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Romney’s Vetoes Target Our Communities
by John Andrews
Governor Mitt Romney expressed satisfaction with the drastic cuts made to state programs by the Massachusetts Legislature. “I commend you for completing this budget in a timely manner without raising taxes and without using our dwindling Stabilization Fund reserves” he wrote in a June 30 letter to legislators. However, the $2 billion in cuts made by the Legislature were not quite enough, so Romney decided to veto an additional $201 million “to ensure that the Fiscal Year 2004 budget is balanced and that we maintain a more sustainable level of government spending.”
A partial list of the Governor’s vetos are printed below. Take a look. They hit the environment, veteran’s, senior citizens, the handicapped, the mentally ill, health care, libraries, housing, job training, and education. These cuts may only add a small fraction to the damage that has been done by the Legislature, but they show the ways in which healthy communities are being undermined by the “no new taxes” politicians on Beacon Hill.
And here is a challenge for the reader: Find a veto that places a burden upon the venture capitalists who wrote all those $500 checks for Governor Romney’s election campaign. Then estimate how much of the burden of fiscal responsibility Romney places upon ordinary people and the disadvantaged, and how much he places upon the well-to-do and well-connected. This is the major story of the FY2004 budget, but you won’t find it discussed in the corporate media.
ROMNEY’S VETOES (PARTIAL LIST)
| ITEM VETOED | AMOUNT OF REDUCTION | | INDIGENT COURT COSTS | $2,000,000 | | MASS LEGAL ASSISTANCE CORP | $7,564,142 | | MENTAL HEALTH LEGAL ADVISORS | $501,085 | | CORRECTIONAL LEGAL SERVICES | $500,000 | | SUFFOLK SOCIAL LAW LIBRARY | $1,704,671 | | DISABLED PERSONS PROTECTION | $39,996 | | VETERANS’ OUTREACH CENTERS | $165,000 | | RECYCLING COORDINATION | $2,900,000 | | ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ENFORCEMENT | $200,000 | | ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ADMIN | $675,000 | | RIVERWAYS PROTECTION & ACCESS | $290,293 | | FISHERIES & WILDLIFE | $80,000 | | FISHERIES PUBLIC ACCESS | $20,000 | | MARINE FISHERIES | $282,600 | | ZOOS | $750,000 | | TRAILSIDE MUSEUM | $219,750 | | STATE PARKS AND RECREATION | $100,000 | | STATE PARKS RETAINED REVENUE | $150,000 | | URBAN PARKS AND RECREATION | $247,000 | | MANAGED CARE PLANS | $1,100,000 | | MASSHEALTH SENIOR CARE PLANS | $75,000 | | CERVICAL/BREAST CANCER | $2,784,551 | | MCB ADMINISTRATION | $213,456 | | COMMUNITY SERVICES | $250,000 | | MEDICAL ASSISTANCE ELIGIBILITY | $100,000 | | VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION | $325,129 | | EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE | $405,000 | | INDEPENDENT LIVING | $220,000 | | DEAF & HARD OF HEARING | $128,235 | | CHILDREN’S TRUST FUND ADMIN | $870,557 | | HEALTHY FAMILIES | $6,677,891 | | CHELSEA SOLDIERS’ HOME | $250,000 | | LONG TERM CARE RESIDENT FEES | $579,000 | | TAFDC GRANT PAYMENTS | $9,000,000 | | DPH ADMINISTRATION | $791,797 | | ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM | $530,000 | | HEALTH CARE QUALITY RET. REV. | $1,382,505 | | NURSE’S AIDE SCHOLARSHIPS | $250,000 | | REGIONAL EMERGENCY MED. SVCS. | $1,246,896 | | AIDS PREVENTION AND TREATMENT | $150,000 | | GAMBLERS’ TREATMENT | $654,942 | | DENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM | $77,603 | | EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES | $697,132 | | NEWBORN HEARING SERVICES | $83,060 | | SUICIDE PREVENTION PROGRAM | $125,000 | | PROSTATE CANCER PREVENTION | $1,000,000 | | BREAST CANCER PREVENTION | $35,678 | | SCHOOL BASED HEALTH PROGRAMS | $8,901,510 | | SMOKING PREVENTION & CESSATION | $835,000 | | SCHOOL HEALTH SRVC. RET. REV. | $6,000,000 | | HOSPITAL SERVICES | $3,000,000 | | DMR ADMINISTRATION | $822,924 | | COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION | $109,522 | | COMMUNITY SUPPORT SERVICES | $500,000 | | RESIDENTIAL AND DAY PROGRAMS | $903,000 | | COMMUNITY DAY & WORK PROGRAMS | $521,970 | | RESPITE & FAMILY SERVICES | $1,300,000 | | REGIONAL LIBRARY LOCAL AID | $1,048,625 | | TALKING BOOK LIBRARY-WORCESTER | $318,777 | | DIV. OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY | $152,800 | | WORKFORCE TRAINING SURPLUS | $2,224,000 | | HOUSING SERVICES PROGRAM | $221,925 | | RENTAL HOUSING LOANS | $1,704,919 | | ALTERNATIVE HOUSING VOUCHERS | $400,000 | | DIVISION OF BANKS | $588,434 | | DIVISION OF INSURANCE | $1,103,914 | | PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE | $427,072 | | ITEM PRICING INSPECTIONS | $300,000 | | WEIGHTS & MEASURES ENFORCEMENT | $358,900 | | REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS | $350,000 | | KINDERGARTEN EXPANSION GRANTS | $10,000,000 | | EARLY LITERACY GRANTS | $2,100,004 | | TARGETED TUTORIAL LITERACY | $1,910,788 | | UNIVERSAL BREAKFAST | $2,011,060 | | ED REFORM AID: CHAPTER 70 | $451,048 | | ED REFORM RESERVE | $7,000,000 | | SPECIAL ED RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS | $6,500,000 | | EDUCATION REFORM AUDITS | $200,000 | | YOUTH BUILD GRANTS | $500,000 | | COMM. COLLEGE TRAINING GRANTS | $900,000 | | UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS | $50,000 | | TOXICS USE REDUCTION INSTITUTE | $1,139,853 | | COMMONWEALTH COLLEGE | $1,715,000 | | BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE | $245,814 | | FRAMINGHAM STATE COLLEGE | $160,000 | | CCC JOB TRAINING PARTNERSHIP | $94,395 | | BUNKER HILL COMMUNITY COLLEGE | $108,000 | | HATE CRIMES AWARENESS PROGRAM | $100,000 | | SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY BOARD | $239,946 | | SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY FEES | $750,000 | | DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICE | $2,328,946 | | CRIMINAL JUSTICE TRAINING | $250,000 | | HOME CARE SERVICES | $2,416,360 | | HOME CARE CASE MGMT & ADMIN | $999,827 | | CONGREGATE HOUSING | $1,094,580 | | GRANTS TO COUNCILS ON AGING | $590,000 |
For a complete list of the vetoes, see the state website
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