May 4, 2011

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives:

I am filing for your consideration a bill entitled “An Act Making Appropriations for the Fiscal Year 2011 to Provide for Supplementing Certain Existing Appropriations and for Certain Other Activities and Projects.”

Consistent with our previously planned expenditures for fiscal year 2011, the legislation I am filing includes supplemental funding requests for the following obligations:

•$42.2 million for the Committee for Public Counsel Services.

•$3.3 million remaining snow and ice removal cost this year.

•$15 million to support cash assistance caseload spending at the Department of Transitional Assistance.

•$100K for Other Needs Assistance for the 2010 flood damage.

The CPCS request, while necessary under present arrangements, is further proof of the need for the comprehensive reform of indigent defense services that I proposed in my fiscal year 2012 budget.

Sufficient revenues are estimated to be available to finance these appropriations.  I urge your prompt and favorable consideration of this bill.

Respectfully submitted,

DEVAL L. PATRICK

        ELEVEN

MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2011 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 2011 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.

To provide for supplementing certain items in the general appropriation act and other appropriation acts for fiscal year 2011, 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, 2011.  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$42,200,000

EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE

Office of the Secretary of Administration and Finance

1599-5973$3,300,000

Commonwealth Transportation Fund 100 %

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Department of Transitional Assistance

4403-2000$8,900,000

4405-2000$5,960,000

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY

Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency

8800-0001$100,000

Benefit Changes Reserve PAC

SECTION 3. Item 1599-1027 of section 2 of chapter 131 of the acts of 2010 is hereby amended by adding the following words:- ; provided, that any unexpended funding made available under this item shall not revert and shall be available for expenditure until June 30, 2012.

MassDOT Labor Agreement

SECTION 4.  To the extent that any provision of chapter 25 of the acts of 2009 conflicts with a term of the Master Labor Integration Agreement, in this section called the Agreement, executed by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation on or about December 29, 2008 or any agreement between the department and labor organizations representing employees transferred to the department executed between November 1, 2009 and the execution of the Agreement, then the terms of the Agreement or such other agreement shall prevail over such provision of chapter 25. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department may recognize and negotiate with the exclusive bargaining unit representative identified in the Agreement pursuant to chapter 150E of the General Laws for the units established in the Agreement. Nothing in this section shall amend, modify or render ineffective any other applicable general law.