July 8, 2012
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives:
Pursuant to Section 5 of Article 63 of the Amendments to the Constitution, I am today signing House Bill 4200, “An Act Making Appropriations for the Fiscal Year 2013 for the Maintenance of the Departments, Boards, Commissions, Institutions and Certain Activities of the Commonwealth, for Interest, Sinking Fund and Serial Bond Requirements and for Certain Permanent Improvements,” and returning certain portions to you for reconsideration.
The Fiscal Year 2013 budget makes a number of critical investments that will help prepare our children for the workplaces of tomorrow, grow our economy, and keep our communities safe.
First, this budget provides historic state funding levels for aid to school districts for K-12 education. The budget also supports new investments to address the gap in performance among students across the state, particularly those who live in Gateway Cities. I am also proud to note that this budget adopts meaningful reforms to our state community college system, ensuring greater accountability of each campus while making targeted investments that help colleges better target coursework and training to their regional economies and workforce demands. Finally, this budget continues investments I have proposed to reduce youth violence.
While I am very pleased to sign these and many other funding and language items into law, there are a limited number of appropriations and sections that I disapprove or believe should not be enacted without further amendment.
Therefore:
- I am reducing appropriation amounts in items of section 2 of House 4200 enumerated in Attachment A of this message by the amount and for the reasons set forth in that Attachment;
- I am disapproving, or striking wording in, items of section 2 of House 4200 also set forth in Attachment A, for the reasons set forth in that Attachment;
- I am disapproving those sections of House 4200 itemized in Attachment B of this message for the reasons set forth in that Attachment; and
- Pursuant to Article LVI, as amended by Article XC, Section 3 of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth, I am returning sections 35, 36, 39-45, 52-54, 92, 152, 173-176, 217 and 228 with recommendations for amendment. My reasons for doing so and the recommended amendments are set forth in separate letters dated today which are included with this message as Attachments C, D, E, and F.
I approve the remainder of this Act.
Respectfully submitted,
Deval Patrick