After spending 10 full days considering his options, on Monday, Governor Charlie Baker brought his pen and scissors to the $4 billion Federal Aid and Surplus Expenditure Act, signed the spending decision, but deleted his Some "red tape". Said that it will make it more difficult to quickly transfer money to those who need it.

The governor signed the bill (H 4269), which spent US$2.55 billion in U.S. Rescue Program Act funding and US$1.45 billion in fiscal 2021 surplus state taxes, while retaining slightly more than US$2.3 billion in federal ARPA funds for future use .

But Baker also vetoed a policy section that required consulting large commissions before issuing premiums to frontline employees working during the COVID-19 emergency, and returning to another similar external section and proposing amendments.

"As Massachusetts continues to recover from the pandemic, the bill uses funds in key areas that require support. It has invested heavily in healthcare, housing and home ownership, workforce development, and other key priorities. Our government Anxious to start deploying these resources quickly to individuals and communities that desperately need them," Baker wrote in his document, but he also pointed out that the bill was "far below the investment I called for to solve the housing shortage." "

The expenditure itself is mainly concentrated in healthcare ($964 million), housing ($624 million), infrastructure ($414 million), education ($389 million) and economic development ($267 million), as well as specific labor issues (5 100 million dollars in grants) based on the analysis of the Massachusetts Taxpayer’s Foundation, premium incentives and the state unemployment insurance system.

Last week, Baker stated that his government is most concerned about "red tape," and pointed out that a large committee was established under the bill to determine how to allocate bonuses ranging from US$500 to US$2,000 to necessary, low-income people. Make recommendations to the government. Income employees.

He said: "We would rather put together high-paying plans and then give out dollars to people."

With his veto power, this is exactly what Baker hopes to be able to do. He wrote to legislators that he supported the premium plan, but said that the way the legislature structured the committee and its responsibilities "in fact certainly will seriously hinder the payment of funds."

"Various organizations are responsible for appointing the members of the expert group, but it is not clear who they should notify the appointment decision. No one has the right to call the first meeting of the expert group, no chair is appointed, and no deadline applies to the expert group. Although. In this way, the [Administrative and Financial Executive Office] must wait for the combination of experts and make recommendations, incorporate these recommendations into eligibility decisions, and then design methods for identifying and paying eligible grantees by March 31, 2022," Baker Write. "Therefore, we are vetoing these clauses of the bill."

The governor stated that his veto power would allow his government to "immediately begin the process of allocating these funds."

"We can send a check for $500 to nearly 1 million Massachusetts residents as quickly as possible," he wrote. Referring to the possibility of legislation overthrowing his veto, Baker added, “Re-enacting the group driver envisioned by the legislature will only undermine the midway launch. We urge you to let our government continue this important plan today. "

The part of the amendment that Baker returns will establish a behavioral health trust fund that will receive $200 million under the bill. The governor said that he supports the establishment of the fund, but the proposed amendment will basically give his government, not the legislature, the power to use the funds of the fund.

Baker also vetoed the project language in the seven expenditure items of the bill, saying, "It is limited to my concerns about the requirements imposed on specific items."

The governor’s veto and amendments did not seem to irritate Senate Speaker Karen Spirka. She said she was “particularly proud that the final bill will include $400 million for mental and behavioral health care, because many people are dealing with COVID The emotional impact of fighting the -19 pandemic.” Spirka’s office stated that she would review the governor’s amendment and veto power. If the legislature is to overthrow Baker, both the House of Representatives and the Senate need two-thirds of the votes. And because the legislature is in the seven-week winter vacation for formal meetings-the kind that can be used for roll-call votes-any overthrow vote must take place in the new year.

Mariano stated that he will discuss the governor’s actions with the Senate and stated that “it is important to note that he vetoed the March 31 deadline” in order to pay the premiums.

On Monday afternoon, just before the governor took action, Mariano met with Baker in the governor’s office: “We have asked the government to provide a timetable of when they will be able to release funds to essential staff so that we can make an informed decision. "The ARPA bill was announced," said.

Baker spent 10 days reviewing the compromised ARPA and surplus spending bill, which was negotiated by three representatives and three senators, and was nearly $180 million higher than the initial proposals by the House of Representatives and the Senate. After failing to agree on the final product before the start of the legislative winter break before Thanksgiving, the legislature held a final vote on Friday, December 3, to submit the $4 billion bill to Baker's desk.

Municipal officials across Massachusetts have been eagerly waiting for the state to finalize its ARPA plan to see if they can piggyback on state expenditures when they put their ARPA grants into practice. During the pandemic, approximately US$7 billion has been provided to municipalities to respond to and recover from COVID-19, including US$3.4 billion in direct support from ARPA.

"We are anxiously awaiting plans for state legislation so that we can use our own funds locally, especially in terms of major sewers and water supplies," Auburn Town Manager Julie Jacobson told the Lieutenant Governor at a meeting in November Karyn Polito and other government officials. Local Government Advisory Committee.

Economists at Fitch Ratings recently pointed out that the injection of federal cash and “above-trend economic growth” are two key drivers that “will keep state and local governments’ finances on an active track in 2022.” The agency State and local governments in its 2022 outlook last week.

(Copyright (c) 2021 State House News Service.

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