June 24, 2011

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives:

I am filing for your prompt consideration a bill entitled “An Act Making Certain Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2012 Before Final Action on the General Appropriation Bill.”  Section 1 provides the spending authorization to maintain necessary services through July 10, 2011, pending the passage of the General Appropriation Act.  All actions taken under this section will apply to the General Appropriation Act.

Section 2 allows advance local aid payments to be made to any city, town, regional school district, or independent agricultural and technical school that demonstrates an emergency cash shortfall.  Section 3 also continues authority for the Commonwealth’s health insurance plan for certain legal resident immigrants until enactment of the General Appropriation Act.

In order to ensure that the Commonwealth will be able to meet its payment obligations without delays, I urge your favorable action on this bill no later than June 27, 2011.

Respectfully submitted,

Deval Patrick

Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the amount of $1,250,000,000 is hereby appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012, to meet necessary expenditures before the enactment of the general appropriation act for that fiscal year, for the maintenance and operations of the various departments, boards, commissions, and institutions, including federal grant and Intragovernmental Service Fund expenditures, for other necessary services, and for meeting certain requirements of law.  This appropriation 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 that general appropriation act.  All expenditures made under this section shall be consistent with appropriations made in the general appropriation act. 

SECTION 2.  The state treasurer shall make advance payments for some or all of periodic local reimbursement or assistance programs to any city, town, regional school district, or independent agricultural and technical school that demonstrates an emergency cash shortfall, as certified by the commissioner of revenue and approved by the secretary of administration and finance, pursuant to guidelines issued by the secretary.

SECTION 3.  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, section 136 of chapter 131 of the acts of 2010, as appearing in section 95 of chapter 359 of the acts of 2010, including the definition of “eligible individual” in subsection (a) and the authority to establish or designate a health insurance plan for enrollment under subsection (b) of said section 136, shall continue in force until enactment of the general appropriation act for fiscal year 2012.

SECTION 4.  This act shall take effect on July 1, 2011.