April 13, 2005

To the Honorable Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives:

It is my honor to present to you the House Committee on Ways and Means’ recommendations for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Fiscal Year 2006 General Appropriations Act. This document represents the sum and substance of our best efforts to craft a budget characterized by compassion, forethought and rationality. Contained within its pages are many laudable public policy achievements that will strengthen our economy and provide care to our neighbors in need. It represents the next step in our continued commitment to reclaiming ground that was lost during a recession which, while fading, continues to encumber our fiscal and social growth.

What this document does not represent is an attempt to accomplish that which is rightly within the purview of the Legislature’s several joint and standing committees. The Massachusetts Legislature is a body of talented, qualified, and dedicated individuals who realize that enlightened initiatives are born of an open process of discussion, debate and study. For this reason, we present to you a budget containing only those outside sections necessary to effectuate the intent of appropriating items. By doing so, we refrain from infringing on a committee process which must be allowed to function as intended and conceived.

Certainly, neither the recommendations contained herein nor the final budget presented to the Governor will address every legitimate concern. However, through this document the Committee has taken a substantial, yet prudent step forward in what are still unsettled fiscal times. Our tax revenues are rebounding, but they have yet to reach levels commensurate with past spending watermarks. In the interim, increased costs and obligatory payments have all but completely consumed revenue gains. While our budget is balanced, we continue to experience a divide between growth of spending and growth of revenues. As we move forward, it is vital for us all to realize and accept that spending cannot outpace revenues if we are to achieve fiscal equilibrium. Moreover, while our reliance on the Stabilization Fund to bridge the gap in recent years was a necessity, it is now necessary to begin with all haste the process of replenishing our reserves in preparation for the next economic downturn.

Citizens of the Bay State are privileged to live in a region steeped in a tradition that cherishes self-reliance while recognizing a moral imperative to feed the hungry; shelter the destitute; educate the untaught; and care for those in need. In that light, the budget I present to you is crafted on the premise that fiscal responsibility is not an end in its own right, but a means of providing for the common prosperity now and in years to come. As together we proceed through what will no doubt be yet another budget process fraught with difficult choices, we must remember that enjoying what the Massachusetts Constitution terms the “blessings of life” is an inheritance to which all residents have a rightful claim.

My thanks to each Member who has offered their counsel in recent days. I profoundly appreciate your friendship and wisdom—and I look forward to working with you as we craft a budget that enhances the greater good of all in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Very truly yours,

ROBERT A. DeLEO
Chairman