Governor's House One Revision Message

March 25, 2005

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives:

Pursuant to the final paragraph of section 7H of Chapter 29 of the Massachusetts General Laws, I am writing to bring to your attention several adjustments to my House 1 budget recommendations for Fiscal Year 2006, which will offset the reduction in projected tax revenues resulting from the changes included in the substitution to House Bill 21, "An Act to Update and Improve Certain Tax Provisions of the Commonwealth," which I filed today. I respectfully request that you include these revisions in your budget recommendations. A total of $85 million in revisions are described below.

• House 1 was filed with a surplus of $15 million. Please apply the surplus, in part, to address the $85 million reversion.
• Based on the State Comptroller's March 1, 2005 certification of MBTA base sales tax revenues for Fiscal Year 2006, the amount of sales tax dedicated to the MBTA in Fiscal Year 2006 will be $712.6 million. This is a reduction of $3.8 million from the previous estimate used in House 1.

Several accounts included funding in House 1 to cover occupancy lease payments, which are currently funded from the capital budget. I continue to support paying for these costs from operating funds, and therefore, recommend appropriating the funds in Fiscal Year 2005, and making these additional amounts available for expenditure in Fiscal Year 2006. The accounts and corresponding adjustments to House 1 are as follows:

The accounts below included additional funding in House 1 to help create jobs and stimulate the economy. I propose accelerating these efforts by funding these items with Fiscal Year 2005 dollars and allowing these dollars to be expended in both Fiscal Year 2005 and 2006. The accounts and corresponding adjustment to House 1 are as follows:

1599-0015

Capital Projects Reserve

The one-time capital projects identified for funding from this $24 million reserve will instead be funded from existing capital budget funding sources.

The savings from a recent refunding and lower than projected interest rates result in approximately $3.0 million in savings. The accounts and corresponding adjustments to House 1 are as follows:

1599-0093	Water Pollution Abatement Trust	$2,119,860
	Clean Water Contract Assistance
1599-3838	Water Pollution Abatement Trust	$880,140
	New Drinking Water Projects Contract Assistance	$3,000,000

1599-3384

Judgments, Settlements and Legal Fees

A companion supplemental budget proposes to fund the $7.5 million recommended in House 1 by appropriating this amount in Fiscal Year 2005, and making this additional amount available for expenditure in Fiscal Year 2006. Please eliminate funding for this account in House 1 and support the companion bill.

The most recent utilization data reveals that House 1 overfunded the account by $2.2 million. Please reduce the House 1 value by $2,200,000 to $307,034,813.

The most recent utilization data reveals that a surplus in this account exists in Fiscal Year 2005. A companion supplemental budget proposes to balance that surplus forward into Fiscal Year 2006. Please reduce the House 1 figure by $8,299,682 to $62,147,644, and support the companion bill.

Sincerely,

Mitt Romney
Governor

cc: The Honorable Therese Murray, Chair, Senate Committee on Ways and Means
The Honorable Robert A. DeLeo, Chair, House Committee on Ways and Means
The Honorable Michael Knapik, Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Ways and Means
The Honorable Vinny deMacedo, Ranking Member, House Committee on Ways and Means