Human Services Get A Boost In Legislature's Budget Rewrite: Will Baker Sign Or Veto?

After the dust settled on the Legislature's fiscal 2016 budget debate and advocates from all sectors lobbied their way into the good graces of the powerful Ways and Means Committee chairpeople, a final compromise budget emerged. Given the constantly tight budget constraints forcing Beacon Hill to make tough fiscal calls, that $38.1 billion spending plan has a number of advocates praising how humane a budget lawmakers put on Gov. Charlie Baker's desk.

"Overall, the budget was an improvement in areas that are very significant to low-income people, legal services and early ed and family planning are good examples of that," said Elaine O'Reilly, who represents a number of organizations that fought for greater funding in the budget.

The Legislature's results fit nicely with Senate President Stan Rosenberg and Senate Ways and Means Chairwoman Karen Spilka's attempt to "lift all families," which were the Senate's buzzwords this budget cycle.

"Lifting all families is about supporting people through all stages of life: our children, our seniors, our neighbors, and our loved ones," Spilka wrote in her introductory letter for the Senate's budget proposal. "These budget line items are more than just numbers. They embody the Senate’s commitment to foster upward economic mobility and greater equality for all residents."

Sen. Jamie Eldridge may be the Senate's most progressive member and described the fiscal 2016 budget as a "very positive improvement" in terms of funding for services.

"The budget was a significant increase in funding in areas like housing, for the disabled as well as some line items like funding for treatment for those with AIDS as well as cultural councils and councils on aging," Eldridge told WGBH News. "So I think that was encouraging."

William Eddy, the executive director of the Massachusetts Association of Early Education and Care, told WGBH News that the House and Senate went out of their way to do something for early ed this year. Eddy called the budget's increases in pay for the early education workforce, 1,000 new class slots of children, and other boosts "incremental progress." Eddy said he was encouraged early on when the Speaker and Senate President highlighted early education as priorities for their legislative agendas this year. The association represents early education providers across the state.

There's millions going to the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which grants funding to promote education, excellence and access in the arts. There's also more for local library aid and increased funds to cut down on the early education wait list.

For many of these programs, it was the Legislature that granted increases in funding over what Baker initially suggested.

Baker has until Saturday to review the bill with his own budget team before offering up any vetoes or alterations. Though the bottom line of the the $38.1 billion plan comes down to roughly the same bottom line as Baker's initial offering to the Legislature, the governor may take issue with some of the projects or funding added by lawmakers. Advocates for the funding increases were practically unanimous on their strategy if the Republican executive kills or alters their funding level: They'll take it back to their allies in the Legislature and lobby for the House and Senate to override Baker's veto pen.

O'Reilly listed aid for reproductive health services as one of the sectors the budget bulked up. Over $600,000 went to comprehensive family planning, which includes confidential physical exams, HIV and STI testing, pregnancy testing, birth control and other services. O'Reilly hopes the funding, a portion of which goes to Planned Parenthood for health services other than abortion, will be safe from Baker's veto pen.

Housing is another area where advocates saw big wins in this year's budget. Rachel Heller, the director of public policy at the Citizens' Housing And Planning Association said after Baker recommended increasing funding for a preferred housing voucher program by $10 million, the Legislature eventually granted almost $16 million on top of that.

Still, at least one lawmaker on the left side of the spectrum think the state can do more.

"I think the thing that I try to highlight is that we're still not back to where we were about 20 years ago," Eldridge said. "Because we've had a number of significant tax cuts that have just reduced funding for most areas of the budget, on top of the fact that health care continues to consume a greater and greater percentage of our budget."