Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005
From: Arline Isaacson AISAACSON@massteacher.org
Subject: Veto of Retro Pay Raises

Note from P.Markunas: this veto in no way affects the status of our contract negotiations or recently settled tentative agreement.

Late yesterday, Romney vetoed the sections of the deficiency budget which included our retroactive pay raises for higher ed and the contract extension monies for MCCC.

MTA is lobbying the legislative leadership in both the House and Senate to move as quickly as possible to override these ridiculous vetoes.

Below, you'll find a report from the State House News Service:

ROMNEY OKAYS SNOW CLEANUP $$$, REJECTS RETROACTIVE HIGHER ED RAISES

By Michael P. Norton and Cyndi Roy
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

Gov. Mitt Romney on Thursday signed an $89 million budget that cuts includes $34 million for winter road-clearing crews and supplies and nearly $12 million to pay private attorneys who represent indigent clients.

For the second time in six months, Romney vetoed $30 million for retroactive raises to public higher education employees. Lawmakers said the raises were the result of collective bargaining agreements and should be honored.

In his veto message, Romney said the raises had fallen prey to the state's fiscal problems, noting that he and Gov. Jane Swift had to make more than $500 million in cuts during fiscal years 2002 and 2003.

"Consequently, during that time period, most employees, not just higher education employees, went without raises, were laid off, or took unpaid furloughs," Romney said. "Important programs were scaled back, and program recipients saw their benefits reduced. It would be unfair to treat only higher education employees preferentially."

Lawmakers included the pay raise funds in a supplemental budget passed last September, when Romney first vetoed the line item. Because the Legislature had stopped meeting in formal sessions for the year, no override was attempted. One lawmaker said today that he believes there's support for an override.

"Gov. Romney vetoing the higher ed pay raises reinforces the fact that Romney is not a governor for working class people," said Rep. Martin Walsh (D-South Boston). "These contracts were negotiated in good faith and agreed upon. The Legislature didn't take on this responsibility. The administration at the time did. And now we need to fulfill our obligation."

Romney also vetoed $3.8 million for community college faculty and staff salary increases.

And he pointed out that the Legislature had opted not to agreed to his requests for $9.2 million for substance abuse services; $2 million for chief medical examiner facilities design and construction; $2 million for Longfellow Bridge reconstruction design costs; $2 million to help redevelop two buildings in Dudley Square; $1.5 million for development of an educator database; and $650,000 for an annuity benefit to the family of a Lancaster volunteer firefighter killed in the line of duty.

Legislative leaders last week said their budget was intended to address deficient accounts and unexpected spending needs, not as an investment vehicle. They said another supplemental budget was in the works.

The newly signed budget law includes $5 million for State Police and Military Division overtime costs; $2.5 million for emergency implementation of suicide prevention measures at the Department of Youth Services; and $1.7 million to maintain 127 beds for children and adolescents in behavioral and clinical intensive residential treatment programs and the Department of Mental Health.

The budget also includes $4.5 million in fuel assistance for public housing authorities and $3 million for the Department of Revenue for gas station owners who replace underground diesel tanks.

James Eisenberg, a spokesman for House Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop), said the chairman had not seen the veto message yet and could not comment on the governor's actions.