HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3778        FILED ON: 7/12/2013

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3567

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

July 12, 2013

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 2014 to Provide for Supplementing Certain Existing Appropriations and for Certain Other Activities and Projects.”

Building on investments included in the Fiscal Year 2014 General Appropriation Bill, I am proposing to fund an additional $7 million for higher education scholarships.  Investments in scholarships make college more affordable and accessible, particularly for low- and moderate-income students. This increase in scholarship funding provides assistance to students demonstrating the greatest levels of financial need. 

I am also proposing $21.8 million to fund core information technology services required to support the delivery of services to the Commonwealth’s residents on a daily basis. These services are wide-ranging, from securing residents and customers’ personal information, to securing the timely processing of payments to direct care providers on behalf of our most vulnerable populations.

Consistent with my amendment to Fiscal Year 2014 General Appropriation Bill section 207, which would expand the Bottle Bill to include bottled water and non-carbonated soft drinks, I am requesting $3 million for recycling programs at the Department of Environmental Protection.

Consistent with my amendment to the Fiscal Year 2014 General Appropriation Bill sections 114-134, which makes judicial salary increases effective on January 1, 2014, I am requesting $5.7 million to fund the increased salary costs in the courts’ budgets.

Consistent with my amendment to the Fiscal Year 2013 supplemental budget section 4, which would require photo identification on electronic benefit cards, I am requesting $2.5 million for the cost of implementing this requirement at the Department of Transitional Assistance in Fiscal Year 2014, which includes the costs for card materials, infrastructure and both start-up and ongoing system costs.

Finally, although I reduced spending in the Fiscal Year 2014 budget in the areas of transportation and Unrestricted General Government Aid to conform to the level of enacted revenues, I am proposing supplemental appropriations in this bill to restore full funding for these items if the Legislature accepts my amendment to the transportation finance bill.

Based on the actions I am taking today in signing the Fiscal Year 2014 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,

Governor

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3567

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the Year Two Thousand Thirteen

_______________

An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2014 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects.

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 2014, 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, 2014. These sums shall be in addition to any amounts previously appropriated and made available for the purposes of those items.

SECTION 2.

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS

Department of Environmental Protection.

2200-0107..........................................................................................$3,000,000

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Department of Transitional Assistance.

4400-1000..........................................................................................$2,500,000

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF EDUCATION

Department of Higher Education.

7070-0065..........................................................................................$7,000,000

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, 2014.  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

Reserves.

1599-4380For a reserve to support information technology requirements and improve information technology infrastructure at state agencies and departments; provided, that the secretary of administration and finance, in consultation with the chief information officer of the commonwealth, may transfer amounts from this account to items 1100-1700, 1595-1069, 2000-1700, 4000-1700, 7009-1700 and 8000-1700 ..............................................$21,800,000

1599-9886For the costs associated with implementing judicial salary increases on January 1, 2014; provided, that the executive office for administration and finance may transfer these funds to items 0320-0003, 0320-0010, 0322-0100, 0330-0101, 0330-0300, 0331-0100, 0332-0100, 0333-0002, 0334-0001, 0335-0001, 0336-0002, 0337-0002 .......................................................................................................$5,700,000

SECTION 3.   To provide for supplementing certain items in the general appropriation act and other appropriation acts for fiscal year 2014, the sums set forth in this section 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, 2014. These sums shall be in addition to any amounts previously appropriated and made available for the purposes of those items.  The appropriations in this section shall take effect only if the secretary of administration and finance certifies in writing to the comptroller that legislation has been enacted to provide sufficient revenues in substantially the form proposed by the governor in his message of July 2, 2013, House No. 3544.

TRANSPORTATION

Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

1595-6368........................................................................................$75,664,945

  Commonwealth Transportation Fund ................................................................100%

1595-6369.......................................................................................$115,200,000

Commonwealth Transportation Fund ................................................................100%

1595-6370........................................................................................$49,135,055

Commonwealth Transportation Fund ................................................................100%