department of Transitional Assistance
4403-2000............................................................................................................................................ $1,100,000
4405-2000............................................................................................................................................ $693,097
4408-1000............................................................................................................................................ $2,365,244
Department of Public Health
4513-1020............................................................................................................................................ $2,000,000
Department of Social Services
4800-0038............................................................................................................................................ $3,699,548
4800-0041............................................................................................................................................ $3,226,432
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
Office of the Secretary of Public Safety and Security
8000-0040............................................................................................................................................ $2,516,375
8910-0000............................................................................................................................................ $14,876,000
Department of State Police
8100-0000............................................................................................................................................ $1,400,000
8100-0007............................................................................................................................................ $981,934
SECTION 2A. To provide for certain unanticipated obligations of the commonwealth, to provide for an alteration of purpose for current appropriations, and to meet certain requirements of law, the sums set forth in this section are hereby appropriated from the General Fund unless specifically designated otherwise in this section, for the several purposes and subject to the conditions specified in this section, and subject to the laws regulating the disbursement of public funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008. These sums shall be in addition to any amounts previously appropriated and made available for the purposes of those items.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
Office of the Secretary of Administration and Finance
1599-4279.. For a reserve to meet the fiscal year 2008 costs of salary adjustments and other economic benefits authorized by the collective bargaining agreement between the University of Massachusetts and the Graduate Employees Organization, UAW, Local 2322 at the Amherst campus, and to meet the fiscal year 2008 costs of salary adjustments and other economic benefits necessary to provide equal adjustments and benefits to employees employed in confidential positions which otherwise would be covered by this agreement; provided, that the personnel administrator, with the approval of the secretary of administration and finance, shall determine these adjustments and benefits for the confidential employees in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement then in effect which otherwise would cover these positions; provided, further, that the secretary may transfer from the sum appropriated in this item to other items of appropriation and allocations thereof for fiscal year 2008 amounts that are necessary to meet these costs where the amounts otherwise available are insufficient for the purpose, in accordance with a transfer plan which shall be filed in advance with the house and senate committees on ways and means.................................................................................................................................................................. $606,504
SECTION 2C.I. For the purpose of making available in fiscal year 2009 balances of appropriations which otherwise would revert on June 30, 2008, the unexpended balances of the maintenance appropriations listed below, not to exceed the amount specified below for each item, are hereby re-appropriated for the purposes of and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding item in section 2 of chapter 61 of the acts of 2007; provided, however, that for items which do not appear in said section 2 of said chapter 61, the amounts in this section are re-appropriated for the purposes of and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding item in section 2 or 2A of this act or in prior appropriation acts. Amounts in this section are re-appropriated from the funds designated for the corresponding item in said section 2 of said chapter 61; provided, however, that for items which do not appear in said section 2 of said chapter 61, the amounts in this section are re-appropriated from the funds designated for the corresponding item in said section 2 or 2A of this act or in prior appropriation acts. The sums re-appropriated in this section shall be in addition to any amounts available for said purposes.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
Bureau of State Office Buildings
1102-3307............................................................................................................................................ $25,000
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Department of Veterans' Services
1410-0400............................................................................................................................................ $787,875
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF EDUCATION
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
7027-0016 ............................................................................................................................................ $37,738
SECTION 3. Item 0699-0015 of section 2 of chapter 61 of the acts of 2007 is hereby amended by striking out the words “item 0699-0015 to item 0699-9100 or from item 0699-9100 to item 0699-0015” and inserting in the place thereof the following words:- items 0699-0015, 0699-2004, or 0699-9100 to any one or more of such item.
SECTION 4. Item 4000-0320 of said section 2 of said chapter 61 is hereby amended by inserting after the words “rendered in the current fiscal year” the following words:- ; provided, further, that for the purpose of accommodating discrepancies between the receipt of retained revenues and related expenditures, the department may incur expenses and the comptroller may certify for payment amounts not to exceed the lower of this authorization or the most recent revenue estimate as reported in the state accounting system.
SECTION 5. Item 4000-1420 of said section 2 of said chapter 61 is hereby amended by striking out the figure “$233,916,047” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $222,916,047.
SECTION 6. Item 7061-9404 of said section 2 of said chapter 61 is hereby amended by inserting after the words “Lynn At-Risk Youth” the following words:- ; provided further, that not less than $200,000 shall be expended for a pilot program operated by a nonprofit organization and staffed by certified teachers and college aged tutors, to provide after school and summer educational services to students in low-income urban communities that require additional assistance to become academically proficient; provided further, that the pilot shall provide student instruction for 2.5 hours in core curricula, including math and literacy, using a multi-cultural approach and shall provide opportunities to work with tutors on homework, community service, team self-esteem and relationship building; provided, further, that not less than $200,000 shall be expended from this item to study and begin implementation of a pilot wireless student learning initiative at Harbor and O'Hearn schools in the city of Boston and the commonwealth corporation shall file a report detailing findings of the study to the house and senate committees on ways and means by March 15, 2009.
SECTION 6A. Said item 7061-9404 of said section 2 of said chapter 61 is hereby further amended by striking out the figure “$13,215,863” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $13,615,863.
SECTION 7. The second sentence of section 55 of said chapter 61, as amended by section 57 of chapter 140 of the acts of 2007, is hereby further amended by striking out the words “; provided further, that the comptroller, in consultation with the office and the executive office of health and human services, shall transfer funds from the fund to the executive office for the purpose of the Title XIX service rate payments”.
SECTION 8. Section 2 of chapter 120 of the acts of 2008 is hereby amended by striking out item 0330-0337 and inserting in place thereof the following item:-
0330-3337.. For the costs in fiscal year 2008 of salary increases, benefit adjustments and other employee economic benefits authorized for employees of the supreme judicial court, the appeals court and the trial court that are covered by the collective bargaining agreements between the trial court of the commonwealth and the Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 6 (AFL-CIO), professional and clerical units and personnel of the trial court employed in confidential positions who would otherwise be covered by said agreement in effect for fiscal year 2008 and to meet the costs of providing equal salary adjustments and other economic benefits to employees who are not otherwise classified in any such collective bargaining unit of the trial court, the mental health legal advisors committee, the board of bar examiners and the commission on judicial conduct....... $8,187,426
SECTION 9. Notwithstanding any general or special law or rule or regulation to the contrary, any unexpended balances, not to exceed a total of $15,000,000, in items 4000-0600 and 4000-0700 of section 2 of chapter 61 of the acts of 2007, shall not revert to the General Fund until September 1, 2008, and may be used by the executive office of health and human services to pay for services provided during fiscal year 2008.
SECTION 10. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the funds made available to the Group Insurance Commission through this act after June 30, 2008 shall be made available for expenses of the Commission through June 30, 2008.
SECTION 11. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of health and human services may authorize transfers from items 4000-0430, 4000-0600, 4000-0700, 4000-0860, 4000-0870, 4000-0875, 4000-0880, 4000-0890, 4000-0891, 4000-0895, 4000-0990, 4000-1400 and 4000-1405 of section 2 of chapter 61 of the acts of 2007 to items 4000-0500 or 4000-1420 of said section 2 for the purpose of reducing any deficiency in items 4000-0500 or 4000-1420, but any such transfer shall take place not later than August 31, 2008.
SECTION 12. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in order to minimize investment fees and maximize returns through continuity of investment management of the State Retiree Benefits Trust Fund, established in subsection (a) of section 24 of chapter 32A of the General Laws while the general court considers the recommendations of the commission established by section 82 of said chapter 61, investments of the trust shall be held and managed by the Health Care Security Trust board of trustees, established in section 4 of chapter 29D of the General Laws, until legislation is enacted confirming management of the State Retiree Benefits Trust Fund. The executive director of the group insurance commission, who is a member of the trustees of the State Retiree Benefits Trust Fund, shall continue in that capacity in an advisory role to the Health Care Security Trust board of trustees as to cash flow needs of the State Retiree Benefits Trust Fund and shall pay benefits as needed from that fund. The comptroller shall work with the executive director to implement this section.
Approved June 17, 2008.